Oct 13, 2021

Hazel Technologies shares tips for a successful AgSharks pitch

With the close of applications for the 2021 AgSharks Competition, the founder of previous winner Hazel Technologies is reflecting on the evolution of his company and the jumpstart it received by participating in the $250,000 pitch contest sponsored by Western Growers and S2G Ventures.

“I don’t know another venture capital firm out there that’s actively involved in a trade organization in the same way – and they need to be,” said CEO and Co-Founder of Hazel Technologies Aidan Mouat in this week’s episode of Voices of the Valley, a podcast hosted by Dennis Donohue, the Director of the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology and Candace Wilson, Vice President of Business Development at GreenVenus. “You get to pitch all the time – I’ve pitched 500 times, I’ve won $1 million in competitions, I’ve done all kinds of crazy stuff. That was the first pitch I’ve ever done to people who might actually buy the product.”

Hazel Technologies is the first of three former AgSharks winners that will appear in this season of Voices of the Valley. Upcoming episodes will feature Charlie Anderson, CEO of Burro, and Bruce Rasa, CEO and Co-Founder of AgVoice.

Hazel Technologies reduces food waste by providing contact-free biochemical solutions that can control perishability in fruits and vegetables. Via package inserts and sachets, Mouat said, shelf life can be increased by controlling the metabolic rate of fruits and vegetables. The company now treats 6.5 billion pounds of food a year, working with 180 customers in more than 10 countries.

“That’s what I’m most proud of … that it resonated with the customers,” Mouat said. “That’s what AgSharks does, and it needs to be done more often. That was transformative. We couldn’t be here today if that hadn’t happened.”

More information about AgSharks can be found here.