Farming and startups share similarities explains Jessi Roesch

Designing Successful Startups

Summary

Jessi Roesch, founder of Downland, discusses her journey from banking to starting a climate-smart farming marketplace. She highlights the similarities between farming and startups, such as the need for resilience, the importance of understanding customer needs, and the pursuit of a legacy. Jessi also explains the concept of regenerative agriculture and its benefits for soil health and nutrient-dense food. She shares her experience with crowdfunding and invites listeners to participate in Downland's fundraising campaign on WeFunder.

Links

Please leave us a review: https://www.podchaser.com/AdventuresOnTheCanDo

The book Think Like a Startup Founder (early access): https://www.manning.com/books/think-like-a-tech-founder

Jothy’s site for speaking, podcasting, and ruminating: https://jothyrosenberg.com

Jothy’s non-profit foundation The Who Says I Can’t Foundation: https://whosaysicant.org

Jessi’s current startup for helping regenerative farmers and ranchers: https://www.godownland.com/

Jessi’s slot on the WeFunder platform where she is raising her first round: https://wefunder.com/downland

Jessi’s bio

Jessi Roesch (rhymes with "fresh") has over a decade of experience driving transformation at startups, unicorns and enterprise companies. She is a Terra.do Climate Fellow, member of the Soil Health Committee at BCarbon, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Antler, a global venture firm, and 3x startup executive, having led her prior company to #10 in Financial Services on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list, which recognizes companies for high growth.

Jessi is the founder and CEO of Downland, a startup that aims to remove barriers for a new generation of regenerative farmers and ranchers

Takeaways

Farming and startups share similarities in terms of resilience, understanding customer needs, and pursuing a legacy.

Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving soil health and producing nutrient-dense food.

Crowdfunding platforms like WeFunder provide opportunities for everyday people to invest in startups and support innovative solutions.

The founder journey requires resilience, grit, and a willingness to embrace challenges and personal growth.

Support Downland

• Friends & insiders (that's you!) can invest in Downland via Wefunder before it opens to the public on May 1st. Early investors have access to preferred terms.
• Follow Downland on LinkedIn and Instagram
• Subscribe to Downland's newsletter
• Landowner Letter of Intent (LOI)*

*Landowners who may consider making their land available (in part or in whole) to a regenerative farming/ranching apprentice can share their interest using the form at this link. This is a non-binding letter of interest. The landowner will follow the link, enter their email address, then receive an email from DocuSign to complete the form. Think of this like a petition that Downland should exist and is helpful.

For more info, visit Downland’s website.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Small Talk

08:19 Taking Risks and Embracing Change

16:30 Introduction to Downland and Regenerative Agriculture

32:53 Crowdfunding and the Opportunity for Everyday Investors

39:15 Investing in Downland and Supporting the Future of Food Systems

46:02 Final Thoughts and Encouragement for Founders