Get to know ACE startup founders & find out what drives them!

The ACE-List: We are proud and excited to introduce our awesome startup founders. The ACE-List is a regular installment where startup teams from the ACE Incubation Program introduce themselves and share a little insight into their startup journey!

Meet the founders!

Company: AGRI-PREDICT
Industry: Agriculture, Climate, Water and Risk
Founded in: 2019

Founders:

Dr. Ertug Ercin (Agriculture, Climate and Water Scientist)
Dr. Raoul Grasman (Data & AI and Cognitive & Behavioral Sciences)

In short:

AGRI-PREDICT is an online agricultural risk prediction AI platform. We predict agricultural risks globally from one month to decades in the future under changing climate.

How did you come up with your startup idea?

I have been doing research about how extreme weather events and climate change affects global agricultural production. While working with businesses and stakeholders, I saw the need of short-to-long term prediction of agricultural production risk.

What is your company’s unique proposition?

Existing data, predictive analytical tools and platforms exist. However, their core business is precision agriculture, trying to predict crop yields during growing season. Our unique advantage is that we go beyond growing season in our predictive data and analytics, providing agricultural production risk from months to years ahead under changing climate. Furthermore, our data is global and applicable to all crop types.

What has been your ACE moment?

Friday, the last day of the first intense week was my ACE moment. We pitched our start-up idea in front of a larger audience including a jury. That day was my AHA moment, it helped me completely re-consider and reshape the concept of my startup idea, including company-name and business model.

What has the shift from academia to entrepreneurship been like for you?

My academic studies and background are now the core of my business. I still work on research projects and with scientists, which are essential in keeping up with recent scientific developments in my field and extending my horizon on what to do next.  Having a scientific background also creates a trust environment with my clients and affiliation with the university opens lots of doors to reach out potential clients.

What is the best advice you could give someone who wants to start their own business?

First, trust your skills and instincts. Don’t give up!

And just be yourself, you don’t need to be a “Silicon Valley” type of an entrepreneur to achieve success.

What are your next steps for the coming months/half year?

Working more on product development and talking to potential users. We believe in adjusting and reshaping ourselves on the way,  so I am expecting lots of brainstorming and heated discussions in coming months.

Another step is enlarging our team, we would like to have some talents involved in the journey.

How can someone who is interested in you or your startup contact you?

They can connect with me, Ertug, via LinkedIn or send me an email to ertugercin@gmail.com