GroGuru
Strategic Irrigation Management
San Diego, CA
Agriculture
Data/Analytics
GroGuru provides a software as a service for strategic irrigation management - assisting farmers in sustainable crop monitoring that saves them water, resources, and of course, extra work. Deploying over 2,500 soil sensors across over 20 crop types in the United States, GroGuru allocated $650 million in revenue in 2020 alone - a huge success in a very difficult economic environment.
$584,107
raised
$1,070,000
previously crowdfunded
318
Investors
$14.7M
Valuation
$0.11
Price per Share
$249.92
Min. Investment
Preferred
Shares Offered
Equity
Offering Type
$3.93M
Offering Max
Reg CF
Offering
Rewards
Get rewarded for investing more into GroGuru:
$249+
Investment
StartEngine Owner’s Bonus
This offering is eligible for the StartEngine Owner’s 10% Bonus program. For details on this program, please see the Offering Summary section below.
$10,000+
Investment
Tier 3 perk
GroGuru Jacket, GroGuru polo and GroGuru baseball cap+ 5% bonus shares
$25,000+
Investment
Tier 4 perk
GroGuru Jacket, GroGuru polo and GroGuru baseball cap + 10% bonus shares
$50,000+
Investment
Tier 5 perk
GroGuru Jacket, GroGuru polo and GroGuru baseball cap + 15% bonus shares
Reasons to Invest
The global agriculture industry generates $2.4 trillion annually
Optimal irrigation is required to maximize crop yield, and save water and other scarce resources in a sustainable way
We believe to be pioneers of a permanently installed soil monitoring system using top-of-the-line technology
Meet GroGuru® : The Future of Sustainable Farming
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.
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Using AI technology, our irrigation management through soil monitoring assists farmers in growing more food, and saving more water.
We think the planet deserves a smart farm.
Introducing: Real-Time Data Tracking
GroGuru is continuing to stand out in the agriculture industry by signing an API access agreement with Valley Irrigation, A Valmont Company, which provides farmers with the opportunity to understand data in real-time. These devices are able to track center pivot irrigation systems, soil monitoring sites as well as weather stations which would ultimately improve crops like corn, cotton, wheat and other cereal crops. The future of this partnership is expected to bring a benefit to farmers by increasing efficiency of irrigation systems as well as being mindful of sustainability.
The Problem
Too Many People, Not Enough Food and Water
Let’s look at the big picture: We have a global problem of catastrophic proportions where we simply cannot meet the basic needs of many people. And with more people every day comes more challenges.
Not to mention, farming is hard. Farmers typically run into problems with…
We believe soil monitoring for optimal irrigation 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.
Plus, management of irrigation is primarily about the management of the root zone of the crop. The tools needed to do this prior to GroGuru were only a partial answer to this massive problem.
The Solution
Yielding Farmers More Crops and More Money
Our mission is to help farmers make more money by increasing crop yields and more efficiently using water and other scarce resources like labor, energy and fertilizer in a more sustainable way.
We do this by providing superior decision support tools to farmers and agronomic consultants for strategic irrigation management.
Crops get fed water and nutrients through the root zone of the crop, inspiring us to monitor from the root zone up.
With these methods, we provide an enhanced data set combined with other data like rainfall, applied irrigation, weather forecast and crop models to give farmers additional insights about how to optimally manage irrigation.
In short, we enable farmers to better irrigate their crops - making more money while they’re at it, and acting more sustainably while they're at it,too.
The Market
A Trillion Dollar Market
If you fly over Kansas or Nebraska, this is what you will see: millions of acres of irrigated farmland. If that seems like a lot, it’s because it is. After all, the global agriculture market is $2.4 trillion annually (source). And the market for soil moisture monitoring is best looked at from an acreage standpoint.
According to the USDA (source), there are 52 million irrigated acres in the US, of which 44 million acres is annual field crops like corn, soybean, cotton, wheat, sorghum, and alfalfa.
There are 313 million total farming acres in the US and 4.2 billion acres globally (source).
So assuming…
Reasonable priced reductions over time
Reasonable deployment assumptions of solid sensors based on GroGuru’s modeling
The market, at full penetration, is $2 billion annually in the US and $20 billion globally (source).
Our Traction
Covering a Lot of Ground
Since our beginning, we’ve...
Deployed over 2,500 sensors across over 20 crop types in various geographies in the United States.
Established a dealer footprint that represents 6 million deployable acres.
Achieved $650 million in revenue in 2020 in a very difficult economic environment where a number of our competitors went bankrupt or were sold.
We are now on our third generation of software as service (SaaS) and our third generation of internet of things (IoT) for farming products.
We have formed key strategic partnerships with market leaders in the precision ag space, and have many more in the queue eager to work with us.
What We Do
Farmers, We Target Your Specific Needs
You might be wondering: How exactly does GroGuru provide these insights to farmers and agronomic consultants?
We do this through AI-based soil monitoring, which we call Wireless Underground System for Permanent Installation of Soil Sensors, aka GroGuru® WUGS.
Once we collect data from the root zone of the crop, we add other critical data and apply machine learning and AI in the Cloud to determine things like…
Root growth
Root depth
Available moisture in the soil
Whether the soil is more sandy or clay based
If soil has compaction layers.
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.
The GroGuru® InSites platform works with GroGuru’s own telemetry solutions and soil moisture sensors, but also works with an impressive group of third-party sensors.
As a result of the GroGuru InSites approach, we are able to deliver nuanced and comprehensive real-time data, which is instantly actionable.
This includes:
GPS-based Farm Scale view
An “Irrigate by pictures” interface to visualize the root zone and soil profile
Crop-specific irrigation templates guide users both before, and during the growing season to manage soil moisture conditions in the field.
Alternative field telemetry solutions for perennial crops root vegetables
GroGuru WUGS is a 100% wireless underground system that can be buried below the till depth and communicates through several feet of soil wirelessly. This eliminates the need for the sensors to be annually installed and removed for seeding and harvesting, respectively, for these annual crops - making less work for the farmer that's more sustainable.
The Business Model
Pay As You Grow
Historically, we sold hardware and had a companion SaaS service. However, we’ve recently moved hardware customers to an operating lease subscription model, offering a standalone SaaS platform that works with third party hardware providers.
How We Are Different
Paving A New Path
We’ve noticed that our competitors’ alternative soil moisture monitors use cables from the sensors in the ground to the above ground telemetry. This requires annual installation and removal of the sensors in field crops like corn and soybeans, which represents the vast majority of acreage - 85% to be specific.
We created WUGS to be a permanent installation model that directly targets this issue. This way, it’s much less of a hassle for farmers, and the annual crops they are working with.
The Vision
We Are Going Places
We see ourselves as the hardware and irrigation system’s ‘agonistic player’ in the strategic irrigation management space within the next five years.
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.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Seasoned Leaders
Our team has the right business acumen, domain expertise, and technical knowledge to win in this market. We also have a strategy of developing strategic and dealer partnerships that will allow us to leverage the best in class portions of the total solution from ecosystem partners.
GroGuru Executive Team (includes founders):
GroGuru’s Farmer Advisory Board Members:
Kevin Wright, AFM
Chief Operating Officer at Hancock Natural Resource Group
Grant Norwood
Owner, Norwood Farms
Henry County, Tennessee
Matt Shekoyan
Former CFO, Wonderful Citrus
Mike Jarrard
Former President of Mann Packing
Former Chairman of the Western Growers Association
Harold Grall
Owner, Hasta Farms
Board Member and former President, North Plains Groundwater Conservation District
Why Invest
A Major Growth Opportunity
We have a unique solution to a significant problem in what is expected to be a massive and rapidly growing market. We believe we are paving the way to strategic irrigation management to help farmers heal our planet one acre at a time.
We can differentiate ourselves over time by…
Continuing to protect our intellectual property
Building strategic partnerships with key ecosystem partners
Driving significant profitability as we grow
Offering Summary
Company | : | GroGuru, Inc. |
Corporate Address | : | 9705 Carroll Centre Road, Suite 101, San Diego, CA 92126 |
Offering Minimum | : | $9,999.99 |
Offering Maximum | : | $3,929,999.92 |
Minimum Investment Amount(per investor) | : | $249.92 |
Terms
Offering Type | : | Equity |
Security Name | : | Series Seed I Preferred Stock |
Minimum Number of Shares Offered | : | 90,909 |
Maximum Number of Shares Offered | : | 35,727,272 |
Price per Share | : | $0.11 |
Pre-Money Valuation | : | $14,716,316.89 |
*Maximum Number of Shares offered subject to adjustment for bonus shares. See Bonus info below.
Voting Proxy
Each Subscriber shall appoint the Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the “CEO”), or his or her successor, as the Subscriber’s true and lawful proxy and attorney, with the power to act alone and with full power of substitution, to, consistent with this instrument and on behalf of the Subscriber, (i) vote all Securities, (ii) give and receive notices and communications, (iii) execute any instrument or document that the CEO determines is necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its authority under this instrument, and (iv) take all actions necessary or appropriate in the judgment of the CEO for the accomplishment of the foregoing. The proxy and power granted by the Subscriber pursuant to this Section are coupled with an interest. Such proxy and power will be irrevocable. The proxy and power, so long as the Subscriber is an individual, will survive the death, incompetency and disability of the Subscriber and, so long as the Subscriber is an entity, will survive the merger or reorganization of the Subscriber or any other entity holding the Securities. However, the proxy will terminate upon the closing of a firm-commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 covering the offer and sale of Common Stock or the effectiveness of a registration statement under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 covering the Common Stock.
Investment Incentives*
Early Bird
Friends and Family - First 72 hours | 15% bonus shares
Super Early Bird - Next 72 hours | 10% bonus
Early Bird Bonus - Next 7 days | 5% bonus shares
Volume
Tier 1 perk - ($1,000 + perk 1)
Tier 2 perk - ($5,000 + perk 2)
Tier 3 perk - ($10,000 + perk 3 + 5% bonus shares)
Tier 4 perk - ($25,000 + 10% bonus shares)
Tier 5 perk - ($50,000 + 15% bonus shares)
Perks/Swag
Perk 1 = GroGuru baseball cap
Perk 2 = GroGuru polo and Perk 1
Perk 3 = GroGuru Jacket and Perk 2
All Tier 4-5 volume investors get Perk 3
For Bonus Shares, an investor will get the greater of the two bonus share amounts from volume and early bird, but not both.
*All perks occur when the offering is completed.
The 10% StartEngine Owners' Bonus
GroGuru, Inc. will offer 10% additional bonus shares for all investments that are committed by investors that are eligible for the StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. OWNer's bonus.
This means eligible StartEngine shareholders will receive a 10% bonus for any shares they purchase in this offering. For example, if you buy 100 shares of Series Seed 1 Preferred Stock at
$0.11 / share, you will receive 10 additional shares of Series Seed 1 Preferred Stock, meaning you'll own 110 shares for $11. Fractional shares will not be distributed and share bonuses will be determined by rounding down to the nearest whole share.
This 10% Bonus is only valid during the investors eligibility period. Investors eligible for this bonus will also have priority if they are on a waitlist to invest and the company surpasses its maximum funding goal. They will have the first opportunity to invest should room in the offering become available if prior investments are cancelled or fail.
Investors will only receive a single bonus, which will be the highest bonus rate they are eligible for.
Irregular Use of Proceeds
Example - The Company might incur Irregular Use of Proceeds that may include but are not limited to the following over $10,000: Vendor payments and salary made to one's self, a friend or relative; Any expense labeled "Administration Expenses" that is not strictly for administrative purposes; Any expense labeled "Travel and Entertainment"; Any expense that is for the purposes of inter-company debt or back payments.
Show More
Most recent fiscal year-end:
Prior fiscal year-end:
Total Assets
$1,226,363.00
USD
$974,606.00
USD
Cash And Cash Equivalents
$483,012.00
USD
$183,770.00
USD
Accounts Receivable
$59,534.00
USD
$352,691.00
USD
Short Term Debt
$3,228,231.00
USD
$373,114.00
USD
Long Term Debt
$3,770,127.00
USD
$3,512,526.00
USD
Revenues And Sales
$617,986.00
USD
$674,113.00
USD
Costs Of Goods Sold
$623,445.00
USD
$471,029.00
USD
Taxes Paid
$0.00
USD
$0.00
USD
Net Income
-$2,912,074.00
USD
-$1,755,950.00
USD
Risks
A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, these authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this document. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not pass upon the merits of any securities offered or the terms of the offering, nor does it pass upon the accuracy or completeness of any offering document or literature. These securities are offered under an exemption from registration; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not made an independent determination that these securities are exempt from registration.
Updates
Notice of Funds Disbursement
3 days ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, GroGuru has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in GroGuru be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
GroGuru Presenting at FOOD FUNDED Climate 2021
9 days ago
On July 21sth, Patrick Henry, GroGuru's president and CEO, will be presenting at FOOD FUNDED Climate 2021. This event is where food entrepreneurs and investors convene for educational sessions and live investor presentations to catalyze the capital flow into our food and agriculture system.
Program highlights include:
- Climate Action in Food and Ag: Resilience and Reversal: What are current priorities for food and ag to move the needle on climate change now?
- Systemic Investing - One Regenerative Solution at a Time: What are impact investors looking for when funding systemic change?
- FOOD INVESTOR FAIR: Curated entrepreneurial changemakers. Investor feedback.Follow-up connections in small-group breakouts.
To register for the event go to >> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/food-funded-2021-climate-registration-154494432005?discount=FF21FAMILY
Sustainable Irrigation Management That Boosts Yield and Saves Water
13 days ago
Last week I was fortunate to be interviewed by David Yocom from iSelect Fund to discuss GroGuru and Sustainable Irrigation Management That Boosts Yield and Saves Water. You can watch a replay of the interview here >>
https://youtu.be/iTxkyfKb0KQ
Bottom like, GroGuru helps farmers make more money by increasing crop yield and more efficiently using water and other scarce resources in a more sustainable way. We are very excited about the traction we have to-date, and look forward to continuing to expand our business going forward. There is nothing more strategically important than food and our fresh water supply. GroGuru helps in both these areas. This has never been more important with water scarcity upon us and the likely continuation of this trend with climate change.
Special thanks to The Yield Lab, FamilyFarms Group, The Van Trump Report and, of course, iSelect Funds.
The Silicon Review Names GroGuru One of 2021's Fifty Leading Companies
16 days ago
The Silicon Review has named GroGuru as one of the 2021 Fifty Leading Companies of the Year! Appreciate the recognition of all the hard work and tireless hours of the GroGuru team to enable strategic irrigation management for farmers.
https://thesiliconreview.com/magazine/profile/50-leading-companies-of-the-year-2021-listing
Notice of Funds Disbursement
17 days ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, GroGuru has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in GroGuru be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
Recording of the LIVE Webinar with Chris Graebe from StartupWire on 7/7/2021
17 days agoFor those of you that were unable to join the LIVE event on 7/7/2021 with Chris Graebe from StartupWire, here is a link to a recording of the event:
https://youtu.be/B9OYlJZjvXs
It was super informative, we had quite a few questions, and it was great to have David Sloane, PhD, and Farooq Anjum, PhD, join me on the call. Hope you enjoy it!
We were able to discuss some of the progress that we've made since our financing on WeFunder including some details about. our partnership with Valley Irrigation, the market leader in center-pivot irrigation systems with over 128,000 connected devices deployed worldwide including irrigation systems, weather stations, soil moisture monitoring sites and rain gages. Through the GroGuru SaaS product, GroGuru InSites, we are able to access all this information, with end customer approval, via an Application Program Interface (API).
Some BIG NEWS and GroGuru Surpasses the $500k Investment Milestone on StartEngine!
18 days ago
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are off the races in the current financing on StartEngine by breaking through the $500k milestone. We have raised $527,515 from 285 investors! We are hitting targets that most startups never experience. The next major milestone is $800k, followed by $1M.
Big News - An Event You Won't Want to Miss: Our lead investor in the crowdfunding financing last year, Chris Graebe, formerly CEO of Startup Camp, and now the head of StartupWire, is going to be interviewing me, and a couple of members of the GroGuru team about our progress to-date and plans for the future. It should be a fantastic event!
The webinar is scheduled for this Wednesday, July 7th, 2021, at 6:00pm PT so mark your calendars. Here is the link (which will be active when we live there on 7/7):
Joining me will be my co-founder and GroGuru CTO, Farooq Anjum, PhD, and GroGuru Chief Agronomist, David Sloane, PhD.
I recall when I was running Entropic, the company that I took public and drove to a $1 billion valuation. We had won a massive piece of business with Verizon, and the Verizon CTO, who we had met before, invited me and my CTO and co-founder, Itzhak Gurantz, to meet in White Plains, NY. It was an hour-long meeting and he spent 55 minutes telling us what was wrong with us and with our product. We listened intently and believed we could fix all the issues that he was highlighting. In the last five minutes, he told us what was going right, and summarized by saying, “Bottom-line, your stuff works.”
Well, GroGuru’s ‘stuff’ works too. We now have over 1,000 sites deployed and over 100,000 acres under management. We have trials ongoing with some very large prospects that have the potential to give us millions of acres of step function growth. The GroGuru® WUGS and GroGuru® InSites SaaS offerings are really resonating with customers and channel partners, and our partnerships with Valley Irrigation, DTN, AquaCheck and Sentek are really starting to pay off! It is amazing to have great partnerships like Valley Irrigation, the market leader in center-pivot irrigation, and DTN, a market leader in weather forecasting and crop models. AquaCheck and Sentek are global leaders in capacitance soil moisture probes, with a substantial footprint in the USA and worldwide.
Farmers are getting incredible value from the GroGuru solution! They are seeing a payback period of less than one growing-season for each site deployed. They are increasing crop yield and more efficiently using water. And the biggest thing, from a growth potential for GroGuru, is that we are 30X more scalable in hardware than the competitive alternatives, and an estimated 20-30X more scalable from a SaaS usability standpoint. This is why Agronomic Consulting groups and Ag Retailers want to work with us. And this is why we will WIN!
Be sure to tune-in to the webinar and bring your questions. You won’t want to miss it!
Regards,
Patrick
From The Van Trump Report: NEW AgTech Helping Producers Boost Yield and Save Water
24 days ago
Very excited that GroGuru has received some very favorable coverage in The Van Trump Report. Kevin Van Trump is the CEO of Farm Direction, a trader, an Angel Investor, and Corp. Coach. He is the author of the Van Trump Report which is followed broadly in the AgriFood industry. There is nothing more strategic than our food supply and clean fresh water, and GroGuru is leading the way to use water more efficiently to grow crops. Shout-out to GroGuru investor, The Yield Lab, for highlighting GroGuru to Mr. Van Trump.
https://www.vantrumpreport.com/new-agtech-helping-producers-boost-yield-and-save-water/
You are invited to attend our webinar called “Sustainable Irrigation Management That Boosts Yield and Saves Water,” to be held Thursday, July 1st at 3:00pm CST featuring GroGuru, CEO, Patrick Henry. Register HERE
GroGuru Provides the 'Easy Button' for Irrigation and Water Management for Farmers - Perspective on the Valley Irrigation API License Agreement and More
26 days agoIn this discussion with Patrick Henry, GroGuru president and CEO, and David Sloane, PhD, GroGuru Chief Agronomist, they discuss GroGuru's innovative software as a service offering, GroGuru® InSites, and how it leverages key strategic partnerships, including Valley Irrigation, the global market leader in center-pivot irrigation systems, which is the dominant irrigation method for field crops like corn and soybeans.
GroGuru InSites uses an Application Program Interface, or API, to access key information from Valley, including soil moisture, as-applied irrigation data, weather stations and rain gages, at the end customer's choice.
GroGuru also has a partnership with DTN, a market leader in weather forecasts and crop models. The irrigation 'agnostic' Software as a Service, or SaaS, supports market leading soil sensors from both AquaCheck and Sentek.
Henry and Dr. Sloane, go on to discuss the powerful combination of GroGuru InSites and GroGuru® WUGS, and how it delivers an improved farmer experience, ease of use, 'ground-truthing' of other data sources, and massively better scalability than competitive alternatives in the market today. Finally, Dr. Sloane touches on the value of the GroGuru solution in rain-fed crops, in addition to irrigated crops.
Notice of Material Change in Offering
about 1 month ago[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello! Recently, a change was made to the GroGuru offering. Here's an excerpt describing the specifics of the change:
Update on the Issuer's partnership with Valley Irrigation.
When live offerings undergo changes like these on StartEngine, the SEC requires that certain investments be reconfirmed. If your investment requires reconfirmation, you will be contacted by StartEngine via email with further instructions.
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