Farmers and small food producers are increasingly savvy about marketing their own products and very often need investors to help move their business to the next level. John's experience in this niche is exceptional and he will introduce the basic concepts necessary when approaching potential funders. All class attendees will receive a free copy of the Slow Money Primer, authored by John.

You can pay at the door, but please RSVP for this event.

John Friedman is an attorney specializing in corporate development for entrepreneurial and emerging businesses in the sustainable agriculture and technology industries.  John represents farms, software companies, telecommunications carriers, food processors and packagers, and restaurants throughout the US.  He counsels clients refining their business plans, creating financial models, raising outside capital, developing and maintaining distribution channels, and seeing to their other transactional, regulatory and litigation needs.  From 1996 until 2001 John was at various times the general counsel, president and chairman of Empire One Telecommunications.  Prior to Empire One, he was associate director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business where he remains a senior research fellow.  An adjunct law professor (Hofstra University School of Law 2002 – 2008; Albany Law School 2009 – present), John was appointed to the Columbia County (NY) Ethics Board, and sits on the board of, and serves as treasurer of, Columbia County Habitats for Humanity, Inc.  Admitted to the New York State Bar in 1996, he earned his JD from the Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and his BA from the State University of New York at Albany.  He is a member of the American Agricultural Law Association, Slow Food, and the Slow Money Alliance.

This event is co-sponsored by the Columbia Land Conservancy

Conserving Rural Landscapes and Connecting People to the Land