Adil Zharmukhambetov of Agrogen: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder
If I could start a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, it would undoubtedly involve sustainable development projects. Great examples are environmental initiatives related to forestry issues and water security. In Kazakhstan, more and more attention is being given to water scarcity challenges in southern and western Kazakhstan, especially due to uncontrolled water consumption for agricultural needs.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Adil Zharmukhambetov, a founder and CEO of “Agrogen”, a digital agronomy service for small and medium-sized farms based on artificial intelligence and virtual weather stations. The mission of Agrogen is to ensure food security through the use of scientific and technical innovations in the field of precision farming, space monitoring, and climatology. Adil earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Nazarbayev University.
Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Starting from 2019, I had a great chance to work closely with state and private agricultural organizations in Kazakhstan. This industrial experience has given me a profound view of the structure and economic perspectives in this area. In 2022, after notable understanding of the challenges of agricultural companies and practice in agri-tech, we were given an offer to create a software solution for satellite monitoring and meteorological modeling for one of the leading players in the country which in turn resulted in developing the “Agrogen” startup company.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Hard times started at the beginning of 2023 when we faced challenges with team remunerations. Expenses on salaries had dramatically increased since the beginning of the year. This was an effect of rapidly testing startup hypotheses when it comes to the minimum viable project (MVP) generation process. Since our startup had no investments, we relied solely on cash flow from our current client. This led to negative results in springtime, when our client stopped payment due to an unsatisfactory outcome from our major product.
For several months, the core team was implementing debugging work without receiving salaries. This period was a shock for us and showed us that we should always focus on the product and be client-oriented.
3. Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
I got the drive to continue the startup from my both parents and teammates who always supported our endeavors. Moreover, our path was fueled by the drive to demonstrate the product to various top investors, especially during hard times. Speaking honestly, we were inspired by the chance to show our technical output to the Kazakhstani farming community. Many of our team members were new to this area and were thrilled to delve deeper into agricultural project challenges.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I would recommend taking care of your personal life and focusing on small things initially. Trying to concentrate on the philosophy of ‘carpe diem’ can sometimes have an amazing effect. While founding a startup or pursuing other ambitions is important, for me, real life unfolds in every present moment. And so, recognizing that importance comes from the process itself can be a wonderful cure for ‘burn out’.
Furthermore, I would encourage finding the positive in regular activities, which of course are always shining and waiting for us to tune in to them. For example, this could be through exercise when you start to feel anxious. Taking a pause and reanalyzing the situation from different angles can also make your day much better.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I am particularly grateful to Nazarbayev University and the members of our core team for believing in the idea of creating this project from scratch. Most of my teammates are university friends who were doing their BSc with me at Nazarbayev University. Our alma mater gave us great support, not only in terms of technical education and temporary office space, but also in networking and industrial knowledge, which finally resulted in our joint successful work.
I really think these steps showed our enthusiasm and dedication, as well as courage and sincere desire to make something for the sake of farmers of Kazakhstan.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
· Financial knowledge is very important: As I mentioned, financing the team is of critical importance. So, preliminary, practical, and realistic financial assessment of the company’s future would give positive outcomes and shield you from typical startup difficulties.
· Do not overly fixate on investment attraction activities: Looking into investment opportunities is valuable, but being focused on current technical activities and the client is much more significant. For instance, our team spent tremendous time and effort to prepare customized MVPs and presentations for specific agrarian investors, which did not end successfully. We were exhausted after our pitch while at the same time had simultaneous obligations with current customers, who were waiting for our attention. Looking back, we certainly see that our energy should have been utilized in a more effective way, if we were conscious of our real priorities and investor’s needs.
· Strive not to be an uninvited guest when it comes to client search: This statement could be controversial, however it has often been observed that the right product always finds its audience without big marketing expenses. Our experience demonstrates that making allocating substantial spendings to persuade and deliver commercial presentations to big clients is irrational.
· A larger team isn’t always better: At the beginning, our team consisted of three people, and we thought that a greater number of people would give better results. At maximum, our personnel were more than 12, and at that time we realized that something was going wrong. We realized that effectiveness did not have a clear correlation with the number of people, but instead depended on focus and teamwork unity.
· Product management is of critical importance: As a founder, it always feels that you understand the exceptional need of a client, and your idea is the best fit ever imagined. With that perception, it is easy to choose the wrong direction, even if your close friends suggest looking again into the product development. To minimize the risk at this stage, it is important to find a product specialist or manager who can meticulously and professionally analyze the product-market fit phase.
Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?
The idea of bringing good digital products to the farmer community was the primary motivation for myself and every member of the team. At the beginning of the project, we had numerous talks and interview sessions with our rural customers. Thus, our emotional connection deepened due to the support and belief of our clients.
You could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
If I could start a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, it would undoubtedly involve sustainable development projects. Great examples are environmental initiatives related to forestry issues and water security. In Kazakhstan, more and more attention is being given to water scarcity challenges in southern and western Kazakhstan, especially due to uncontrolled water consumption for agricultural needs.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Readers could follow us on Instagram @agrogen.kz or click on our website www.agrogen.kz
