In this Australian Investors Podcast episode, your host Owen Rask chats with Sarah Nolet and Matthew Pryor:
- How big Australia’s ag opportunity really is (55% of land mass in agriculture; ~$3.6t farmland; ~$100b farm-gate output; ~$16b profit)
- Tenacious Ventures’ OCP framework for evaluating deals and portfolio construction (incl. 40/60 follow-on reserves)
- Deep tech over pure software and why “digitally native ag” doesn’t just mean SaaS
- Case studies: SwarmFarm Robotics (robots at scale), Goterra (decentralised waste management using insects and robots), Earthodic (lignin-based coating), plus Jupiter Ionics & Nbryo
Topics Covered
- Australia’s agri-food advantages and why small efficiency gains matter for returns
- The OCP (Opportunity–Company–Partnership) lens & portfolio pacing (40% initial, 60% follow-on)
- Sourcing founders via content and a tight early-stage ecosystem across AU/NZ
- Deep tech in ag: companies transforming atoms & molecules, pure not just bits; avoiding the Silicon Valley “over-fund & rush” trap
- SwarmFarm’s path from prototypes to robots per week & 10.5m acres covered
- Goterrra’s decentralised waste “platform” and council use cases
- Earthodic’s wax-replacement coating leveraging existing infrastructure (no capex-heavy plants)
- Fund II’s size sizes, typical rounds & who can invest (wholesale/sophisticated)
- Final thoughts on climate resilience, farmer adoption & retaining customers once value is proven
