As we get closer to having a having the software application ready for the 2013 growing season we are looking to judge how excited people are about this product. We also need people willing to test the software application for us in exchange for a discount on products the first year. Sign up at the URL below and help GroBox grow!
We had a great time pitching to over 200 judges at the 12th annual University of Washington’s Business Plan Competition. The judges had $1000 of monopoly money to invest in up to 36 teams. The top 16 teams with the highest investment totals move on to the next round. We were very excited to be selected as one of these top teams.
More importantly, the feedback we got was very positive. People really like our idea. There really is a need out there for gardening help that’s simple and targeted at what you want to grow. Most of the judges understood this as soon as we demoed our software.
If you want a chance to play with our early concept software, email me at jared at grobox.com and I’ll send you a link. Post a comment below and let us know what you think of it.
Thanks, and on to the next round!
Picture of our awe inspiring booth. One of the best at the investment round.
Representing GroSpaces, Team GroBox participated in UW Environmental Innovation Challenge on March 29, 2012. The event was held in Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, and 23 teams from 5 Pacific Northwest universities competed. Teams arrived early in the morning for set up at their respective booths, and judging began in the early afternoon, followed by the reception and awards ceremony. Teams displayed prototypes and plans for clean-tech ventures that address today’s environmental challenges with forward-thinking and scalable solutions. Our team, Team GroBox, participated with 4 current UW Technology Management MBA students; Jared McInelly and Aaron Parsley (co-founders of GroBox), Murat Yanar (finance advisor) and Steve Stroberger (Sales and Marketing Advisor). Our team is also participating in University of Washington Business Plan Competition which will be held this year.
GroBoxis a complete space efficient gardening system that enables would-be and intermediate gardeners to grow their own fruits and vegetables without requiring years of experience. The system consists of two parts. First, a raised planting bed, which leverages square foot gardening and makes it easy to grow a large quantity of food in a relatively small space. Second, a comprehensive garden planning software application,which gives users access to the tools to design, maintain and care for their garden plot area. Once users select the plants they would like to grow, the application provides notifications including when to plant, fertilize, and harvest the food plants based on user preferences. GroBox kit includes the box kit, all the seeds for the plants users selected, and a one year subscription to the notifications pertinent to user configurations. Unique differentiation of GroBox comes from our ability to provide an end-to-end solution that will make it easy for would-be and intermediate food gardeners to grow their organic foods by reducing risks associated with time, money, and weather specific to food gardening
After set up, the competition started with a representative from each team providing a 2 minute pitch about their product to all participating judges and fellow competitors. Based on this initial information, the judges then visited each of the competing teams to see their prototypes, receive more detailed information about each of the products and the specific environmental challenge that the teams are trying to solve. This was a great opportunity for our team to interface with many of the judges and potential investors. Our booth had a prototype of a 2×2 raised plant bed and the user interface of our application on multiple devices. We all felt that GroBox created a lot of interest and many of the judges encouraged us with positive comments and other add-on elements they would like to see as part of our offering.
Watch us grow. Its time to start growing food! Nothing like the great taste of home grown veggies. This blog will keep track of what we plant in our GroBox this season. Stay tuned.
