Joe Madd
Tampa, FL (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
Aquaculturetopia
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Startup
Location:
Tampa
Industry:
Agriculture
Year Founded:
2011
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Business Stage:
Creation/Idea
Entity Type:
Sole Proprietorship
Description:
Our startup company, Aquaculturetopia is located in South Florida. We're looking for all available options to raise $10 Mil in small business funding in order to fuel the growth of our Agriculture business. At this point, Aquaculturetopia currently has annual gross sales in the region of Above $1M. I have included some additional information below relating to the purpose of the funds and the type of funding that I think would be the best fit.
Aquaculturetopia is primarily interested in receiving capital from:
- Equity Funding(Venture Capital, Angel, Private Equity, etc)
We would like to use the funds that are raised for the purposes below:
- Business Acquisition / Franchise Funding
- Equipment Financing
- Operating/Growth Capital(Payroll, Sales & Marketing, etc)
According to FAO statistics, aquaculture's contribution to global supplies of fish, crustaceans and mollusks continues to grow, increasing from 3.9 percent of total production by weight in 1970 to 27.3 percent in 2000. Aquaculture is growing more rapidly than all other food producing sectors. More information on current trends can be found here: (URL removed)
In addition, consuming aqua-cultured fish is much safer due lack of exposure to pollutants and heavy metals normally found in wild-caught variety. Cost to produce per lb is significantly less, and less volatile as well.
I have several years of aquaculture experience and I managed the development and production of several lines of bio-engineered fish.
Due to current economic conditions, opportunities for acquisition/consolidation and modernization/expansion of existing aquaculture facilities are at their best. At the same time, in US and globally, the demand and price of fish as a food crop continue to rise.
The fish produced at this farm would be hybrid striped bass, tilapia, trout, yellow and silver perch, barramundi, and others. New technology almost guarantees maximum yield with proper management.
The initial size of acquired facility would be 500acres. It is already fully functional and successful, however needs modernizing to maximize yield; current owners wish to retire. This facility would be expanded further during growth.
After upgrading and modernizing facility, initial expected yield would be 150,000lbs of fish per species per year. This facility would be expanded due to demand.
I intend to export domestically and globally as population growth has caused massive demand for available seafood, while populations of wild caught fish continue to decline.