Training Block 2 Focuses on Making Profit on Both the Short and the Long Term at .wave
At GuardenAI, we're on a mission to revolutionize agriculture through state-of-the-art technology. Our journey recently led us to participate in "Training Block 2" at .wave’s accelerator program, where we gained valuable insights into all the areas necessary to turn our sustainability idea into a self-sustaining business as well. Many sides of the business in practice were discussed including sales, pricing, HR, keeping up our productivity by design enabled innovation, and – most alien to us – the rules of the maze of business law and intellectual property. As a multifaceted company, engaged in software, hardware, AI and agricultural research and innovation, this experience has further fuelled our commitment to develop cutting-edge solutions for pest control in agriculture.
The Power of Design Meets Pest Control Robotics
During our training, we discovered the pivotal role of design in shaping the future of pest control robotics. Just as design can transform start-ups, it can also revolutionize the way we approach agricultural pest management. A leading researcher from the design university MoME described, that from an aesthetics only approach to strategic integration into the product, design plays a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation, as it shapes customers’ overall experience.
Balancing Intellectual Property Is Essential for the Survival of Every innovative Start-Up
The training also emphasized the importance of intellectual property (IP) in the fields of rapid innovation, such as Agri-Tech. In both the software and the hardware research world, protecting our innovations is crucial for the success of our aspiring pest control robotics company. Striking the right balance between IP protection and avoiding overprotection is essential as the need for growth may lead to lowering one’s guard, however the overall survival of the company can only be ensured if the hard-won achievements are rewarded in the market.
Costly Research Could Be Substituted with Design
Hardware development training’s main concerns revolved around the systematic challenges and considerations of creating physical products. Our laser-enabled pest control robots will be the result of the ongoing, innovative and rigorous hardware design process. The well-known “Double Diamond” process, also featured in the workshop, which guides solution-seekers from problem identification to delivery, has already been instrumental in crafting efficient and effective pest control solutions.
Allocation of Resources Adequately Drastically Reduces Product Development Time
We have learned that average product development timelines exceed the optimal duration by a factor of four. In the effervescent sustainable agriculture scene, it is crucial for achieving our mission to address common start-up problems upfront, deal with recurring themes of mistakes, and streamline the development process, so we can deliver design-driven pest control innovations as soon as possible. As we enthusiastically learned, with diligence and sufficient resources, this could be done within a matter of months, not years.
Sales, Pricing and HR are the Key Money-makers within the Firm
Esteemed guest speakers, such as .wave mentor Zsolt Balogh, and leading advisory giants, such as Horvath and Partners were taking the initiative to enlighten the possibilities on the business side of start-up life. We have received a very handy methodology to find our potential clients, a heavy load of inspiration on price setting, and an essentially a masterclass in people management, including CAR, and the importance of values and principals. As new legislation towers over the disproportionately affected farmers, with the EU's Green Deal leading the way, including Bee Protection Draft, and the UN following with its more and more widely-used framework of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we strive to create positive changes, and provide innovative, sustainable, and high-tech solutions by autonomous robots for pest control.
With the Help of One Appliance, Food Scraps Saves City Trees
Emese Pancsa cared for trees as a city dweller, and realized how out of place they can feel themselves, because of the lack of proper nutrients in the soils of the concrete jungle we fondly call our homes. The true revelation in the success of Compocity for us was the prospect of human engagement, as this fairly new company draw the attention of global businesses such as Wise, by being able to design an appliance, Compobot, much more captivating than its competitors. Though Emese’s story included many other aspects, we will more likely to build on her experience with human connections, than to gamify our laser-enabled pest control robots – though it is surely, a tempting possibility.
The Odyssey Promised by Business Law Is Worth a Walk Through
We guess, for many follow founders, dealing with legal issues is like being in the belly of a beast of legendary proportions – threatening and undesired. Lucky us, we were provided to chaperons, Zsófia Oláh, György Baksay-Nagy, experts in start-up founding, intellectual property and patents. Their conjoint praxes ensured a clear and concise answer even for the most complex of our questions. Their patient assistance and systematic approach granted valuable insights. At GuardenAI, we pledged to serve a global community of farmers, as pests are reluctant to stick to borders. This will pose international legal obstacles to be overcome by safeguarding our future IPs and patents, and thus the future for pest control robotics, so we were particularly thankful for these legal instructions.
We are ever so grateful for .wave, for GuardenAI's opportunity to participate in Training Block 2. We have been equipped with the knowledge and insights to continue our mission of revolutionizing agriculture with robotics. Our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and responsible pest management is unwavering as we work towards creating a cleaner and greener future for agriculture. Stay tuned for the next chapter in our journey!