(212d) Agrivida: the Development of an Early Stage Agricultural Biotechnology Company

Agrivida is an early stage agricultural biotechnology company developing plant traits that enable the economic conversion of crops into a variety of fuels and chemicals. A number of MIT entrepreneurship programs were instrumental in enabling the creation of Agrivida. The venture built on some initial intellectual property and a rough business plan from a management school course and was revised through the course of several student business plan competitions. The promising start led to the company's incorporation and further expansion of the company's intellectual property and technology. In addition to the business plan competition, a number of other MIT programs and local resources were particularly helpful in creating a network of potential advisors and investors. Agrivida's initial business development focused on 1) cultivating this network and 2) applying for grants to support further research and technology development. The grant applications were targeted at state agencies with renewable energy programs and federal grants focused on agricultural and energy development, primarily Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grants. Diligent grant writing efforts resulted in two state grants which allowed for the beginning of development work and created a reputation for the company which helped raise $300,000 in capital for continued development. A recent development is the award of an NSF SBIR grant. With the capital, Agrivida has established laboratory space in Cambridge, MA, has hired scientific personnel, and is making successful progress in product development. The next steps in Agrivida's development are 1) to develop a product prototype which will be instrumental in 2) raising venture capital and 3) beginning to arrange licensing agreements with potential customers. The long term goal for Agrivida is to develop a portfolio of products which will make it attractive for buyout by a large agribusiness company. This talk discusses the successes and initial challenges in conceiving an early stage venture and highlights many of the advantageous resources that the Boston area provides.