We are experiencing a “buoyant” market for Agri-FoodTech talent.

Good people are in sharp demand. Every candidate I’ve spoken to lately has three or four offers already on the table, more choices than they’ve had for years. Companies unprepared for this lighting hot talent marketplace will watch the top people they hoped to attract float above and beyond their hiring reach.

The talent crunch isn’t surprising considering the massive growth in the Agri-FoodTech sector.

We experienced a phenomenal investment year in 2020 with $30 billion in global funding and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. By the first half of 2021 the sector had already raised $24 billion and most analysts predict 2021 will surpass 2020’s record-breaking investments. We have started seeing the first, of many to come, public offerings, proof in the pudding that Agri-FoodTech is more than just grand ideas.

So we’ve got a brand-new sector emerging as a powerhouse industry, an evolution I’ve written about before, and we’re now experiencing the natural extension of that growth — a hiring bonanza.

To compound the issue, it’s not just growth in Agri-FoodTech that’s contributing to the hiring boom. My colleagues in executive talent tell me it’s find a hiring sector that isn’t exploding at the moment! Legal, technology, life sciences and anything digitally-orientated are experiencing a huge hiring push, much due to Covid. Many companies put their hiring on pause at the start of the pandemic and are just now looking to fill roles that had been left open.

Taken together, this has made find Agri-FoodTech talent even tougher.

As we move into the last quarter of the year, it’s important to have a sense of the hiring marketplace, even if hiring isn’t immediately on your company’s radar. With a hiring scene as competitive as the one we’re in, it’s important to activate a talent pipeline sooner rather than later.

Here’s my snapshot look at the current state of the Agri-FoodTech hiring marketplace, mistakes I see being made, roles that are especially hot and regions that are booming.

Mission-Driven Isn’t Enough

Agri-FoodTech startups make this fundamental hiring mistake time after time — they presume their company’s mission-driven goals will have talent knocking down their doors.

The assumption made is that since employees don’t want just any job these days, they want a job that can make a difference, that their startup will have a line of talent knocking at the door the minute they announce a job opening. But here’s the problem…. The entire Agri-FoodTech sector is mission driven!

Their startup isn’t the only inspiring company working on an amazing solution that will solve climate change, hunger, food waste, environmental damage, nutrition, etc. and what not. Their startup is one of many.

Business Development Officers are In High Demand

With many early-stage Agri-FoodTech startups now moving past their exploratory stage, figuring out how to commercialize their lab-based ideas is the order of the day. For this, they need a chief business development officer (CBDO) — but, not just any warm body will do.

The CBDO is often referred to as the “tiger teeth” of a startup business. They are the person charged with really biting into the heart of a startup’s business model and successfully bringing their technology to the marketplace.

The CBDO must have a unique combination of strategic thinking, relationships, understanding market dynamics and the ability to conceptualize where the startup fits into the marketplace. So, no surprise, it’s not easy to find the right person for a CBDO role.

Agri-FoodTech companies are currently experiencing a narrow talent pool to hire this role from.

Leadership Plus Data-Focused Roles Are Hot

I’m see a lot of Agri-FoodTech companies that are focused on combining biology and data. They are building up massive libraries of data, all part of their value proposition to find that data-driven, ‘needle in the haystack’ solution, pinpointing the right science to the right problem.

This is an innovative idea and needs talent up to the task. The discovery platform building stage for these companies requires a truly unique, multi-disciplinary individual, somebody with the ability to understand biology and science, data analysis and have the leadership capabilities to apply a big picture look.

This is a role requiring an unusual combination of skills, hence hard to find.

There is big demand for key CFO and CTO positions

Chief Financial Officers (CFO) and Chief Technical Officers (CTO) are very much in high demand, as we first identified in our 2020 AgriFoodTech salary survey, the first-ever salary survey conducted specific to the Agri-FoodTech sector.

Agri-FoodTech companies need finance professionals that have their roots into different piles of capital, they’re looking for CFO’s that can bring new ideas and new networks into the continuous drive to raise capital. I’m also seeing companies hiring CFO’s specifically to bring rigor to their operational processes. Basically, both types of CFO’s are in high demand.

The Chief Technical Officer (CTO) is needed to take the technology from the lab and through the regulatory hurdles and challenges on the road to market. The CTO is also charged with finding the right manufacturing partners to begin scaling up. CTO’s work closely with the CBDO and are a product of the same shifting demand in the startup evolution.

As initial concept moves into market realities these specific roles are crucial to a company’s success.  Considering how active the Agri-FoodTech sector is right now, I don’t foresee the demand for CTO’s lightening up anytime soon.

Pay Attention to Your Location

Tech hubs, like Boston and San Francisco, are seeing salaries for scientists in executive positions going through the roof.

Talent in these areas (or those willing to move there) with the right combination of science background plus leadership experience can pick and choose their next position and may be tempted away from your company but an attractive offer!

Locating your company in a tech hub can offer advantages, just be prepared to be competitive and make sure to keep your talent happy once you’ve secured it. The competition is fierce for scientists with leadership abilities.

Don’t Get Discouraged, Agri-FoodTech is in Demand!

Facing this talent squeeze can be daunting for a young and growing startup business. One more hurdle amongst many! But take heart in why this ‘buoyant’ hiring market is happening in the first place — Agri-FoodTech is a sector of the future.

That’s a much better place to be hiring from than a dying industry looking at layoffs and tightening belts. Even though they may have lots of jobs to choose from, these are positions that the brightest and most motivated people are looking for. And the Agri-FoodTech sector is inspiring, full of the sort of companies they want to work for.