Agriculture and rural businesses and startups are now outfitted with a new resource entirely dedicated to providing them with the tools they need to launch and scale their new ventures. That resource? Roots Venture Group, Inc.

Roots Venture Group is Nebraska’s first ever 100 percent-focused incubator, accelerator, and venture fund dedicated to launching and growing companies within the agricultural and rural industries, including areas such as tech, non-tech, lifestyle, and tech-enabled businesses and startups. Their focus is to work with founders that are keen on transforming the agriculture sector, rural communities in a sustainable manner and make an impactful societal and systemic change.

The organization was created by founder Carlos Estrada, an entrepreneur and Kauffman Champion, and is proud to have partnered with successful entities and individuals, like Matthew Wegener from Turbine Flats. “We are fortunate that our companies will benefit from his background and network in agriculture, as well as in his experience building and helping companies from the ground up,” Estrada said.

Further, Roots Ventures Group is thrilled to equip its startups with equity funding from Prairie Crest Capital. Prairie Crest will provide the seed investments, follow-on funding, and priced rounds. Prairie Crest Capital is led by Mark White and Barry Adams who leverage over sixty years of combined experience in marketing, operations, and finance, their focus is to help startups achieve breakthrough objectives, obtain multiple rounds of financing and enable them to become impactful companies. “Tapping into their expertise and a national agriculture-focused network is a massive win for Nebraskan entrepreneurs,” said Estrada.

Roots Ventures Group offers two funding options to best cater to the needs of founders.

Their second fund option caters to business where the traditional equity investment structure doesn’t work. The focus is on giving entrepreneurs more control over their company and culture, not less. “This allows us to serve entrepreneurs that would misguidedly fall in the “lifestyle” category,” said Estrada.

With the goal in mind to cater to and nurture each founder’s vision, Roots Venture Group does more than just provide funding. This organization also offers Incubator Boot Camp programs that provide cutting-edge training and professional nurturing of the entrepreneurial mindset, a Minimum Viable Product In-House Tech Shop, and an Experiential Bootcamp and Lifelong Learning Cohort Accelerator with the highest valued content, mentors, and partners rolled into each program.

In the Roots Ventures Group model, companies will access content when it’s relevant to them through short, hands-on boot camps that are rigorous and intensive. “Asking and expecting founders to leave their lives behind to go through training for weeks is asking them to leave their responsibilities behind like a family that depends on them,” said Estrada.

Roots Venture Group plans to offer several boot camp options as well as grant new businesses special access to professional, experienced mentors and VIP access to networking opportunities within their industry. But this doesn’t expire – once a startup becomes a part of the Roots Venture Group family, they attain lifetime access and are permanently invited to apply for other modules, boot camps, training sessions, and more.