Seedlings

As the economy continues to sour, is Cargill afraid that theEVentures group was a good idea that came at a bad time? Ifso, no one's admitting it. Despite a 25 percent drop inCargill corporate earnings from 2000 to 2001, Sayre says,the company remains committed to the incubator and iswilling to wait for EVentures' payoff. (According to IDC'sWeber, that's a luxury that comes with being a privatecompany.) And though Cargill won't disclose financialresults for its new investments, executives do offer somehopeful tidbits: GSX has traded more than 1 million metrictons of steel, for example, while Rooster.com's cropmarketing system is continuing to gain acceptance.

"The curious thing is that a lot of people go on Internettime in terms of expecting results. But building solidcompanies just can't get done on Internet time," says Sayre.

Adkins applauds that attitude. "The fact of the matter isthat growing a substantial business can't be done in a shortamount of time," she says. "We've heard a lot of hype overthe last two or three years based on a fantasy world."

And IDC's Weber thinks Cargill may just be able to cutthrough that hype. Cargill has surpassed many othercorporate incubators in its ability to integrate smart ideasinto its strategy, such as involvement in their advisoryboards and use of industry connections to help theirportfolio companies tailor their offerings, she says.

Sayre admits that EVentures is prepared for some winners andsome losers. "That's no different from any other venturefund perspective," he adds. But it is a far cry from theincubator climate of the last few years. With some time ontheir hands, the EVentures group is waiting and seeing. It'snot such a bad fate. While they're waiting, they can alwaysplay foosball.