USA - NEW YORK STATE - Ellicottville Greens’ Investors Discuss Why They Backed The Company
By Dan Miner – Reporter, Buffalo Business First
March 10, 2021
Andrea Vossler, partner at Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP | JOED VIERA
Ellicottville Greens crossed a major hurdle facing many growth-oriented startups recently when it pulled in a $1 million round of Series A funding from local angel investors.
How did co-founders Gabe Bialkowski and Sal LaTorre convince angels to move cash into their bank account in exchange for an ownership percentage of the business?
The answer lies somewhere at the intersection of familiarity, talent, and foresight, according to Scott Friedman, chairman of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman law firm, and Andrea Vossler, a partner at that firm.
The duo, who invest through Varia Ventures, were the lead funders in Ellicottville Greens’ round.
Bialkowski is a computer science graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology who has been in and out of several startups in the last decade, including a startup in Los Angeles that successfully raised seed capital.
“We worked with Gabe in the past and we find him to be bright, entrepreneurial, and collaborative,” Friedman said. “To build a great company requires real teamwork and Gabe is open to building a great team.”
Scott Friedman, chairman of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP | JOED VIERA
The “bet the jockeys” mantra is a common beat among angel investors, who know that even the best ideas will face challenges requiring human ingenuity to overcome.
The model itself was also at the right place for an angel investment round, Vossler said. Ellicottville Greens builds organic vertical farms in shipping containers – making them cost-effective and mobile. It already has four such units in operation, allowing the team to show real-world evidence of its theoretical premise.
The company positions itself at the cutting-edge of a hot consumer trend, which is the ability to offer fresh and locally sourced produce. Its mobile units can be placed directly on a customers’ premises – an idea with major potential in the grocery space.
Ellicottville Greens' Container Farms | ELLICOTTVILLE GREENS
And finally, it uses technology to support production and operations and uses established e-commerce channels such as Produce Peddlers and Off the Muck.
“It’s an ag-tech startup in a massive market that’s continuing to grow,” Vossler said. “Gabe is taking a fairly straightforward business model and wrapping it with technology, utilizing the shipping containers to push down costs and creating significant efficiencies around the delivery of the product.”
Ellicottville Greens completed a $250,000 seed round of funding last year from Launch NY and other local angels. Bialkowski aired his company’s progress at a Jan. 27 web presentation in front of the Western New York Venture Association.
He surpassed many of his own growth and financial milestones for the year in the first quarter.
The mix of attractive leadership, market, and rapid growth was how Ellicottville Greens crossed the finish line on its Series A round. The idea, of course, is that the real race has just begun.
“As he continues to build his team and get traction, we don’t think there is any limit to the potential for this company,” Friedman said.
IN THIS ARTICLE Andrea Vossler Person Banking & Financial