Investing Time or Money in an Indoor Farm?
Investing in an indoor farm is one of the new targets for investors and farm entrepreneurs. Because we strongly support venture money pouring into this industry, we have a vested interest in making sure that your investment is successful. Unfortunately there is considerable risk in making these investments if you don’t know the industry. This is further compounded by entrepreneurs making wild payback claims that have no bearing on reality. We want to help you to avoid bad deals and steer you to quality businesses and networks that will lead to success and provide expected returns.
Due Diligence and Risk Management Service
We help you de-risk your investment by taking a hard look at start-up costs, (CapX), operations costs (OpeX) and the cost of goods sold (COGS). We also will assess the technological capabilities of the farm to make sure it is up to par as well as the methods and processes in place from food safety to training. Finally, we assess the overall business model to ensure that the numbers add up and point to profitability. We are especially strong in the assessment of operations using our proprietary software that bench-marks farms against other indoor farms.
Summary of Services
Financial Risk
- Operations analysis (OpX)
- Market assessment
- Assessment of the business model
- Start-up capital analysis (CapX)
Systems Risk
- Systems and process analysis
- Technology assessment
Organizational Risk
- Leadersip
- Training
- Culture
Our Expertise
As the leader of this group, I have over 25 years of experience in the analysis of business models, strategy, organizational strengths, leadership and indoor farm operations. We are aided and abetted with software designed to bench-mark indoor farm operations according to the most efficient producers in the industry. Our network of strategic partners augments our in-house knowledge.
Eric W. Stein, Ph.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Dr. Stein has a Ph.D. in business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Physics from Amherst College. He is tenured faculty at Penn State and has run an small R&D indoor farm. Eric authored a year-long study of the feasibility of setting a Center of Excellence for Indoor Agriculture.
