Nurturing AgTech Innovators: Marco Gritti & Brook Kennedy’s Journey
Step into the inspiring world of AgTech visionaries, Brook Kennedy and Marco Gritti, co-founders of Fifth Harvest. Their transformative journey began with SproutX's Spring 2022 Pre-Accelerator Program. Welcome to the second installment of our “Nurturing AgTech Innovators“ series.
From ASPIRATIONS TO ACTION: The Birth of Fifth Harvest
Brook Kennedy and Marco Gritti, the visionary minds behind Fifth Harvest, envisioned a more perpetual, sustainable, and nutritious food system for all. Their mission focused on establishing Australia’s largest network of indoor and urban farms, delivering hyper-local produce to restaurants and retailers. They aimed to create better-paid, higher-quality jobs for a new generation of farmers while contributing to Australia's net-zero emissions targets for the agricultural sector.
Brook and Marco’s story
Marco: “I’m Marco Gritti; I’m originally from Italy, but I have been lucky enough to have lived in Paris, Buenos Aires, Milan and now Melbourne, where I’m currently working on Fifth Harvest as one of the co-founders. Before founding Fifth Harvest, I spent the last two years working for a climate-tech start-up with a focus on renewable energy and blockchain. My focus is driving market and revenue growth through new business and client acquisition and executing commercial strategies.”
Brook: “I’ve worked in startups for almost a decade now, and have seen firsthand the struggles, successes and failures that founders go through in pursuit of glory. It’s always been my dream to start my own business, one that’s morphed over the years towards something that has an impact and a net positive effect on climate change. A friend of mine introduced me to the concept of urban farming during my undergraduate degree almost 15 years ago, and it’s an idea that I’ve always carried with me. Quite literally. When I moved to London 8 years ago, I left with the business plans for an urban farming startup tucked under my arm. I wanted to make sure I had the conceptual drawings with me when people asked about the idea. But it never eventuated. I ended up working in Fintech. Building startups in payments and neobanking, which was a hugely valuable experience. I had the chance to work across product management, strategy and growth, providing a great startup education.”
Brook: It wasn’t until recently when I met my co-founder Marco that the stars aligned. We were ideating one day on a hike out the back of Mt Baw Baw, and landed on vertical farming. You could hear the passion in both of our voices as we blazed alonged the trial. A 7 hour hike felt like 15 minutes, and from there we decided to take the plunge into our own venture.
Navigating the Agtech Future Founder Journey
Embarking on their AgTech journey, Brook and Marco encountered a path filled with uncertainty and complex challenges. Building commercial-scale vertical farms demanded expertise across multiple disciplines, from design and construction to supply chain logistics.
Marco: Looking at the vertical farming space reminded me of the climate-tech energy sector a decade ago. It was very nascent but gathering momentum and interest from communities, councils and investors at an incredible pace. So without much thought, I decided to plunge headfirst into agtech and learn the sector. And what better way to learn than to start your own company?!
The SproutX Experience: Nurturing Growth and Connections
Marco: “An amazing amount of exposure to experts in the agtech space - exactly what I (we) needed!! The team at SproutX is not only supporting our business through mentorship and webinars but also inviting us to industry events, introducing us to experts and mentors who’ve done it before. A key takeaway from this program is around partnerships - realising that as a startup, you can’t (and shouldn’t) do it all on your own. The journey is much easier if shared with partners who are experts in their fields.”
Brook: It’s a great network and community of people. That's probably what will be the most memorable aspect of the program and I’m sure will have a significant bearing on my career here in Australia. Being new to the AgTech and the agricultural sector, SproutX has provided me with a fantastic education and a foundation to build from. We already have so much more context and understanding of the challenges and opportunities farmers face, how to partner with corporates and how other founders in the industry have gone on to build successful ventures. It’s a very holistic program.
Most memorable part of the program?
Marco: “I’d say my meetings with mentors. I’ve always left their office incredibly energised and ready to tackle the ideas raised in the meeting. Having mentors gives you the need to continually express your ideas and plans concisely and be prepared to back them up with data, or else they’ll catch you!”
Advice to Future Founders:
Brook: Apply to SproutX! In all honesty, they’re a great team, so it’s a really good place to start. I would encourage people to speak to other founders. Know that there’s lots of people out there who are trying their hand at this, who’ve been successful or failed, you can learn a lot from one conversation.
The most important thing is to understand the realities you’ll face in starting and growing a business. The idea will be the easiest part of the journey. It takes teamwork and relentless execution to bring it to life (plus a whole lot of factors outside of your control), so know what you’re signing up for. And once you’ve made the decision, then go for it. Timing is so important.
Marco: I’d say to them that agtech is one of those sectors where relationships are critical! This is a sector where the stakeholders (farmers, wholesalers, retailers) work off relationships that have taken decades to build so it is super important to start to build those relationships as early as you can and be genuine with everyone along the way will help you massively long term.
Join the SproutX Community and Embark on Your AgTech Journey
Brooke Kennedy & Marco Gritti’s stories highlights the power of passion, innovation, and support in the agtech ecosystem.
If you, like Brooke and Marco, have a desire to bring positive change to the status quo, we invite you to join the SproutX community. 🌱
Applications for the upcoming SproutX Pre-Accelerator Program are now open. Don't miss your chance to be part of a vibrant ecosystem of AgTech innovation.
Read more here and apply today!
💬 Note: This blog post is part of a series featuring the stories of our pre-accelerator alumni. Stay tuned for more inspiring founder spotlights in the coming weeks.
