Continuing with our Startups in Spotlight series, we feature Sydney-based Sprout Stack, an eco-friendly agtech startup that provides communities with fresh produce to help them live healthier, richer lives.
Established in 2016, Sprout Stack relies on revolutionary practices of growing fresh produce through cutting-edge urban farming and indoor agriculture methods as well as through a network of skilled Australian farmers.
We spoke with Francisco Caffarena, Sprout Stack CEO, to share a few pointers on what makes the agtech startup a resounding success.
Here is a sneak peek at Sprout Stack:
The Humble Beginnings
Before Sprout Stack materialized into a fully-fledged business, Francisco worked in the agriculture industry in both Argentina and Australia where he became acquainted with agricultural farming methods and practices. Francisco explains:
I am an Agricultural Engineer, from Argentina. I have worked in primary agriculture for over 10 years, related to broadacre and intensive crops. Later I moved into distribution and sales.
His decade’s worth of experience along with his career in business management gave Francisco the wealth of knowledge required to plant the seeds of his agtech startup Sprout Stack.
Pruning for Efficiency
Although Sprout Stack was founded on a unique idea, it was nevertheless far from being efficient. After setting up the business, Sprout Stack faced two major problems: food wastage and high supply chain costs.
This motivated Francisco to streamline his operations and make his supply chain much more efficient and sustainable by pioneering innovative technology into its indoor farming system.
Overtime, Sprout Stack had undergone additional adjustments, such as monetization and investment, whilst keeping its core principles intact. Such tweaks to the business model come as a necessary yet healthy means of adapting to new opportunities.
Key Milestones and Achievements
Since its inception in 2016, Sprout Stack has quickly carved out its reputation as a revolutionary agtech food startup company in the Australian market. By keeping its technology in-house, it has been able to launch and market more than 8 different products through a highly cost-effective supply chain.
Its groundbreaking business model and a commitment to environmentally-friendly vision have attracted wide press coverage from Daily Telegraph and The Australian.
Presently, Sprout Stack is in the process of raising a second round of funding for new technology and operations.
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Secret to Overcoming Challenges
Despite its strong start, Sprout Stack has stumbled upon a number of challenges over the years. Some of these include unexpected costs, difficulty in hiring the best talent, and finding the right product-market fit.
In the face of these difficulties, Sprout Stack remained firm in its foundations to live up to its ethos as a green food startup. On this, Francisco explains that:
I guess the biggest challenge we had was not to give up when difficulties arose and believe in the ideas behind your Startup.
Overcoming these challenges meant adopting a leaner approach to operations and making sure each product had enough market demand to achieve sales and profits. Francisco then scrutinized product development cycles for each product and testing them before going full-scale.
This approach eventually helped breathe life back to Sprout Stack’s profitability by minimizing extra costs whilst giving them the confidence to market each product with product testing.
Tips for Entrepreneurs
Francisco’s successful move to rescue Sprout Stack from its hurdles offers plenty of lessons for entrepreneurs who struggle to achieve longevity with their startup ideas and business. This is why Francisco emphasized investing the time to check the validity of the business idea and check its feasibility by testing it thoroughly.
On this, Francisco suggests:
Don’t rush. Take time to refine the concept, make tons of market research and talk to as much people as possible before committing full time.
As long as entrepreneurs take the time to validate each stage of their business, the better chance their startups have of sustaining growth and profits in the long run.
For more information on Sprout Stack, check out their Facebook and Twitter pages.
Subhan Alam
Subhan Alam is a Digital Marketing Enthusiast at Cloudways, a Managed Cloud Hosting Platform. He works on different regions and is passionate about implementing new approaches in Digital Marketing. He likes to stay fit and meditates daily.
