#21 Jose Sanchez (US Army) – Ecogistix

I’ve been bootstrapping it so far, but it’s tough. You still have to keep the lights on at home

Our guest this week is Jose Sanchez, Founder of Ecogistix, a manufacturing execution systems platform that will allows growers to more efficiently track and manage their fresh produce as it moves from farm to market.

Jose’s familial ties to the farming community trace back to his grandfather’s ranching operations in Mexico. But it was his father’s memories of the difficulty of selling their product at the local markets that brought Jose back into ag after spending a number of years gaining an education in computer science and in supply chain management.

The intentionally and care with which Jose has approached the creation of Ecogistix is impressive. It’s taken them over three years to develop a production ready model, a process that started with the farmer’s challenges, then leveraged their team’s industry experience and partnerships to finally reach a stage where they’re ready to start on-boarding growers.

Jose is honest with this process of bootstrapping about it not being all sunshine and roses. It takes grit, struggle and financial preparation. Have a listen to hear Jose’s story and some of lessons learned from this agri-preneur.