fifth town artisan cheese co

Fifth Town: Cheese On A Mission Entrepreneurship 101, MaRS Feb 1st, 2011

Artisan Cheese Maker

Cheese on a Mission!

• Demonstrate possibilities of sustainable

commerce and small scale dairying

• Catalyst for change: improving access to

wholesome, authentic, locally and

sustainably produced food

• Bringing diverse walks of life together by

working together to bridge divides...

• 1. Green Cheese – Platinum LEED certification

– Green packaging

– Eco-friendly cleaners

• 2. Fine Cheese/Raw Milk Aged Cheese – Fresh, local, whole milk (Support small local family farms)

– Hand made/small batches

– Unique cheese make/aging strategies

• 3. Fair Cheese (Fair Trade Contracts) – Happy animals, Happy Farmers, Happy Employees, Happy Customers

– Price per litre that allows producers to elevate quality, grow and prosper

• 4. Clean Cheese – Ont/Fed licensed/HACCP

• 5. County Cheese – Bringing out County and adjacent region’s terroir

FT Purpose Driven Business

What is Fifth Town?

Whey/Waste Water Treatment Constructed Wetland

Farm Partners

LEED

Accountability: 3rd Party Certification

ISO 140001

(Self Reporting)

Going Global: Sharing Knowledge with

Like Minded Communities Around the

Globe

• WAITUHI

KURATAU

DAIRY Ltd

(MATATOKI

DAIRY)

• Maori Trust

Organization

Mapuche (Chile)

Teaching

Sustainable

Cheesemaking

and Sheep Milk

Dairying

Philanthropic Work

Canadian Nature Conservancy ROSE HOUSE MUSEUM

Community Investment LOCAL NOT FOR PROFITS

• P.E.C. Kid’s Soccer Sponsor

Wellington’s Women’s Institute

Prince Edward County Theatre Festival

Prince Edward County Rotary Club Annual

Fundraiser for Picton Hospital

Prince Edward County 4-H Youth Club

Edith Fox Centre for Loss & Lambs for Children

Slow Food Prince Edward County

Ann Farwell Library Fundraiser in Milford

Al Purdy Fundraiser, Picton

Kingston Symphony Orchestra Fundraiser

PEFAC (Prince Edward Fitness & Aquatic Centre)

Fundraiser

Big Brother’s and Sisters of Clarington Fundraiser

Trenton Memorial Hospital Gala Fundraiser

Kiwanis Club of Ottawa Fundraiser

Canadian National Institute for the Blind

Art Space Fundraiser, Peterborough

ARTS ORGANIZATIONS

• Ontario College of Art & Design Student Fundraiser

Shelter Valley Folk Festival

• Ontario College of Art & Design Student Fundraiser

Shelter Valley Folk Festival

EDUCATION

• Roots Program at PECI (Prince Edward County

Collegiate Institute)

PECI Fundraiser

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT /AGRICULTURE SUPPORT

• International Goat Symposium (Lindsay)

Ontario Dairy Sheep Association

Ontario Cheese Society

Queen’s University /Moneisson Centre for Knowledge

Impact on Society Research

Queen’s University CURA Project for the Innovation and

Sustainability in Creative Rural Communities (Industry

Partner)

American Cheese Society

Central Ontario Cheese Makers Association

GREEN/ENVIRONMENTAL

• Halton Conservation Foundation Fundraiser

Green Enterprise Toronto

SWITCH Kingston

• Canadian Nature Conservancy

Awards

• 31 Cheese Awards including 5

Grand Champion Awards and

Top Specialty Cheese Maker

• Outstanding Contribution to

Agriculture

Prince Edward-Hastings, 2008

• Premier’s Award for Agri-

Food Innovation

May 2009

• Marketing Awards: Fifth Town

Logo/Stationary Design,

Canadian Advertising and

Design Award

2005

• Canadian Wood Council

WoodWorks Award

November 2008

• Design Exchange, Staff

Pick Award

November 25th, 2008

• Platinum LEED

accreditation

February, 2009

• Ontario Concrete

Architectural Merit Award

2008

• GeoExchange Excellence

and Leadership Award

November 17th, 2008

• Elizabeth Murray Award

for Construction

Excellence

Marketing Awards

Ads as service to

communities of interest…

FT Growth

• 5 to 16 FTE

• 20+ in Summer

• 3 to 7 Farms

• 5000/customers/week

• $500K in FT store

• 1 to 8 Distributors

• Sobeys

Transformation

Umm. I love you

but...WTF IS THAT

Mommy!?????

Our Broken Food System

• 1/3 of hospital stays food related illness incl 1/3 of all cancers, ½ heart disease and 2/3 diabetes

• 1/3 Waste costs food related

• Significant Environmental Costs

• Threat to food sovereignty growing

Enormous

Hidden Costs

• Food industry employs people across spectrum of ability

• Can employ many groups/marginlized groups

• Part of Cultural Industries (like books, magazines, movies)

• Signficant contributor to rural economies

Under-Recognized

Social Benefit Opportunity

Food & Environment?

First Client

Greatest Key To Success

Unexpected Challenges

Finding A Great Team

Raising Money ($3.6M)

Institutional

30%

• BDC

• PELA

• TD LOC ($150)

Personal

35%

• 50/50 shareholders

Growth Financing

• Private Equity/no shares

• Private Equity/no shares

Things I wish I knew 1. Get good legal advice at start up.

Don’t scrimp on this!

2. Plan for shareholder disputes and

include resolution mechanisms in

By Laws Up Front

3. Plan for challenges to mission

/purpose when going gets tough

4. Get independent Directors

5. Cultivate future buyers for

shareholders who want to exit as

ongoing activity

Inspire People?

Biggest Opportunities FOOD

Distribution

Quality

Artisan

Science

AGRICULTURE

Science

Human Scale/Profitable

Sustainable

FACILITATION & EDITING

Credible selection

Bringing people together

Piece of Advice

•Get good lawyer

•Have supportive life

partner

•Work at being

realistic, comfortable

with conflict, and be

always open.

• Be balanced

because it’s a

lifestyle made up of

wild rides.

Entrepreneur?

Today

www.zugunruhe.ca

Entrepreneur’s Playlist

MY PLAYLIST!

1. Natura (Bjork)

2. Something Good to Show (Terra

Naomi)

3. I Have A Dream (ABBA)

4. F**kin Perfect (PINK)

5. Livin ‘ On A Prayer (Bon Jovi)

6. Sleep’in is All I Want to Do (The

Duhks)

7. Price Tag (Jesse James)

8. Trouble Is A Friend (Lenka)

9. Who By Fire (Leanard Cohen)

10.I Did it All (Tracy Chapman)