Startup Interview: "Not as many people genuinely care about food security as they should"

HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your background.

I’ve had first-hand insight into how broken the global food supply chain is having left school and trained as a chef. After that, I spent close to a decade in the food and beverage industry - working in the Uk, Australia, Spain, and on cruise ships.

What's your startup called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do?

AGR1 (Agricultural Growing Revolutionised, farm to plate in 1 day) is a state of the art hydroponic farming company, that specialises in low land, natural light hydroponics, growing produce that’s Nakd of chemicals/pesticides then delivering to kitchens within hours of harvest, in reusable containers that are the same size as that which kitchens are already using making our brand ‘Nakd Produce’ the most sustainable and freshest there is in the market.

What is the origin story?

After years of being in F&B, a short time in finance in Moscow then Hong Kong, my son Henry Xander Harrison was born in 2014. That night when holding him, I realised I had to change who I was, my priorities, and what I did.

A month later I was shown hydroponics, after a couple of years working for companies that claimed to be about making a better world, I realised that there aren’t any who I believe are doing it right.

What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?

the diversity of experience, knowledge, and the commitment to making AGR1 and Nakd a success.

If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?

Why talk about hypotheticals?

At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics?

Growing the best produce, having happy customers.

What’s most exciting about your traction to date?

We’re the first people to do hydroponics in Johor. Our produce is served daily to the royal family. Our customers love our produce and boxing system.

What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why?

Most excited about the development of the hydroponic and start ag industry. Most worried would have to be drone dogs…. Because Drone dogs!! Along with robot-controlled farms(we need jobs for people! Not robots.

What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform?

We need to get attention for what we’re doing. You guys have a cool setup.

What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself?

I wouldn’t, I’ve lived, made mistakes, now I have a son and a mission.

What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing?

Not as many people genuinely care about food security as they should, especially the people in positions of power to make an impact now before it’s too late.

Vote for AGR1 for Startup of the Year Johor Bahru.