You don't know what you don't know

Extracted from the Farm Tender weekly Newsletter - Sign up and get the email every Wednesday morning before 6 am. www.farmtender.com.au

By Dwain Duxson.

Firstly I just want to say what a huge response we had for the Ag investment fund we proposed last week. I have added it in the next story below to those who may have missed it. I am keen to see if more people are interested... Read on below

So I guess that leads into the piece I am going to write about today titled, you don't know what you don't know.

I encountered it writing last weeks newsletter about the proposed investment fund. It was quite different to what I usually write, and I was a bit nervous about how it would be received. It was a positive result, but I didn't know beforehand.

I guess we all have to be a little bolder and not worry too much about the outcome.

Our son, Raleigh, also reminded me of something similar he experienced during the week. He's 22 and has been driving for around 4 years now. I would depict him as a typical country raise 22 year old, works hard, likes a beer, and likes his Ute, it's a Ford Ranger, he's not a Car head as such, but he likes driving it.

Well, his bosses brother took him for a ride in his Tesla Model S, and he was totally gobsmacked as to how the car performed, and he said it was so much superior to any car he had ridden in or driven before. He said, dad, I was blown away. I just didn't think it would be that good.

So if he didn't go for that ride, he would be none the wiser. So now, when he sees a Tesla go past, he looks at it differently from what he would have in the past.

Sometimes you really have to experience things to fully understand how good or bad they are.

It's like going to a pub, restaurant or cafe and having a feed or a coffee. If it's ordinary, I don't send it back or create a kerfuffle. I just don't go back. But it doesn't stop me from trying new places. Although, if I do find a good Coffee shop, they have got me for life.

Pub talk is great and fun too, but sometimes we get caught up in the peer group mentality and do the same thing because we don't want to be seen as different. We are all guilty of changing our views slightly to suit each conversation.

We spoke about how dangerous pre-conceived notions were a couple of weeks back.

We can't let these things stop us from trying and experiencing new things. Otherwise, we end up a bit stale.

There are opportunities to try things differently every day.

I have always wondered why people clean their teeth in the shower and not at the basin. I am a basin user, but have I tried it in the shower? No, so I will this morning to see what it's like....

Train your mind to always think. Is there another way?

End of message.

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This is a follow up from last weeks lead story. As mentioned above we had a huge response and we are keen to take it further. If you are at all interested simply email dwaind@farmtender.com.au or text 0427 011 900 (just say "interested") and I will add to you the list and start the email conversation in a week or so

By Dwain Duxson.

Over the 10 year Farm Tender journey, there have been many ups and downs, but all situations, both good and bad, have been learning experiences.

In the last 12 months, I have been thinking about how Agriculture might play out in the future.

After assessing what we use to do business here each day I am convinced that software as a service (SAAS) will play an increasingly big part in the Ag space. So much so that I have identified a couple of potential start-ups that I think could be winners. We have also been quietly developing an invoicing/payment technology product that we think might have legs as well.

So, I am asking if anyone out there would be interested in forming a fund to buy a portfolio of businesses to hopefully grow using the Farm Tender network of 56,000 plus members.

It's very preliminary, and I am just checking the interest level.

Once we have established that there is enough interest, we can start an anonymous email group (nobody will be identified) and work through the possibilities.

The start-ups mentioned above have been founded and created by somebody else. They own these start-ups. So for the proposed fund, it would need to buy part or all of each business. This is only if they wanted in and would be subject to due diligence.

Also, we have built an invoicing/payment technology play that is ready to go to market in the next month or so. We could add this to the fund. 

We would also spend some dollars on getting the structure right, and we would need to spend money on other things as well.

We will work out the size of the investment required as we move through.

Although Farm Tender would be a shareholder, the fund would be a separate outfit.

Some of the advantages I see in starting a fund like this include:

• Using the Farm Tender network of 56,000 plus members to give these products exposure and attract customers.
• Use what we have learnt in the past by what has worked (Farm Tender, PAC, Auctions, DelayPay), and what hasn't worked (group buying, Ute Broking etc.)
• We have had some experience in raising both debt and equity funding through our DelayPay business.
• The understanding that you need to market these specialised products to the right audience.
• The opportunity around the growth within Agriculture and the generational change that is currently happening
• The understanding that some of these products can operate in a global Ag market
• It's a technology play within Agriculture, we understand Agriculture
• It will be fun

End of message