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| Begonia serratipetala |
The Venture
Capital Method of Growing Plants.
Venture capital dominates the
business news because the unicorn stories are so spectacular. The ventures that lost capital are not discussed. One winner, 100 losers. The one successful idea takes the money –
non-refundable- and becomes the category king.
All other ventures cease to exist.
Can we find new plants to introduce
to the gardening public with the venture capital model?
We look for new plants, continually,
in the hopes of finding the next big sparkling plant that blows up on the internet.
New houseplants are hard to find,
but the Etsy, eBay, Facebook system has allowed plant collectors who are
experts with a few plants to sell their new ones for high prices. The speed of the internet has revolutionized
the distribution of rare plants. Yeh.
So, what does venture capital have
to do with this?
Since I never know which new plant
will catch on to be the ‘Hot’ plant of the month, I must buy a lot and hope one
rises to the top. The remainders can
ride along as average. Sometime later,
one or two may zoom to the top. Or fade
away.
Where do these plants come from?
New species are being found all the time. There are described species that are put into
cultivation and determined to be commercially sought after. Hybridizers introduce great new clones all
the time. Some are better.
So, if new clones are for sale on the
internet for hundreds of dollars, how much venture capital should be risked
looking for the one plant that will pay off all the other losers?
