2020-21

The Farmers2Founders Bootcamp is a 6 month business support program for producer-led startups and SMEs who are looking for resources and support to accelerate their growth.

Optiweigh

Optiweigh is a patented in-paddock automated weighing system that allows farmers to understand their animals’ weight trends easily. It saves farmers time and money by providing weight data and analysis that helps improve stock management and identify the best time to sell stock.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Sold an additional 60 units

80% of Optiweigh customers achieving positive ROI in 6 months

Generated additional revenue to hire two full time staff and moved into new offices

Validated technology by two universities and won the MLA Producer Innovation Award at Beef Week 

Learn more about Optiweigh in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

Mayi Harvests

Pat Torres is CEO of Mayi Harvests, an Indigenous-owned business that uses ancient traditional and ecological knowledge practices to source Kakadu Plum and other native botanicals through gentle wild harvesting to help preserve the trees for the next generations to come.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Accepted into APEC: Growing Indigenous Businesses Through Trade

Accepted onto Amazon Launchpad to boost online presence

Finalised labelling and trialling new sustainable packaging for product-market-fit.

Learn more about Mayi Harvests in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

AusCrimper

Charlie and Amie Lange are regenerative farmers running grains and cattle near Dalby, NSW. Their company AusCrimper manufactures a cover crop crimper roller to knock down cover crops without using chemicals.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

3x increase in monthly revenue

Doubled sales of machines to 11 machines sold during program

Created 2 new full-time employment positions

Learn more about AusCrimper in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

EarTrumpet

Dan Fischl is a grape grower and viticultural consultant based in Victoria. His company EarTrumpet Consulting is commercialising the PADARDIS sensor system, a system developed by Dan to remotely support his grower clients to implement a regulated deficit irrigation strategy.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Refined positioning and secured two new customers

Launched a sales & marketing strategy to increase subscribers

Learn more about EarTrumpet in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

The Pinnaroo Farmer

Pip and Skeet Lawson are broadacre farmers located in Pinnaroo, SA who grow wheat, barley and red lentils. Following Pip’s participation in the F2F Ideas Program #2, she launched her first product at the beginning of July 2020 direct to consumers via an online shop who were looking for a new flour that is gluten-free, nutrient dense and versatile. F2F supported Pip's participation into the Bootcamp.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Increased sales of lentil flour to 2.5tonnes

Increased stockists from 4 to 7

Employed 2 full-time staff and resigned from off-farm job 

Learn more about The Pinnaroo Farmer in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

Knowby

Grant Rogers is a dairy farmer from Tasmania. Like many farmers, he has wasted countless hours repeating the same instructions over and over to his employees and struggled to get customers to use his products correctly. He needed a ‘simpler way’ to create ‘how to’ manuals, and out of frustration, Knowby was launched. 

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Increased monthly users from 1000 to 2000

Acquired an additional 10 B2B customers

Learn more about Knowby in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

Vasse Valley

Bronwyn Blake is an agricultural scientist and licensed hemp grower from North Jindong, WA.

Located in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, Vasse Valley is the first Western Australian paddock-to-plate hemp foods business. They began growing hemp to make their farm more profitable and grow and roast the seed to bring out the full flavour to their range of award-winning hemp foods.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Expansion into export markets, securing two new customers in Hong Kong and South Korea

Increased trading revenue by 20%

Acquired an additional 10 B2B customers

Learn more about Vasse Valley  in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

Yacker

Emma Ayliffe and Heath McWhirter are farmers and co-owners of Summit Agronomy, broadacre consultants covering 1000s of hectares across NSW. In 2018 they developed the idea for Yacker, a social networking app for the ag industry, after struggling to manage their time and answer their client’s questions during the season. 

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Increased users by 32%

Increased user engagement to 54%

Emma awarded Young Farmer of the Year 2021

Learn more about Yacker  in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F

The Wimmera Grain Store

Jenny Moore is the director of The Wimmera Grain Store (WGS) in Rupanyup, Victoria. Jenny’s family have been farming for 90years and growing lentils for 30 years. WGS specialises in supplying Australian grown pulses, chickpeas, lentils and fab beans as a whole grain, split, kibble or flour, by the metric tonne or 25 kg bag. WGS help food manufactures, repackers, food service, catering businesses, café, and restaurants fill their supply chain needs.

Bootcamp Highlights

Supported by

Established ecommerce platforms and social media channels

Increased supply to export customer in Hong Kong

Secured new contract manufacturer for plant-based snacks

Learn more about The Wimmera Grain Store in the Spotlight Series case study by F2F