When the Levee Breaks with Simon Evill:

In this episode of Gut the System I am walking and talking to Simon Evill, co-founding partner of Pelican Ag. An early-stage VC who invest from farm to fork, looking to scale regenerative farming, develop smart, local supply chains and drive sustainable consumer habits. In an industry that relies on innovation and distributive technologies, to catalyse the path to regenerative systems, early stage venture capital is crucial for start-ups, in order to reach the scale and capital they need to execute on their pioneering work. Pelican Ag were one of, if not the first, VC firm in the UK to be working with regeneration at the core of their manifesto.

This is by no means the sum of Simon. A childhood spent elbow deep in 'Berkeley Compost,' producing biodynamic fruit and veg, sprouted deep roots into soil and ecosystems, a theme he would return to later in his career. Pre-seeding Pelican, Simon had a foundational early career, breaking the wave of Impact Investing at Clearly So. It was this experience, of seeing how well place capital can be catalytic for change, coupled with a growing frustration with the manifesto and criteria used by the impact investing community that led Simon to where he is today. Simon is now a key figure in the global regenerative transformation we're marching towards, championing and investing in companies that deliver more than IRR but deliver for nature, farming and health.

Over the last few years, going deep into regeneration, Simon has become an industry spokesman for importance of restoring the water cycle, big and small and why water is the foundational building block for true systems change. Simon and his co-founding partner, Christopher Ramsey, now dedicate a large proportion of their time to educating and sharing the important work of water pioneers like Walter Jehne and Alpha Low.

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Show notes:

Didi Pershouse

Walter Jehne - The Soil Carbon Sponge

Alpha Lo - What if water is more important that carbon

Natalie M Fleming

Millan Millan

Psedomonas syringae

Richard Wain

The Lean Start-up

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