Want to add a fun, new element to your monotonous corporate video conference meetings?
If yes, you can now rent farm animals for a cameo appearance into your company calls for less than $100.
Sweet Farm, a non-profit animal sanctuary in Half Moon Bay, California, through its initiative, Goat 2 Meeting, is offering people working from home to let farm animals like goats, llamas or any other barn animal to join in on a live corporate video call.
The current global coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown have forced employees working from the home turn to video call apps like Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and others to carry out face-to-face meetings and conversations.
Co-founded by tech entrepreneurs Nate Salpeter and Anna Sweet in 2016, Sweet Farm promotes the humane treatment of rescued farm animals. These “animals ambassadors spread the message that they deserve our compassion and respect, and help educate farm visitors around issues related to animal welfare, factory farming, and sustainability,” reads Sweet Farm’s website.
Sweet Farm also runs agricultural programs that educate local families on plant-based living, while feeding low-income families and farmers. Additionally, it has also raised over US$5 million in funds to support start-ups who are working to make their food system more compassionate and sustainable on a global scale.
#Getoffyourgrass and bring us to your next company meeting, happy hour, or coffee break with #Goat2Meeting and you enable us to offer free virtual visits for public school classes. @LastWeekTonight pic.twitter.com/KHn6mnF64G
— Sweet Farm (@TheSweetFarm) April 10, 2020
“After the coronavirus happened and shelter in place went into effect, we had to completely rethink the way we were driving revenue and executing our mission,” Salpeter told CNN.
“Our board member, Jon Azoff, came up with the idea and said, ‘You know, we’re having so many company meetings and happy hours but they’re all boring. What if we could get a goat or llama on the call’?”
Since the launch of its “Goat 2 Meeting” initiative on March 25, Sweet Farm has completed more than 100 calls and received more than 500 additional requests in less than a month. The non-profit has already booked performances for their animals with Fortune 500 companies and tech start-ups.
According to Salpeter, they have received a “phenomenal” response to the initiative with their call schedule being filled until June. He said, “Sometimes people just want to watch a cow eat grass.”
Because life is stressful, work is stressful, and working remotely can be challenging…. for our daily team Zoom meeting today I had Paco the llama call in from @TheSweetFarm. And it was perfect! Thanks for the Monday smiles and a break from the routine! pic.twitter.com/eB2aEQdvoC
— Ben Smith (@benasmith) March 30, 2020
How Does It Work?
If you want a 20-minute “Virtual Private Tour” of the farm for your family and friends, you need to pay $65 for up to 6 people, whereas you need to pay $100 for a 20 minute “Virtual Group Tour” for unlimited participants.
On the other hand, a 10 minute “Corporate Meeting Cameo” will cost you $100 for unlimited participants, while you can get a 25-minute “Corporate Meeting Virtual Tour” for $250 for unlimited guests. Further, you can avail a 25 minute “VIP Meeting Tour” for unlimited participants, which includes a tour with the farm’s Executive Director to give you a very special view of the farm.
So far, the farm animals that you can include in your Zoom or Google Hangouts or Microsoft Teams conference video calls are the most popular, llamas as well as goats, sheep, pigs, cows, and turkeys.
“I think we’re all a little stressed with what’s going on, many of us have been sitting inside,” Sweet said. “We’re just hoping to bring some smiles to people’s faces, while bringing them out to the farm at the same time.”
If you are interested in booking a Goat 2 Meeting, you can do so by filling out this form on Sweet Farm’s website.
