The Fox, Sour Grapes, and Building Better Agtech

THE STORY

As the ancient story goes, a hungry fox once passed under a fine bunch of grapes hanging from a high vine. He began to jump towards them, stretching longingly for the delicious-looking grapes.

After repeatedly trying in vain to reach them, he gave up, saying to himself as he walked off:

“The grapes looked quite ripe at first, but I see now that they are quite sour.”

This is one of the many stories that make up Aesop’s millennia-old collection of fables. We continue to read these stories because they correctly assess human behavior…

The truth of this story is on full display in the communication breakdown between the agricultural industry and the technologists hoping to serve that industry.

The agriculturalist says, “I’ve tried the technology thing, and it just doesn’t work.”

The technologist says, “We have iterated on our product so many times…it” ‘s the best on the market; why won’t you use it?”?

Admittedly, these are broad generalizations, but the positions are well staked out on both sides. The reality is that we need each other, and a tremendous opportunity awaits those of us who are passionate about improving and supporting the advancement of our farm-based supply chains.

THE ISSUE

The issue with many agtech companies is that we are obsessed with chasing disruption instead of driving adoption by seeking to understand how we can improve today's processes. In short, we fell in love with the stories we told investors and forgot that our audience changed…

So we…

·??????Develop ten more crop-specific analytics, and no one notices…

·??????Spend a fortune improving our UI and branding, and no one cares…

·??????Endlessly chase every new feature request, and no one signs up…

They don’t care because you forgot to give them a reason to buy, a cause to believe in. You forgot that they don’t trust you because, without a meaningful existence, your organization is a thinly veiled money pit…no thanks.

The truth is that long feature list requests have become a standard translation for agriculturalists who believe that we’re selling them snake oil.?You don’t care about me and my multi-generational business; you’re on a 3-year exit ramp.

THE SOLUTION

Start talking about the shared values you have with your customers. Start aligning your company to match their worldview. Give them something inspiring to believe in. We love to talk about creating value in tech, but we often forget to pluralize the word.

Newsflash: Customers buy from you because you share a view of what is possible…

Everyone else is selling a commodity.

Don’t let your product sink to the level of a one-size-fits-all commodity. Don’t allow yourself to be pulled into a competition with every other player in your space. Don’t answer the call of perpetual mediocrity.

The grapes are good; find a better way to get them.

Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers.

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