This document provides an overview of funding options for commercial aquaponics businesses. It discusses educating banks and investors about aquaponics, reviewing and confirming business plans, valuing businesses, identifying funding sources like equity, loans, and grants, and negotiating deals. The presentation aims to help entrepreneurs secure funding by outlining their experience, common mistakes, and evaluation criteria like EBIT. It also previews forming a cooperative network to build trust and slowly monetize expertise through low-cost webinars and meetings.

1. Introduction to:
Funding Commercial
Aquaponics
Presented by:
Linkedin Commercial Aquaponics Group
The Family Fish Farms Network Inc.
Commercial Aquaponics © 2015 (1)
Show Me The Money!

2. Our Target Audience
Entrepreneurs who have made the critical decision to
build and operate a successful commercial aquaponics
farm
Commercial Aquaponics © 2015 (2)
WELCOME!

3. Commercial Aquaponics © 2015 (3)
Who do you Approach?
Job one is not to sell
seafood and vegetables
– that’s easy!
The most challenging
job is to sell investors
on the validity of
investing in aquaponics!

4. Commercial Aquaponics © 2015 (4)
Educating Your Bank and Investors
Most people think of vegetables
coming from gardens and farms with
long rows of plants in the ground
Hydroponics is accepted but still
relatively obscure.
Aquaponics is ?

5. Commercial Aquaponics © 2015 (5)
1
• Review and Confirm Your Decision
2
• Audit Your Business Plan
3
• Value Your Business
4
• Identify Sources of Funds
5
• Negotiate The Deal
Webinar Objectives

6. Today’s Agenda
Who do you Approach?
What is your ‘Funding’ plan before the
Business Plan?
The Family Fish Farms Experience
Educating your bank or investors
Review and Summary
What’s Next
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Review and Confirm Decision
Sustenance – Subsistence- Commercial?
Most Investors Won’t be Interested
Profitable AP Farms are Hard to Find
Energy Will be Your Biggest Cost Factor
After the Business Plan – Funding Plan?

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Our Company’s Experience
The Family Fish Farms Network Inc.
Hard Lessons Learned!

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Hard Lessons Learned
Our experience – My Mistakes
I am not a grower, investment banker
…and not a deal maker
Now, after three years…
Listen to my advice, please
…but make your own decisions

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Audit Your Business Plan
Management – The Key Issue
The Business Model
Sales, business organization, value chain
Competition
Financial Pro Forma
Assumptions
Revenue & Costs

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Value the Business
(Show me the money)
How? You Don’t Have a Business
The Kahn Academy
http://tinyurl.com/nnc5clm
Is It a Good Investment?
Do the Numbers Work?
EBIT of 20%
Leverage and Multiples
Stock Dilution

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Identify Sources of Funds
(Show me the money)
Equity Funding
Private vs Public
Banks (Assets) Funding
Something of Value
Partners
Active vs Passive
Corporate
Government

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Negotiate a Deal
(Show me the Money)
1
•My Advice – Hire a Pro
•An Investment Banker
2
•…With Investors
•Active vs passive partners
•Equity and dilution
3
•Banks & Lenders
•Interest, lines of credit
•Convertible notes
4
•Special Programs
•Community Reinvestment Act
•CDFI’s, USDA, SBA, VA
•Hub Zones, Block Grants
•New Market Tax Credits

14. Commercial Aquaponics © 2015 (14)
1
• Review and Confirm You Decision
2
• Audit Your Business Plan
3
• Value Your Business
4
• Identify Sources of Funds
5
• Negotiate The Deal
Objectives Review

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How to Get There From Here?
• A SWOT shows…
• …lots of weaknesses and threats
• There are strengths in numbers
• And …this is an opportunity for all
• Our Model is a distributive network
• Gung Ho!
• It means, ‘work together in harmony’

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Here’s My Thinking
(We all gotta eat)
Stage One: Build Trust
Slowly Monetize ‘The Network”
FREE Webinars Continue
Low Cost monthly on-line meetings
With Shared experts – get discount
Stage Two : Build the Network
Equity Sharing Structure
TBD – Likely a cooperative

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Top Ten Crowdfunding Sites for Fundraising at
Listed by Forbes
Kickstarter
Razoo
Indiegogo
Crowdfunder
Rockethub
Crowdrise
Somolend
Appbackr
AngelList
Invested.in
Quirky

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What’s Next?
Question?
How do we build value and how do we use this group
to promote investment in aquaponics?
Future Webinar Topics
• The potential of CSR (corporate social responsibility)
• Vertical growing is urban farming
• What is de-coupled aquaponics?

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THANKYOU!
Thank you for attending the second session of the Commercial
Aquaponics webinar series.
We hope it has been enlightening with regard to funding and
that you will join us for our next one.
A survey will appear next and we hope you will take a few
minutes to answer the questions on it.
Our experts want to be able to answer all the questions you
might have about how to run a successful Aquaponics
business.
Thank you again.