Turned International Agriculture LLC Pitch Deck Teardown

Turned International Agriculture LLC: A High-Stakes Bet on Turkish Hemp

The pitch deck for Turned International Agriculture LLC is a study in ambition versus infrastructure. Seeking a significant $20 million for a greenfield project in Turkey, the deck attempts to bridge the gap between a massive agricultural vision and a pre-operational reality. The following teardown examines the 13-slide presentation in detail.

Slides 1-3: The Macro Vision

The deck opens with a title slide (Slide 1) that defines the company's scope broadly: cannabis development for medical and recreational use, dispensing, product branding, and lifestyle developments. This sets a wide net for a company that later focuses primarily on industrial hemp.

Slide 2, titled 'Introduction,' makes a case for domestic hemp production, though it frames the argument from an American perspective. It claims that U.S. cultivation would 'trim the price by 75 percent.' This is a curious inclusion given that the company's actual plan is to grow in Turkey, not the United States. It suggests the company may be targeting the U.S. as an export market, though this is not explicitly stated.

Slide 3, 'The Big Idea,' lists the benefits of hemp, ranging from paper and medicine to car parts and insulation. It emphasizes the environmental benefits, noting that hemp produces oxygen and reduces CO2. This slide serves as a general industry primer rather than a specific company value proposition.

Slides 4-6: The Business Model and The Ask

Slide 4 identifies 'The Problem' in a non-traditional way. Instead of identifying a market gap or a customer pain point, it states that the problem is that the company is a 'new business start-up' looking for 'equity capital.' This is a meta-problem; it describes the founder's hurdle rather than the market's need.

Slide 5, 'Business Location and Startup,' provides the most concrete details of the plan. The company intends to cultivate 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) near Antalya, Turkey. The scale is immense, with a goal of vegetating up to 200,000,000 plants. This slide establishes the company as a large-scale agricultural play.

Slide 6 presents 'The Solution,' which is surprisingly not the business itself, but the method of fundraising. The company states its intent to use Crowdfunder.com to raise capital. Dedicating a full slide to a third-party fundraising platform is unusual and may signal to professional investors that the founders lack a direct network of high-net-worth individuals or VCs.

Slides 7-9: Market Analysis and SWOT

Slide 7 provides market context, noting that 47 countries cultivate hemp, with Canada, China, Chile, France, and North Korea being the largest producers. It mentions that U.S. acreage reached record levels in 2017, which helps date the deck's data points.

Slide 8 cites Grand View Research, projecting a global industrial hemp market of $10.6 billion by 2025 with a 14% CAGR. This is standard 'market size' slide fare, intended to show the 'size of the prize.'

Slide 9 is a SWOT analysis. The 'Strengths' listed are 'knowledge and experience of stakeholders,' which is difficult to verify given the team slide that follows. The 'Weaknesses' section is remarkably honest, citing a 'lack of stable funding' and 'limited resources for the many jobs to undertake.' The 'Threats' section correctly identifies the regulatory and branding confusion between hemp and marijuana as a significant headwind.

Slides 10-13: Team, Funds, and Contact

Slide 10, 'Our Team,' is perhaps the most critical slide in the deck. It features one person, Mr. Oezler (Dino) Yildirim, who holds the titles of Treasurer, CFO, CCO, and Secretary. The slide explicitly states: 'For now, no staff has been employed.' For a $20 million ask, the absence of an agronomist, a local Turkish operations lead, or a legal expert in international trade is a glaring omission.

Slide 11, 'Funds Required,' breaks down the $20,000,000 request. $15,000,000 is for land and licenses, $3,000,000 for the plant startup and 'peat delving,' and $2,000,000 for the final stage. There is no mention of working capital, marketing, or payroll, which is consistent with the 'no staff' statement on the previous slide.

Slide 12 provides contact information, including a Netherlands-based phone number and a '.eu' web domain, despite the operations being in Turkey. Slide 13 is a standard 'Thank You' slide.

What Turned International Agriculture LLC Does Well

Clarity of Scale: The deck does not shy away from the massive scale of the project. Stating a goal of 200 million plants and 12,000+ acres (Slide 5) clearly positions this as an industrial-scale play rather than a boutique farm. · Honest SWOT: The SWOT analysis (Slide 9) is more transparent than most. Admitting that the company lacks stable funding and that the industry has limited resources for the tasks required shows a level of realism regarding the startup's current state. · Specific Location: Choosing Antalya, Turkey (Slide 5) gives the project a concrete geographic anchor, which is better than a vague 'international' strategy.

What is Missing from the Deck

Management Depth: A $20 million agricultural project cannot be run by one person holding four titles. The deck lacks a Chief Operations Officer, a Head of Cultivation, and legal counsel familiar with Turkish land and cannabis laws. · Financial Projections: There are no revenue forecasts, EBITDA projections, or timelines for when the $20 million investment might see a return. Investors have no way to calculate the potential ROI. · Unit Economics: The deck does not explain the cost to produce one pound or kilogram of hemp versus the expected market price. Without these numbers, the $20 million land purchase is just a real estate play with no clear business utility. · Regulatory Roadmap: Hemp and cannabis are highly regulated. The deck mentions buying 'licenses' (Slide 11) but does not explain the current status of Turkish hemp legislation or whether the company has already secured preliminary approvals. · Operational Timeline: There is no Gantt chart or milestone list. It is unclear how long it takes to go from 'buying land' to 'finished product.'

What a Founder Should Copy

Direct Use of Funds: The table on Slide 11 is a good example of how to clearly state what you want to do with the money. While the categories are broad, the breakdown is easy to read and totals the exact ask. · Market Sourcing: Citing reputable sources like Grand View Research (Slide 8) adds a layer of credibility to the market size claims, even if the company itself is in the early stages. · Visual Consistency: The deck maintains a consistent green and grey color palette that fits the agricultural theme without being overly distracting.

Final Analysis

The Turned International Agriculture LLC deck is a 'vision-first' document. It identifies a large market opportunity and a specific location to exploit it, but it fails to provide the operational or financial evidence required to secure a $20 million investment. The reliance on a single individual to manage all C-suite functions and the admission that no staff exists makes the $20 million ask appear premature. For a project of this magnitude, investors would typically expect to see a fully formed leadership team and a detailed five-year financial model before committing capital.