436. DIAL Ventures’ Allan Gray on their new $30M fund, supporting entrepreneurship + creating the next wave of agbioscience innovation

Since its inception, Purdue DIAL Ventures has run six studio cycles and built an impressive portfolio of companies – including Gripp, Croft, Oaken, FIeldist and Aerton – now valued at over $30 million. This week, Executive Director Allan Gray joins us to talk the launch of their Fund II (which is now underway) and how his team’s model uniquely supports company creation.  

Highlights include:  

• An overview of the work at Purdue DIAL Ventures and how their work improves the food system while enabling farmer success 
• The gap identified in the market that led to the organization’s creation 
• DIAL’s unique value and how they can deliver on things others cannot 
• How their Fund I set the tone for Allan’s team to move forward in terms of market validation and success 
• Fund II – it's timeline, deployment pace and kickoff for the studio 
• How Allan sees Fund II comparing to the first in terms of mechanics and how they approach company creation 
• The relationships with partners and how they create investable and scalable innovation that serves a broader market 
• Milestones Allan likes to see hit in order to feel like innovation is derisked 
• Trends and themes Allan sees as prevalent in the next fund to meet the needs of an evolving industry 
• Allan’s list of hopeful outcomes for Fund II 
• What’s ahead