As many of you know, we’ve recently been going behind the scenes with Fresh Farm Aquaponics, the Diamond Winner of our ’15 Impact Challenge. In Part I, we heard from Partner & President Kieran Foran. In Part II (below), we hear from Partner & Chief Discovery Officer Eric Francis. In Part III, we will hear from CEO Spencer Curry. Happy reading and watching! 

To learn more about this great group of guys and their social enterprise, please visit: http://www.freshfarmct.org.

PART II

Sometimes you can look back at a pivotal moment in your life and think, “I really was in the right place at the right time.” For me, that realization comes to mind when I think about how I’m exactly where I want to be after quitting my job just over a year ago. It’s a sultry tale of chance meetings and gut instincts that put me on the path to becoming the Chief Discovery Officer at Fresh Farm Aquaponics, Inc.

I majored in business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). While there, I was very active in some of Connecticut’s startup activity. Through my studies and extended network, I connected with reSET, who was a new player in the startup ecosystem at the time. I remember going to The Walker Group’s office, where reSET was originally headquartered, to sit in on some of the initial educational committee meetings. And it was there that I first realized the state’s entrepreneurial community was primed to accelerate into a major industry.

After graduation, I began working with a startup aimed at helping older adults stay in their homes instead of depending on nursing homes and assisted living. Over the next three years with that business, I continued to attend reSET functions and to sit in on their Flight Night pitch events. Every time I did, I ended up leaving more amped up about the future of Connecticut. Although I was already working a place where I was on the ground floor of an exciting market and opportunity, I kept finding myself wanting to quit and start my own company. So one day I made a critical, life-altering decision to move on. My chief objective was to start something that truly fueled my passion to change the world. Since I was embedded in the business, it was not as simple as giving two weeks notice so I gradually phased out of their operations. However, that decision to leave is the reason behind a fortuitous phone call I had in my car on a lunch break with reSET’s Programs Director Rosie Gallant.

Aforementioned, I kept going to reSET’s Flight Nights and was aware of their accelerator program. When I wrapped up with that job, there was still two months until reSET’s new accelerator was slated to kickoff. That gave me time to figure out what idea I wanted to test in it. When you start a business, there is usually a problem that you are looking to solve. While at CCSU, sure, I had won a few elevator and business plan competitions, founded an entrepreneurial community center called Community Central with one of my professors, etc. But most importantly, I had developed a black book full of ideas. While most never materialized, there were a few I couldn’t shake. So when I called Rosie to talk about the accelerator, I had two ideas that had been born out of hobbies I loved. The first idea was an Obstacle Course Gym for athletes that train for obstacle course races. The second was a residential aquaponics installation and maintenance company. After our call, I was so excited and motivated that I went and applied to the accelerator program. 

As a benefit to getting accepted to the accelerator, I was also able to utilize the other resources that reSET offers. One of those was having a consultation with Entrepreneur in Residence Eric Knight. So on an early fall day, I went in and talked with Eric about all of my ideas. The one that stuck out in both our minds was the aquaponics installation business. I told him that I had long been fascinated by how versatile such systems are in providing value to those that utilize them. Eric asked me some tough questions, which lead to him suggesting I meet with two other entrepreneurs from Fresh Farm Aquaponics (FFA). It was a name I knew; the aquaponic community was smaller then and like many other DIY aquaponic growers, I had scoured the Internet to find any instance of aquaponic research. FFA was a name that popped up with other mutual connections we had in the aquaponics community. As seemed destined by fate, they happened to be the next appointment that day and when I walked out, Eric introduced me to Spencer and Kieran. We hit it off immediately, bonding over our shared interests in aquaponics, entrepreneurial mentors, and the passion we shared for getting others into aquaponics. 

Fast forward a few weeks, and both FFA and I were enrolled in reSET’s accelerator, introducing ourselves and our ideas to other participants. I was towards the end, and Kieran and Spencer were near the front. Everyone went around and while my first choice was an aquaponics business, the group had already heard about another one so I pitched the obstacle course gym instead. Again, this is a decision that in hindsight, couldn’t have worked out more perfectly as I am here writing this blog as a member of the FFA team. 

I think I speak for all of us when I say that reSET’s accelerator completely changed our notions of starting a business.

reSET’s accelerator is modeled after “lean startup,” a method for developing businesses and products that was first proposed in 2008 by Eric Ries. While in the program, the team and I were introduced to the concept of Customer Discovery and selling your product before you have it. And this is where my idea of a startup changed. The basic idea is that you go and ask people about what they want, instead of telling them about what you think they want. Anyone can have an idea for a business, nonprofit, organization, game, or something else that the population would love to have. But then they start telling people about this product and no one wants it. So why does this matter so much? Well for me, it changed the way I do business. I started the accelerator with an idea for an obstacle course gym, but through my discovery, I pivoted to win best pitch at Flight Night for Obstacle Kits that people could set up at their own home. Without going through rigorous discovery and hours of deliberation, I would never have had the insight to offer customers the convenience and flexibility in obstacle training that they many are looking for.

Throughout the the accelerator, Kieran, Spencer and their former business partner Matt, made great progress with their customer discovery as well. Each week, we all would have to pitch our business and there was a moment one day where I was watching them pitch and they mentioned aquaponics in schools and one of the mentors in the audience mumbled to me about how her nieces would love this and that they already have a fish tank. Customer discovery was happening all the time and both of us were learning that every person we encountered could give you insight into our products.

After the accelerator, I continued to informally work with Spencer and Kieran as their other business partner transitioned out of the company. I also continued to conduct customer discovery and to develop MVP products. A seemingly innocent interaction with an elementary school teacher while I was working at a local Christmas tree farm, led to four fourth grade classrooms growing basil and parsley in our aquaponics systems in the spring. We worked together to teach the students about aquaponics and to incorporate it into their existing lesson plans. It was such a success that at the end of the year, they harvested the basil and parsley and made pesto pasta with it. 

Another serendipitous moment happened while I was playing golf. I was shooting a horrible round, but the gentleman I was playing against, mentioned one of his old clients was hiring someone to run their aquaponics system. This organization was the Arc of Meriden-Wallingford, which used aquaponics to conduct job training with developmentally-disabled adults. I had previously worked with them on their aquaponics system, but had been out of touch for a year or so. After contacting them, I found out that they had expanded their systems to cover more than 1,000 square feet of grow space and that they needed someone to help them restore and maintain their systems. With some more customer discovery, FFA and I ended up proposing a service contract that would allow us help them rebuild, maintain, and expand their systems. 

In September 2015, I officially came onto the team as the third partner and Chief Discovery Officer. Going forward, we will continue developing our ideas through customer discovery. We are continuing to add jobs to the community through new team members that bring with them integrity, knowledge, and motivation. This has allowed us to become the “#1 Sustainable Tech Company in Connecticut for 2016.” We are trying to live up to this title by innovating a new line of aquaponic products and services that will help any level of aquapioneer reach their true potential.  Since enrolling in reSET’s accelerator in October of 2014, FFA has blossomed into a business and we are ready to bring aquaponics to Connecticut in 2016. 

As a benefit corporation, we strive to help our communities be more sustainable; this can only happen as we discover what is most important to you, the consumer. Over the course of the next six months, we will be taking on bold new challenges and expanding across the state. But we need your help!

If you would like to be involved and help or simply stay informed as we take on these new challenges, you can fill out this 1-2 minute survey and we will be in contact to provide more information.