Alumni Update: Toni Sperry of Pod Farms
Pod Farms, Inc. is continuing to make waves in the AgTech industry. The startup and RAMP alumni company specializes in vertical hydroponic growing systems for controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farms. Pod Farms was co-founded by Toni Sperry, an entrepreneur with a background in business and psychology and a passion for clean, organic low-processed foods.
Last year, we connected with Toni to learn all about Pod Farms, hear more about their RAMP In Residence experience, and get a sneak peek into what was on the horizon. A year later, the company is focused on fundraising and deploying their equipment on pilot sites, all while participating in Exit RAMP.
We recently caught up with Toni to hear more about Pod Farm’s exciting progress.
We’d love to hear about what Pod Farms has been up to! Can you share some of the highlights from the past year?
In the past year, we went through RAMP In Residence and Exit RAMP. And at the end of last year, we were awarded the VIPC Launch Grant, which was an honor and very exciting.
We’ve gotten to participate in our first trade show! We participated in the Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas where we got to display our demo setup. We’re looking for pilot farmers in particular but it was great to display our technology to a lot of different people.
We were also featured in the quarterly CEAg World Industry Report in a roundup of new tools that address yield, automation, communications and facility operations.
Finally, we’re going to be participating in the RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP) as part of their spring cohort. It will support us as we deploy equipment in Wilson, NC, as a part of pilot program there.
As a RAMP In Residence alumni, you are currently participating in Exit RAMP. Tell us a little about that experience! What has been the most impactful for you as a founder?
I’m still active in the RAMP community which I find so valuable. We had a very interactive cohort and I still talk to my peers. Our cohort was really special and we’re always rooting for each other. I’ve also hosted a couple of lunch and learns and I’ve loved talking to the other entrepreneurs.
There are two things about the overall RAMP experience that stand out to me: the way customer discovery is taught and the way it informs my thinking and how I talk to people. Being part of RAMP has opened so many doors for me that might not have been otherwise. Now we’re invited to pitches because RAMP is behind us and I’m grateful to the people who selected us because they believed in us.
You’ve done some major pitches lately! Can you talk a little bit about your fundraising journey?
We’ve done Pitch and Polish and ICAP and had a really nice practice session. It’s helpful as we begin our fundraising process. Right now, we’ve completed a friends and family round and applied to some larger pitches.
Currently, we’re getting ready to launch a pre-seed round of funding that is slated to open this spring. This round should take us to early market entry so we can be ready for installations early next year.
Could you reflect on your experience moving through the pre-accelerator, accelerator, and alumni program with RAMP? How did the three build on each other and/or prepare you for success?
On RAMP is really great for early-stage “I’m trying to decide to what to do” phase. When we went through it, we were formalized but I was new to Virginia. I knew my resources in South Carolina, but On RAMP helped me get connected to regional and local resources and meeting mentors. It was a good intro into what RAMP looks like.
RAMP is an absolutely world class accelerator. The customer discovery process made me a more sophisticated entrepreneur and business owner and opened so many doors that were not open before. The way we learned customer discovery—I’m still using these skills in my business! It’s really critical that a young company goes through a program like that. It’s truly the best that I’ve experienced and I would encourage other companies to go through it. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it. It will transform you.
Exit RAMP was a great follow up and helped us learn about fundraising which I didn’t have a background in. It’s a really intimate setting to ask really complicated questions about fundraising and helps put you in front of the right audience. Understanding the intricacies of fundraising allowed us to make some really hard decisions about how we’re setting up the company in an informed way.
I’m so grateful to RAMP and to everyone involved in the selection process who chose us and supported us. I know there’s a lot of work that goes into it and I’m very grateful.
RAMP and RBTC are part of the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA), established to grow the region’s innovation economy, technology and life sciences sectors, and the supporting professional communities. It aligns the strengths and programming efforts of the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) and the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP). RBIA serves GO Virginia Region 2 and works to form collaborations with government, business, academia, and other organizations to advance the region and grow a thriving innovation economy.