Behind the buyouts: Steen brings farmer's voice to VC

Welcome to Behind the Buyouts, The Deal’s podcast where we sit down with a leading private markets investor and drill down into their buyout, growth equity and venture capital deals.

For our inaugural podcast, Syngenta Ventures managing director Colin Steen talks about how he sees himself as a voice of the agriculture sector in venture capital after growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan.

“When I think of investing opportunities, it’s all about how does the farmer get to be more profitable — how does this make them makes more product, and help put food on the table,” Steen said.

As the food sector comes into focus amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the success of Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) and the prospects for meat substitutes continue to fuel dealmaking in the food and food production industries.

He highlights some of the firm’s recent investments including Ninjacart in India and Israeli companies WeedOut Ltd. and Greeneye Co.

Steen also talks about how Syngenta Ventures positions itself for dealmaking as the venture arm of a larger conglomerate that invests outside a traditional fund structure.