Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Pitch

Plant growth tech firm seeks seed funding

By Lynette F. Cornell

Advanced Growth Systems
Headquarters: Chestnut Hill
Phone: 617-879-4710
Email: mikey@agrosci.com
URL: www.agrosci.com
Founded: 2010
Employees: 5

In the company’s own words:
“Advanced Growth Systems designs and manufactures plant enhancing growing systems for the consumer gardening and commercial agriculture markets. Our platform technology is the first to integrate self-watering, aeration and stable root-zone heating into a single growth enhancement device. Our value proposition lies in the integration of all growth enhancement techniques in a single, easy-to-use device.”

About the technology:
The company has designed a container for regulating the growing environment of soil-based plants to reduce water usage and extend the plant’s growing season. The container, called a thermoplanter, works by regulating the temperature, moisture and oxygen levels of the soil surrounding the roots of the plant, using technology patented by the company’s CTO Mark Prescott in 2009. The container uses a water reservoir, an automatic thermostat and a heating element to disperse heat and moisture through the soil evenly, according to a patent filing. According to Michael Yamnitsky, director of business development, in comparison to a regular container this system results in up to a 90 percent reduction in water use, up to an 80 percent longer growing season extension, up to an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse energy consumption and up to a 90 percent yield increase. It also fosters the growth of beneficial bacteria in the soil and a disease-free root environment. The company has had the first model of its planter on the market since 2006 and is working on redesigning the planter for the hobby gardener market.

People behind the company:
Prescott, president, chief administrative officer and chief technology officer, has 30 years of experience in the gardening industry, including running a retail garden center and horticulture-related product development. Sasha Gimpelson, CEO, is the former founder of Emerging Technologies 2Be Corp., which managed technology transfer between the United States and Russia. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Quaint Interactive, a developer of music-themed gaming software. Christopher Pianta, sales and marketing director, has been responsible for the launch of multiple lawn and garden products and the development of private label and branded programs. He has founded three startups, all of which are still in operation. Akshay Kolte, CFO, has two years experience as CFO of TopSprout, an urban agriculture startup, and four years experience in business intelligence and financial reporting. Yamnitsky brings entrepreneurial and market research experience.

The pitch:
The company is seeking a $1 million seed round for use in sales and marketing, employee expenses, inventory, product development and patent filing. The company is also looking for strategic financing partners in the agri-tech space, as well as product bundle partners such as greenhouse manufacturers.

The market:
The company is pursuing a $3 billion market for consumer food-crop growing supplies as well as a $2 billion market for commercial agriculture irrigation supplies, according to Yamnitsky.

The competition:
The company identifies as its competition all growth enhancement methods and devices, ranging from self-watering inserts and micro-irrigation systems to fertilizers and agrochemicals.