The Growing Agriculture Technology Entrepreneurship (GATE) program prepares AgTech innovators with business skills to engage in meaningful communication with the people and organizations who can help fund the growth of an early-stage business.

The cohort will meet weekly throughout the semester as they go through the process of becoming investor-ready. They will develop skills to ensure they are designing the right product, providing evidence of a market and showing investors that they have a compelling opportunity to offer.

Over 10 weeks, teams will work on a variety of topics including business models, customer discovery, intellectual property and pitching. The top pitches will automatically be entered into the final round for the N.C. Plant Science Initiative’s new pitch competition in November.

Who is eligible to apply?

NC State students and faculty working on agriculture technology innovations are eligible to apply.

GATE Program Topics

• Overview of innovation and entrepreneurship
• Business plan, model and pitches
• Intellectual property and product/market fit
• Customer discovery
• Market analysis
• Operations and sales
• Finance
• Legal and regulatory
• Networking
• Practice pitch
• Semi-finals for PSI competition