vatren-ga,
The short answer to the first part of your Question, “Can I present to
an information based company a project were they can help me
revolutionize the way we grow agricultural crops?” is, “Yes.” Anyone
can present anything to anyone—and major corporations such as those
you mentioned are assailed with all manner of proposals and business
ideas every day. The trick, of course, is to get them to say, “Yes.”
Let me begin my Answer by stating that I have recent, personal
experience which corroborates acorn-ga’s Comment that “starting at the
top” is not always the best idea.
Two months ago I submitted via e-mail a proposal almost identical to
your basic concept (except that it pertains to the Aquaculture
industry-- aquaculture is like agriculture, but it involves
cultivating plants and animals in water (fresh or salt) rather than on
land—and increasingly in a factory-like setting, which I felt would
lend itself to computer-controlled automation, and software-guided
performance tracking). Aquaculture is currently far less developed
than agriculture worldwide.
I sent an eight page proposal to one of the companies you mentioned (I
will state for the record that it was not Google, Inc. or Google
Answers). This was over 2 months ago, and I never received any
response other than the auto-form thanking me for contacting them.
I personally happen to agree with your basic stance that there is room
for “modernization” in the agriculture industry, especially with
regard to Information Technology (IT) and factorization, although I’m
not going to let that influence my answer. I don’t think you have an
easy road ahead of you, as the agricultural software space is not
exactly barren (note that the http://www.AgricultureSoftware.com
domain name is taken, but not in use—someone is waiting for a buyer
because they think the domain name is worth money—or will be in the
future. (Guess who owns AquacultureSoftware.com and is doing much the
same thing?)
Note: One way to gauge the amount of interest and previous activity in
the field you’re contemplating, and to see who is interested in it, is
to go to
http://www.verisign.com ,
and enter various domain names with “agriculture” in them that pertain
to your ideas, and see if they’re taken, i.e. “agrculturesoftware.com”
http://www.netsol.com/en_US/name-it/searchresults.jhtml?_requestid=700220
(taken),
“agricultureSolutions.com”
http://www.netsol.com/en_US/name-it/searchresults.jhtml?_requestid=699918
(available!—that could easily be worth 200 bucks alone, especially if
you combine it with a “services platform” for your agriculture
software solutions),
“agriSoft.com” http://www.netsol.com/en_US/name-it/searchresults.jhtml?_requestid=699776
(taken), etc….
Also, take advantage of the “whois” feature,
http://www.netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois ,
to find out which corporations are registering which domain names. I
discovered, after making this type of search, that a whole slew of
“aquaculture” domain names, in the same vain as the agriculture ones I
listed above, had all been taken by one corporation, although most had
no active site. This tells me that either they are sitting on them
until they have a business plan, or just intend to sell them to the
highest bidder. Either way, it indicates an interest in the field,
which can in itself be used to present to prospective partners,
perhaps the very companies that own the domain names, since they have
already have an expressed interest.
I’m not going to barrage you with links, but rather will attempt to
present you with verifiable ideas which you can use to consider before
solidifying a market position you are comfortable with.
I would like to share with you a short excerpt near the beginning of
my aquaculture software proposal, because I feel that the general aim
is shared by yourself for the agriculture industry (please correct me
if I am way off the mark by asking for a Clarification):
“Commercial scale aquaculture operations are fast-paced, 24-7-365
production environments. These operations generate huge quantities of
data. They pose unique scientific and business problems that lend
themselves to software-based solutions. Such solutions, however, have
been slow to be implemented industry-wide, due to a lack of skilled IT
workers in the industry, much of which occurs in third-world nations
in Latin America and Asia, as well as the United States. Specific
problems in commercial scale aquaculture which could be solved through
software-based approaches include the following:…”
If we replace the word “aquaculture” above with “agriculture,” could
you fill in the specifics which need to come after the “…” ? Or, do
the extent of your ideas stop after the general notion that the
agriculture industry could benefit from more, or better software?
Because if it is the latter, I can tell you right now that that won’t
be enough to pique the interest of major corporations of any type, or
Venture Capital (VC) funding. You’ve got to have some new angle on
things, or a successful product line already in place which clearly
fills an open niche, otherwise the response will always be “Well,
exactly HOW are your “information tools” going to “revolutionize” the
agriculture industry?
Again, you didn’t state if you actually have a software product or
service already in place, so it’s hard for me to get more specific in
that one area, but let me provide another excerpt from my proposal for
you to compare with your ideas:
“At such time as global seafood supplies are rendered unprofitable for
the seafood industry due to depleted and/or contaminated stocks,
artificially controlled environments for growing seafood will be the
only alternative. To be competitive in the aquaculture arena in this
scenario, companies will need to maximize efficiency to a degree that
hasn’t been necessary. Custom designed aquaculture software solutions
(decision support, data mining programs and scalable logistics
packages) offer the potential to provide that increased efficiency.”
I went on to explain that I felt that a services oriented approach
(i.e. software subscriptions via on-line accounts with software
program enhancement plans to accommodate dynamic/ambiguous business
models) would be the way to implement this, rather than
shrink-wrapped, one-time-purchase software programs.
Now that you have some different perspective and a few things to
think about, let me focus on the second part of your Question, “If so
who can guide me in this endevor?”
I think to fully answer this it would help to know more about your
background, work experience and what it is you are actually offering,
but I’ll cover all of the major possibilities. In other words, I’ll
pretend I’m a company, and you are someone pitching me an idea,
perhaps with accompanying demo software packages, perhaps not.
You’re probably going to fall into roughly one of three categories:
1. You’re a technical person with a software development/IT background
who has ideas about empowering more efficient agriculture through
custom-designed software solutions, great service plans and
computer-controlled factory automation ideas.
2. You’re from an agricultural background, and by working hands-on in
that industry for many years you have identified problem areas which
you feel could be solved through software/IT approaches, and now
you’re attempting to make alliances to that end.
3. You’re someone who’s developed software for the agriculture
industry already by working for agriculture companies, large and
small, for many years, and is now attempting to “take it to the next
level,” so to speak, by approaching the large players, either
technology corporations or big venture capital firms.
If you’re not #3, which is what I would personally strive for, you’re
definitely going to need partnerships with whichever area you lack
experience in. The best way to attract the attention of the big
companies, is by becoming a successful small company, or consulting
service. Successful small companies tend to get bought or acquired by
big companies.
If you’re #1, then to agriculture people, you’re not much more than a
salesperson-just someone else in a long line of people trying to sell
them something in their attempt to make a living growing things.
Think about it from a farmer’s perspective: “We need land, we need
farm equipment, we need transportation vehicles, we need refrigeration
gear, processing plants, electricity, labor, permits, insurance,
standard office computer setups, and oh yeah—custom software?!” Yikes.
You better have something that will directly impact their bottom line
pretty much immediately.
If you’re #2, then you’ll get, “What do you know about software and
information technology, you’re an agriculturist?”
But #3 lends serious credibility, although it’s not something you can
just go out and do if you haven’t done it already. But you should seek
alliances with people in this type of situation, and start placing
software products. It’s much easier to get funded or a deal, if you
can point to a successful venture of some kind, however small, than
just to come from a pure idea perspective.
Now, to directly answer your Question: It’s difficult from this
distance for anyone to be able to advise you of a specific track, but
I would say that if you don’t already have products in place, that’s
where you should start—trying to place something—even at very small,
one-plot agricultural operations. That way, when you pitch the “big
boys,” you can refer to your “clients’ ” results and experiences with
your products and services, even if they are only prototypes or beta
versions. Coming out with nothing and expecting to get a major deal of
some type based on pure ideas is not likely to result in success.
Getting the pieces of your software products in place at different
agriculture facilities will also lead to partnerships. Keep in mind
small companies sometimes get bigger, and people move from company to
company within their particular industries, so the program you write
for Company A today might end up at Companies B and C tomorrow if the
manager who used them at A felt they truly aided him/her.
From one of your Clarifications:
“Go to google and type "green factories". You will be flooded by all
kind of information put if you read in depth nobody has considered how
this "green factories" should be run.
I beg to differ that no one has considered how they ought to be run.
Companies such as Campbell Scientific, Inc., have sold equipment and
software catering to these types of situations for many years. Here is
a link to Campbell Scientific, Inc.’s Agriculture Products, Services
and Support page:
http://www.campbellsci.com/centers/ag.html
You might try e-mailing them, pretending to be a prospective
agriculture customer, and ask if they have software that does
[whatever yours does], and see what they say. Do this with many
companies in that niche. Compile the results and use it as market
research data when you pitch venture capitalists, if that is the route
you take.
I’m going to post this as an Answer, and wait for you to post a
Clarification so you may direct me towards more specific information
you want to know, if any. Your Question and existing Clarifications
and Comments are still quite generalized (and I realize you may not
want to get too specific for fear of “giving away” potentially
valuable ideas), but I believe I have provided enough here for you to
pick and choose, if anything, what you would like me to elaborate on.
Also, consider that companies with “zero experience,” in a particular
area, as you say in a Clarification, may have that stance for a
reason. For example, you might wonder why Microsoft Corp. doesn’t want
to get into the agriculture software space, but if you think about it,
what do all those office mangers of agriculture operations use on
their computers? MS Windows operating systems, MS Word and MS Excel,
that’s what. So in a way Microsoft already permeates that space
without needing to get any more specific. True software companies
don’t like to get too specific—they like to sell tools for making
tools.
Suppose you wrote a Windows program that revolutionizes agriculture by
integrating worldwide logistics packages and scientific analysis tools
to enable predictive yield functions? Microsoft, for example, is
already benefiting without having to do anything, because your product
will run on their existing products, namely Windows. And furthermore,
it’s quite possible that you even developed it on their product too,
namely Visual Basic.
Think tools for making tools. Would you rather own a top construction
company, or be the guy who owns the patent on the wrench, screwdriver
and hammer? If you’re the latter, then you can afford to simply BUY
the best examples of the former, should they happen to “crop up,”
pardon the pun. That’s how the big “information companies” you
mentioned have tended to think. However, the only constant in the IT
world is change.
Google search strategy:
Keywords “agriculture trends”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+trends
,
“agriculture software”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=agriculture+software&spell=1
,
“agriculture solutions”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+solutions
,
“agriculture venture capital”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+venture+capital
,
“agriculture corporations”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+corporations&btnG=Google+Search
,
“agriculture decision support systems” (NOTE that there are quite a
few): ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+decision+support+systems&btnG=Google+Search
,
“agriculture logistics systems”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+logistics+systems
,
“agriculture databases”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+databases&btnG=Google+Search
,
“agriculture inventory databases”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agriculture+inventory+databases
,
And, perform all the above searches substituting “agribusiness” for
“agriculture” as with:
“agribusiness software”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agribusiness+software&btnG=Google+Search
, etc.
Then, consider that you may need hardware systems to run the software,
and you get:
“agribusiness agriculture information technology”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Agribusiness+agriculture+information+technology&btnG=Google+Search
,
“agribusiness agriculture hardware systems”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Agribusiness+agriculture++hardware+systems
,
"agronomics software"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=agronomics+software
,
and finally:
“how to get venture capitalist funding”
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=how+to+get+venture+capitalist+funding
Again, please don’t hesitate to ask for any Clarifications, I’m more
than happy to provide them.
As a final, parting thought, I would say that as both a biolgist and
software developer, to me the most lucrative potential areas here
(besides extremely specilized software that facilitates crop gene
sequencing and DNA data mining-- think Celera Corp., but for food
crops) lie in software packages that forecast crop yields based on
unpredictable inputted variables such as temperature (even indoor
growing operations experience temperature fluctuations, as when
heaters break down), chemical accidents (ie. worker pours wrong
reagent into nutrient mix), and international shipping snafus (i.e.
plane breaks down on runway so product heats up, spoils--future
shipment schedules must be instantly be recalculated), etc.
Forecasting, predictive functions which simultaneously automate the
business logistics functions while enabling data mining of scientific
data to elucidate correlations between enviroment and performance are
the most sought after tools in my opinion.
Good luck in continuing your inquiries!
~omniscientbeing-ga |
