{"id":41745,"date":"2023-10-20T15:16:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/experts-in-the-field-how-a-faulty-lift-could-revolutionise-crop-forecasts-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:11","slug":"experts-in-the-field-how-a-faulty-lift-could-revolutionise-crop-forecasts-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/experts-in-the-field-how-a-faulty-lift-could-revolutionise-crop-forecasts-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts in the field: How a faulty lift could revolutionise crop forecasts – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A product that could revolutionise the agriculture industry wouldn\u2019t have existed at all if two young Adelaide University students didn\u2019t get stuck in an elevator together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the elevator, Harry Lucas convinced Liam Ellul to join his team and compete in a university business challenge after the pair discussed science fiction and their visions for the future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Along with co-founder Petros Bakopoulos, they eventually created Seer Insights, a startup which aims to make yield estimates for crops more accurate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s flagship product GrapeBrain collates all the data relating to crop yields and runs it through a series of predictive analyses to quickly turn out data and discover patterns and insights for future crops.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Making more accurate predictions<\/b><\/h2>\n

Inaccurate predictions are a big problem in agriculture, especially with vineyards, Lucas says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got technology that\u2019s able to predict with a much higher degree of accuracy how many crops will be harvested than what\u2019s currently available,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a widespread issue and we have a solution for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Predictions for grape productions are usually out by about 30%, Lucas says, and this can have huge financial implications. Seer Insights estimates that this problem could be costing Australia $200 million annually.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The agriculture industry is mostly using very traditional pen and paper methods at the moment to predict their yields, Lucas says, leading to the inaccurate calculations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GrapeBrain has both cloud and mobile elements to cater to different stakeholders, and the young team is now working on a third prototype while also engaging in a pilot program with a number of vineyards in South Australia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe wine industry is the best platform to launch from,\u201d Lucas says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so reputable in South Australia, and the industry is crying out for it, it\u2019s really struggling at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucas says he talked to a vineyard in the state that produces 14,000 tonnes of grapes per year, and the trucks that transport this harvest can only take 22 tonnes at a time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you under or overestimate by 30% that\u2019s a lot of trucks you\u2019ve misallocated and that\u2019s a lot of money you\u2019ve lost,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The startup has received funding from Microsoft\u2019s BizSpark program, and will monetise the service by selling it directly to the agriculture industry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the pilot program, Seer Insights will produce a report detailing the results and the accuracy of its predictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wineries want numbers, not a premise,\u201d Lucas says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we have that it\u2019s a question of how far and how fast we can spread it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Encouraging young people to become entrepreneurs<\/b><\/h2>\n

The trio behind Seer Insights are all students in their early twenties, and Lucas says their youthfulness is usually an asset.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really good for practicality, we have no mortgage or families,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSome people say you can\u2019t do it just because you\u2019re young though, and you have to be able to deal with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucas is studying engineering at Adelaide University, and says it\u2019s a big step to be applying this knowledge outside of his studies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m applying that in the real world and developing a platform other people will be using a relying on,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s slightly terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

University students are in a prime position to get involved with startups, Lucas says, and more need to be embracing an entrepreneurial attitude.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much space for innovation, especially in South Australia at the moment, and we need to see more people having a crack at it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a school full of lawyers, engineers and artists, and nobody has any big obligations. It could be like a boiling pot of innovation, but it\u2019s not happening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing that needs to happen is to have students that are willing to have a crack.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He\u2019s encouraging other university students to follow through with their ideas and to see where that takes them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust because you\u2019re young and a student doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t innovate,\u201d Lucas says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust do it, you\u2019ve got nothing to lose. The worst case scenario is that you don\u2019t succeed but have this fantastic item on your resume.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe best case scenario is you build a self-sustaining company and change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Raising your<\/i> first round of capital<\/i><\/a>? Starting a<\/i> crowdfunding campaign<\/i><\/a>? Want to grow your business<\/i> with Instagram?<\/i><\/a> StartupSmart School can help.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A product that could revolutionise the agriculture industry wouldn\u2019t have existed at all if two young Adelaide University students didn\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41745"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}