Every farmer knows that it takes a whole season's worth of hard work to produce a crop; skipping any critical step during the season can result in a 'bad' or completely failed harvest On the other hand, when it comes to soil quality it can take years, decades, or even a lifetime to work towards the desired result. And again, only by consistently putting in hard work over the years can this result be achieved.
Getting Agworld's platform, website and apps to their current form has been done in a very similar way. It's easy to lose sight of this bigger picture, but every now and then we are reminded of it - most recently when our development team told me that we're approaching 200 combined App Store releases since we first developed Agworld for the iPad in 2011 (with the first Agworld for iPhone app released on May 1st, 2013).
Having this large number of App Store releases under our belt is a reminder of how far we have come, and a testimony to everyone involved. This is especially true for Senior Software Engineer & iOS Technical Lead Robert Barnett, who has been with Agworld since 2011 and who has been involved in our iOS products from the beginning.
It is easy for new AgTech entrants to the market to spot an opportunity in the marketplace, get some funding, and develop a product. However, as we've seen very clearly over the past 24 months, it is so much harder for entrants to move from a 'product' and evolve into a stable organisation that growers can count on for the long term.
The basic concept of being successful for AgTech businesses is very similar to what it is for growers: focus on a successful product and keep putting in the hard work. There are no silver bullets, you just have to focus on what your client says is a valuable solution and keep putting in the hard work with a desire to continually improve.
We have had many trials and errors at Agworld, but the three things that we've consistently done over the years are:
- Focus on our being THE - data information system for the agricultural industry
- Ensure we don't become distracted by 'noise', buzzwords, fads or anything else.
- Show up with a can-do attitude and work hard every day. It's not glamorous, nor is it always satisfying, but it is the only way to achieve long term success. As Robert Collier said: "Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out."
And our plans for the future? We are going to keep doing the same thing: stay laser focused, work smart and hard on a consistent basis. Now that we have joined forces with the like-minded Semios team, our position in the marketplace has never been stronger.
Got what it takes to join the Agworld team? We’re looking for talented individuals to help us deliver innovative solutions in agriculture.
There will always be new AgTech ventures emerging - this is a sign of a healthy industry, enabling participants to get acquainted with new and emerging technologies, and I'm sure that the AgTech landscape will stay very fluid for a long time still. However, what the industry clearly needs is a large, financially secure and independently owned technology provider who stays focused on what they're good at, and works hard for their users. I am proud that Semios is this provider, and I look forward to keeping up the daily grind, just like our users have to - on their fields, in their orchards and in their vineyards every day.
