As the world grows at a lightning speed, digitalization crafting the marketing scenario in a different way together. Agriculture and technology collaborate and peep through the success window to deliberately deliver new machinery, technology and equipment to provide hassle-free aggregation and other operations. GroGuru is one of the Influential leaders on LinkedIn to watch 2022 and contribute to upraising the AgTech sector.
Following are the highlights of the interview with Patrick Henry:
Kindly brief us about the company and its initial journey.
As complicated as humans are, we have two very basic essential needs: food and water. And as we know, those vital resources are being threatened due to climate change and a growing population. We think the best way to make things better is to start from the ground up – and that’s why we help farmers.
Founded in 2014 as an exciting AgTech company, GroGuru has been on a mission to help farmers to save water, grow more crops in a cost-effective way, and sequester more carbon in the soil by implementing strategic water management solutions. We believe soil monitoring for optimal water management is necessary to yield enough crops to feed our planet, but farmers tend to struggle with making practical irrigation choices. And although soil monitoring methods are out there, they tend to have some problems of their own, and that is where we can help. We feel that we are at the very early stages of what is expected to be a multi-decades long growth market opportunity – expecting to surpass one million deployed acres within the planning cycle of the company
Brief us about you and your role in the company.
I have been a senior executive and serial entrepreneur at four different startup companies with multiple exits. Previously, I have had CEO or senior roles at Quest Fusion, Pictos Technologies, LinCom Wireless, LSI Logic, and C-Cube Microsystems. Earlier in my career, I worked for AMD and Dow-Corning Corp. As the CEO of GroGuru, I drive the overall strategy and operational execution of the company. I am responsible for providing strategic leadership for the company by working with the Board and other management to establish long-range goals, strategies, plans and policies.
Please Tell us about company products/ Services in detail.
Our solution consists of a wireless underground soil sensor (WUGS), which is buried in the root zone for permanent installation. Using machine learning and AI-based soil monitoring, we can determine root growth and depth, available moisture, whether the soil is sand or clay-based, and if the soil has compaction layers. Our insights platform works with our sensors to display real-time data to visualize the root zone and soil structure, a GPS farm-scale view, crop-specific irrigation template guides, and Alternative field telemetry solutions for perennial crops and root vegetables. We then present this information in a simple, intuitive, farmer-friendly user interface that the farmer can access on their mobile device, tablet, or computer.
Could you please share your noted milestones, and accomplishments throughout your journey so far, along with company highlights and achievements under your leadership?
So far, we have Deployed over 4,000 soil sensors across over 20 crop types in the United States, established a dealer footprint that covers 6 million deployable acres, and acquired $620K in revenue in 2020 alone – a huge success in a very difficult economic environment. We are now on our third generation of software as a service and our third generation of the internet of things for farming products. We have formed key strategic partnerships with market leaders in the precision agriculture space, and have many more in the queue eager to work with us.
Where do you see yourself and the company in the future? Or, what is your goal to mark the uniqueness in the future?
Our goal is to establish the GroGuru solution as the de facto standard for irrigation and water monitoring and management for commercial farming in the US and establish a significant global footprint. I’m committed to taking GroGuru to this level or working with a strategic partner that can help to accelerate that vision.
Advice for the entrepreneur who is trying to embark in the same field.
Build a great team with the right business, technical and market domain expertise. Establish a clear vision. Listen to and learn from customers and ecosystem partners. Learn how to sell the vision to investors. Be patient and persistent as you build the business.
What is the one thing that is acting as your motivational tool? Or, who is your role model, and how the person inspires and motivates you?
My faith in God is very important to me. Always working hard to be a better man and strive for excellence. I have many mentors, and two who are both investors in GroGuru and successful serial entrepreneurs are Rory Moore, the CEO of EvoNexus, and Pieter van Rooyen, the CEO of Plano. They both provide me with mentorship, encouragement and inspiration.