Innofarming

A portrait in video format can be found at the end

Co-founders Timo Visestamkul, Charleen Ayelou, and Christos Iordanidis founded "Innofarming" in 2021. The team pursues significant visions with their start-up regarding how we will live/farm in the future. The company, still in development, holds great potential to solve future problems such as resource scarcity.

What is your idea about?

The idea behind Innofarming involves developing a Vertical Indoor Farming System. The system consists of a fully automated and scalable vertical farming platform for cultivating plants. This platform includes built-in hardware, such as shelves and plant patches (where the plants grow), as well as everything needed for automated plant handling, such as plant-friendly lighting, smart relay control, sensors, cameras, and our unique irrigation system.

What are your goals for the future? How do you envision the use of your Vertical Farming System in the future?

Initially, we aim to optimize the development of our platform. Currently, we are working on a third prototype, based on which we will generate further improved factors for plant growth. Later on, the system is intended to be fully automated from planting seeds to harvesting at the push of a button.

Our platform can then be sold to industrial users, possibly licensed. We envision large vertical farms near supermarket distribution centers to ensure short transportation routes. With Innofarming, we aim to establish the first brand in the vegetable aisle that stands for good quality and sustainability.

How did you come up with the idea for "Innofarming"?

It all started with a WhatsApp message from my father in our family group. He sent a video titled "Humanity in the year 2100". There were robots, flying cars, and briefly, an image of a vertical farm. I found that very interesting and started delving more into the topic of vertical farming. I quickly realized that this new way of farming has a lot of potential for society and solving its current problems. The food market will grow larger. A growing population and economic changes lead to an increased demand for food. Monoculture, insect decline due to pesticides, insufficient acreage for an ever-growing population. I assume that Vertical Indoor Farming, alongside traditional agriculture, will become a permanent part of our future. And with the founding of Innofarming, I want to be part of this journey.

How do you finance the development of your technology solution?

In addition to prize money from start-up competitions, we have received the NRW Founders' Grant and another government grant. With these, we have been able to develop and validate our technology on a small scale. However, it's also a fact that us founders have not paid ourselves a single salary to this day. We have invested everything in development and hardware.

What current challenges do you face with Innofarming? What are the current risks?

Vertical farming is very cost-intensive in terms of energy consumption and initial investment. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges will be making our idea economically viable. Additionally, our actions as a start-up are currently mainly slowed down by supply shortages. This slowdown, however, gives us the opportunity to tap into the market and educate people about what vertical farming actually is. This way, we can develop decent products and create sustainable structures.

What motivated you to choose the path of entrepreneurship?

I initially studied economics at TU Dortmund, and I wasn't quite sure what to do next. So I started taking various courses outside my curriculum on entrepreneurship. From the very beginning, the people there fascinated and inspired me so much that from that moment on, I knew "I want to do that too!"

What is your unique selling proposition?

The topic of Vertical Farming is not entirely new but still in its infancy. Our unique selling proposition is our special plant irrigation method, where water is vibrated with a nutrient solution and directed as mist directly to the plant roots. Since the mist is so fine, the nutrients can penetrate the root membrane more easily and thus promote faster organic growth. Since no soil is required, the system can completely eliminate the need for pesticides.

How do you complement each other in the founding team?

Christos is our biologist and takes care of everything that benefits the plants. Charleen is our engineer responsible for all areas related to technology. And I am the business administration person, taking care of marketing, investors, and finances. With our respective focuses, we complement each other perfectly. I'm especially grateful to have Charleen and Christos on the team. I believe without my co-founders, I would have been desperate more than once.

What drives you?

For me, it's extremely satisfying to see something grow (literally). It's just a great feeling. And as a founder, I work in a field that fascinates me immensely. In addition to Innofarming, I also work at the university as a founder coach and as a founder scout. I'm also currently pursuing a doctoral degree in economics. All three areas overlap thematically and create synergies. Being in this cosmos is exactly what I dreamed of.

This portrait is based on an interview with Timo Visestamkul in April 2022 and was written by Janice Gust.

Click here to visit the start-up's homepage.