Link to the article

• Many enterprises in the real sector face specific problems in the conditions of ongoing economic turbulence.
• Daria Novgorodkina, CEO of AgroGloryTime, talks about the company she represents.
• AgroGloryTime is a Ukrainian agricultural holding that introduced a blockchain-based fundraising model.

Successful investment attraction is one of the key factors contributing to business development and scaling. Given the ongoing period of economic turbulence, many businesses in the real sector are facing specific challenges along the way. The most obvious option - the attraction of borrowed bank funds - often turns out to be a rather risky tool, as it imposes the burden of financial obligations on the borrower.
Uncertainty in stable demand, caused by the slowdown in the pace of economic development in many developed countries, forces business owners to approach the assessment of potential risks more carefully.
However, today's speaker Daria Novgorodkina does not share the general pessimism. The company she represents, AgroGloryTime, is a large Ukrainian agricultural holding, which forces their business to stay abreast of market conditions, given the looming global food crisis. Aware of the opportunities for growth and the high social responsibility placed on food manufacturers, Mrs. Novgorodkina, as the head of the enterprise, logically faced the challenge of expanding production.
Instead of applying for a bank loan, they developed a tokenization model for their $50 million business that aims to raise funds directly. Their own token, AGTI, not only serves as an investment asset, but also provides its holders with a guaranteed share in the company's profits. Because AGTI is tied to the company's real assets, its investors receive quarterly payouts equal to their stake. And these payments, according to the economic model of AgroGloryTime, provide a total return of at least 25% per year.
Read the full interview with Darya Novgorodkina below.

Q. Looking through the project documentation, I see that there are no tokens dedicated to the team. How do you plan to earn in this case?

Let me start with an important note that AgroGloryTime is an established agribusiness that generates steady income. At the time of issuing the AGTI token, our capitalization already exceeded $50 million. The company is officially registered at the location of the land assets in Ukraine, and its shares are in public circulation. Since AGTI is backed by a fixed equivalent of the company's shares, we guarantee its owners to receive their share of AgroGloryTime's profits.

Q. Where does your profit share come from?

We, as owners of the enterprise, receive 100% of the income from its products. According to our model, which is described on our website, we are ready to direct up to 75% of the company's profit to pay out income to token holders. And 25% still remains with us. But after attracting a sufficient amount of funds, this part in monetary equivalent will many times exceed the current turnover of the company. Therefore, it is a win-win!

Q. Won't this reduce AGTI's profitability as you sell more tokens?

Of course, and we do not hide it. However, there is one nuance that should be mentioned. As you remember, we attract financing for investments in business development. Recently, I talked in some detail about the wide range of promising projects we are working on. The fact is that by developing our production capacity, we increase productivity, and therefore earn more. Not only the number of beneficiaries increases, but also the pie itself. And you can be sure that demand and sales channels will always be found. Especially if we bear in mind the current situation on the global and domestic Ukrainian food market.

Q. How do you deliver purchased tokens to their new owners, because the smart contract is not yet launched?

Yes, that's true. We are currently in the pre-sale stage. In August we release a big update and the tokens will appear in the personal accounts of buyers so that they can get all the necessary information there about their distribution, profit and so on. As soon as the contract is concluded, we will transfer AGTI to users' wallets.

Q. But will there be payouts for tokens already at this stage?

V.: Of course. The sale has already started and has been going on for several months, and the first dividends to those who purchased tokens before the end of July will be paid in stablecoins in the fall. Further payments will be made quarterly.

Q. How soon can we expect AGTI to appear on CEX and DEX?

I think the vesting period will be at least a year. Until it appears on the stock exchanges, investors will not be able to sell it. We will devote this time to working with the community, demonstrating the effectiveness of our model and, of course, business development. Finally, we will meet our dividend payment obligations. And this, we hope, will be the strongest argument. After that, we will wait for a more optimistic situation on the crypto market and release AGTI into free circulation.

Q. How is the audience reacting to your project, given that it is different from most blockchain startups?

Great question. And you rightly noticed that AgroGloryTime has its own specifics. We are an offline company and we are focused on growing our real, shall we say, analog business. Of course, entering the crypto market with our own token, we strive to make the process of interaction with investors as transparent as possible. This is why we are constantly working on the site and the future AgroGloryTime DAO, which is also on our roadmap. In general, there are many plans and tasks, and I am glad that we are on schedule.

Q. How do you interact with an international audience, and how important is that to you?

It is very important! That is why, choosing among all fundraising tools, we settled on blockchain technology. From a technical point of view, we are ready to work and are already working with investors from all over the world as part of the pre-sale campaign. I would conventionally divide our current audience into domestic and global. And we aim to communicate and highlight the interests of both of these audiences on AgroGloryTime's social media channels. At the first stage, quite a lot of Ukrainian investors supported us. This is not surprising, because our company is well known in the country. And the potential for agriculture in our region is practically unlimited. Therefore, as soon as such an opportunity appeared, interest appeared. I feel we are on the right track.