William Pape of Longmont, Colorado, was one of the 15 entrepreneurs at the Ag Innovators Showcase this week in St. Louis. When I introduced myself seeking an interview about his new business, TraceGains, Pape’s face lit up and he told me that he listens to Brownfield when he drives through Iowa. Interestingly, Pape, who currently has interest in a couple of cattle operations, was formerly an owner of VeriFone, the electronic system that made possible the worldwide use of credit cards. Pape was also the developer of (and for this, I give him my humble thanks) the spell checker, which, he says was eventually adopted by all word processing platforms except for one. That one, he said without naming it, no longer exists.
TraceGains is technology that allows trace back of food and ag products to “first mile” producers. Pape is typical of the innovative spirit among the presenters at the Showcase. This was the first Showcase and organizers seem confident there will be more. Presenters, the entrepreneurs invited to the event, were each given a few minutes to make pitches to potential investors and then networked with them individually. It was held in the impressive Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.
-Tom Steever



