Pitch Competition Shows Ag Tech ‘Alive and Thriving’ at NC State

The N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative’s first-ever Seed2Grow Showcase and Pitch Competition proved to be a powerful demonstration of NC State’s Think and Do spirit, giving 11 current and aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to showcase agricultural technology solutions with the potential to raise farm profitability and productivity, reduce waste and pollution and improve plant health.

The event drew a packed crowd of ag tech industry representatives, investors and members of the NC State community to the Plant Sciences Building on Nov. 11.

Kathleen Denya, the N.C. PSI’s director of innovation partnerships, said the pitch competition had three goals:

• Recruit new NC State startups to Seed2Grow, the N.C. PSI’s two-year-old ag tech entrepreneurship program
• Provide NC State students and researchers with a way to share their entrepreneurial ideas with potential industry partners and investors
• Give emerging companies the chance to win prize money to help them grow

“Seed2Grow is still quite new, and we’re still trying to find out more about ag tech projects taking place across campus and to let them know we are here and able to help,” Denya says. “We also wanted to get these researchers in front of a room full of people who might want to partner or engage with them in other ways.”

The pitch competition was open to NC State students and employees interested in commercializing ag tech solutions. Competitors had five minutes to pitch their ideas to in front of judges from the ag tech industry:

• Hannah Webb, venture partner with LeVert Ventures
• Phil Taylor, director of ecosystem development with Bayer
• Paul Ulanch, senior director of focused initiatives with the N.C. Biotechnology Center
• Ian Jepson, principal consultant with Jepson Advisors
• Toni Bucci, chief executive officer of Sable Fermentation Inc.

Donations from Shih Family Innovation Fund, David Peele, AgriExecs and Fox Ventures supported prizes totaling $28,000 for the top three finishers in the competition’s two tracks: one for students, and the other for faculty and staff researchers.

‘One of Those Epic Experiences’

Megan Aljian, the first-place winner in the student track, received $5,000. A College of Agriculture and Life Sciences senior in biological and agricultural engineering, Aljian says the pitch contest proved to be “one of those epic experiences that make the really hard parts of working on a startup worth it.”

As she prepares to begin a career as a stream restoration engineer, Aljian has been building a startup company she calls Forest Found. Her goal is to use ingredients derived from oak trees to develop a novel product to relieve insect bites and stings.

“The prototypes have performed really well and been loved by the prototype group, but ultimately, there’s a lot of unknowns, and I am stepping into an industry that is new to me,” she says.

The opportunity to have five minutes in front of really experienced professionals and get their feedback was invaluable.

While taking part in NC State’s LaunchPad, an incubator program for students with early-stage startup companies, Aljian was encouraged by program manager Kenneth Proseus to take part in the Seed2Grow contest.

“I’m so glad I applied,” Aljian says. “The opportunity to have five minutes in front of really experienced professionals and get their feedback was invaluable.”

She noted two positive outcomes: Some of those who attended the event have since become her advisers, and she now has additional funding to help pay for chemical testing and production costs.

“What Forest Found could be is an idea in my head, and Seed2Grow gave me one of those priceless moments where that dream stepped into reality,” she says. “I am really excited to pivot from working on the internal structure of the company to working with customers directly.”

Other winners in the student track were Dylan Gretok (second place) and Reid Barnett (third). Gretok is a junior in the College of Engineering and Poole College of Management, and through his startup, Seagull EcoChem Inc., he is pursuing solutions to biodegradable packaging alternatives that help cut down on plastic pollution.

Barnett, a Ph.D. student in the Wilson College of Textiles, is also developing a pollution-reducing solution. His company, Ceretune, is creating floating islands made of nonwoven fibers seeded with plants to remove excess nutrients from waterways.

‘A Validation of Our Technology’

In the researcher track, the first place winner was Tahira Pirzada, a College of Engineering researcher in chemical and biomolecular engineering and chief executive officer of Soteria Formulations. The company creates seed coatings and pelleted granules and works with pesticides manufacturers to enhance their products’ performance.

Ricardo Hernandez, founder of Rooted-in-tech and a CALS horticultural science faculty member, took second. The startup uses recipes that Hernandez developed to manipulate indoor growing conditions to create seedlings tailored to farmers’ and gardeners’ needs.

Third place went to chemical and biomolecular engineer Zach Hetzler, CEO of Zerdia Diagnostics, which is developing real-time plant health monitoring tools for better disease management.

The competition offered a platform to test our story, refine our value proposition and gain visibility.

Pirzada chose to enter the competition because she wanted to build on the insight and skills she’d gained through a 12-week Seed2Grow entrepreneurship series conducted last fall.

Called GATE — short for Growing Agricultural Technology Entrepreneurship — the program provided NC State entrepreneurs with hands-on learning on business models, pitching, market analysis, intellectual property, team building, budgeting and more.

“Winning first prize in the researcher track … among such an incredible cohort of startups shaping the future of agriculture was truly special — but receiving that affirmation from global ag tech leaders means even more than any financial reward,” Pirzada says. “It’s a validation of our technology, its impact and the strength of the Soteria Formulations team to bring it to market.”

As Pirzada notes, “The competition offered a platform to test our story, refine our value proposition and gain visibility.”

The chance to earn prize money was another important incentive, she adds.

“At this stage of a startup’s journey, every dollar plays an important role in advancing progress,” she notes.

“I had the chance to connect with people from different backgrounds — entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and potential partners — which helped broaden my network,” she says. “It was also a great way to spread the word about Soteria and bring our work to the attention of stakeholders who care about sustainable innovation.”

‘Energized by the Future of Ag Tech’

The pitch competition proved valuable not just to Pirzada and Aljian but to other competitors and observers, as well.

After pitching his ideas for HueBase AI, a company that would apply machine learning to create dye-based volatile-organic compound sensors for early plant disease detection, Sina Jamalzadegan shared his experience on LinkedIn.

It was inspiring to stand alongside fellow student and researcher teams who are pushing the boundaries of agricultural innovation.

Soon to receive his Ph.D. in chemical and molecular engineering, Jamalzadegan describes an “absolutely packed” crowd “energized by the future of ag tech.”

“It was inspiring to stand alongside fellow student and researcher teams who are pushing the boundaries of agricultural innovation,” he notes. “This experience has further strengthened my commitment to building technologies that meaningfully advance plant and environmental health.”

Toni Bucci, a judge, also came away from the event excited about the energy, clarity and passion she’d observed in each presenter. As she says in wrapping up her own LinkedIn post about the event, “Innovation in ag tech is alive and thriving in North Carolina!”