Part Two - Interview Ground Truth Ag founder Kyle Folk
Ground Truth Ag's founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kyle Folk, founded his first ag tech company in 2011 before the term ag tech was even a thing.
“There was no appeal to agriculture technology when I started out. None whatsoever. But now, it’s an industry that everyone finally respects and appreciates. I don’t know any other industry that every human on the planet requires multiple times a day,” Folk remembers about his first experience as a founder 13 years ago.
“When I’d fill out forms for the company, ‘ag tech’ wasn’t a box I could check. It was either ‘manufacturing’ or ‘software technologies. Fast forward to now, ‘ag tech’ is a term most people understand and know. Ag tech has become an industry that is now getting the attention it deserves.”
Folk has learned some valuable lessons he wants to share from his experience founding, growing and successfully selling his first ag tech firm and founding and growing Ground Truth Ag. “There’s a community of founders here who have started companies - like-minded individuals who are building out products and systems that you can reach out to and exchange ideas with.”
“My best piece of advice to anyone looking to found their own company is to do something that provides real value and practical solutions instead of providing promises or smoke and mirror value propositions,” explains Folk. “I am biased towards providing real value to farmers because the farm is where I come from.”
The biggest change Folk has had over the past 13 years is his approach to problem solving. “A big mind shift for me was how I view problems. The first time around, I lived with this stress – this fear – always waiting for a problem that would stop us in our tracks and make our idea not feasible or viable,” Folk explains.
“I’ve come to understand that problems are not things that are going to stop us from achieving our goals. We solve them. They give us an advantage - every hurdle we make it over puts us into a better position.”
His last piece of advice is embedded in his company’s team values of humility, pragmatism, fairness and tenacity. “Company culture is everything. The team you create is your engine for acceleration,” he explains. “It’s a powerful thing - making sure everyone has the skills, the desire to work together and the humility and trust in each other to collectively solve the same problem.”