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All it needs now is for a talented entrepreneur to come in, find an early-adopter market for it, and turn the technology into a standardized product that can be

by ph0rque 14y ago

All it needs now is for a talented entrepreneur to come in, find an early-adopter market for it, and turn the technology into a standardized product that can be sold at scale. That's what we're trying to do with our project, AutoMicroFarm (http://automicrofarm.com/ http://automicrofarm.com/).

cs702 14y ago
A very commendable effort, but I'm not sure you will find product-market fit by targeting homeowners as early adopters, because most homeowners are extremely busy and therefore happy to pay for the convenience of a grocery store and last-minute takeout food. (I'm speaking from personal experience: I don't have the time or desire to install and manage something like AutoMicroFarm in my home, but I routinely pay for online grocery delivery and take-out food.) The two early-adopter markets I would explore first are: (1) restaurants/hotels, who are always interested in "fresh produce at 10% of the cost" and are always looking for ways to differentiate from competitors ("our produce is fresher because it's grown in-house with hydroponics"); and (2) large grocery stores in urban areas, who will have the space and staff to install and manage AutoMicroFram and are also always interested in fresher produce at a lower cost. I suspect that if AutoMicroFarm is packaged as a standard product (e.g., the same modular box for everyone) that truly delivers value from day one (e.g., the box is delivered with grown plants of the buyer's choosing) to these two market segments, you would get much faster adoption. PS. Obviously this would require a meaningful amount of venture capital.
- ph0rque 14y ago
  Thanks for suggestions. We're targeting gardeners as early and mid-term adopters, of whom there are quite a lot in the US. However, we certainly are keeping an eye on the commercial markets you mention. The biggest problem that I see is that for those markets, you need quite a lot of produce to start replacing a large percentage of their fresh plant offerings.

by ph0rque 14y ago

cs702 14y ago

A very commendable effort, but I'm not sure you will find product-market fit by targeting homeowners as early adopters, because most homeowners are extremely busy and therefore happy to pay for the convenience of a grocery store and last-minute takeout food. (I'm speaking from personal experience: I don't have the time or desire to install and manage something like AutoMicroFarm in my home, but I routinely pay for online grocery delivery and take-out food.) The two early-adopter markets I would explore first are: (1) restaurants/hotels, who are always interested in "fresh produce at 10% of the cost" and are always looking for ways to differentiate from competitors ("our produce is fresher because it's grown in-house with hydroponics"); and (2) large grocery stores in urban areas, who will have the space and staff to install and manage AutoMicroFram and are also always interested in fresher produce at a lower cost. I suspect that if AutoMicroFarm is packaged as a standard product (e.g., the same modular box for everyone) that truly delivers value from day one (e.g., the box is delivered with grown plants of the buyer's choosing) to these two market segments, you would get much faster adoption. PS. Obviously this would require a meaningful amount of venture capital.

ph0rque 14y ago
Thanks for suggestions. We're targeting gardeners as early and mid-term adopters, of whom there are quite a lot in the US. However, we certainly are keeping an eye on the commercial markets you mention. The biggest problem that I see is that for those markets, you need quite a lot of produce to start replacing a large percentage of their fresh plant offerings.