Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in agriculture and technology but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tessa Agrey, co-founder of Hope Innovations, located in Edson, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are a family bootstrap Startup company from Alberta, Canada. We started out with the idea to grow food in places that you normally could not. Living in Alberta, winters are long and harsh. There are not that many places that have good growing conditions, and it is super hard to grow your own food, let alone do it year-round.

We knew there had to be a way to grow food inside your house all year round. After tons of research, we found out about hydroponics and knew this was the answer we had been looking for. However, the more we looked into it, we realized that everything on the market was either thousands of dollars, required expensive plant refills, or the system was too small to grow enough food.

If you wanted to buy an indoor garden system, they required custom light, pumps, and other parts. This means you were stuck only buying from one company; if they were out of stock, you were out of luck. If a lightbulb stopped working, what should be a cheap and easy fix turned into an expensive nightmare. They had custom light fixtures, so you could not simply change out a lightbulb but had to change the entire fixture out, which would cost you so much money. In short, all the market systems were designed for the company to get as much money out of the customer as possible and get them stuck in a buy, buy, buy cycle.

We absolutely hated this, and new things had to change. So, we designed our own indoor garden that was universal and removed plant refills so that you can use any seed from anywhere. It was affordable, not thousands of dollars.

We now have two indoor garden systems. These systems allow you to grow your own food all year round, no matter where you live. Our amazing community is so supportive and is passionate about growing their own food. It is awesome because they range from avid gardeners to people that said they killed every plant they touched. Everyone is so helpful and always wants to learn. They grow their own food year-round now and share their bounty with family and friends. They love that our systems offer them so much freedom and results. We all work together to make each better and improve indoor gardening.

Tell us about yourself

As cheesy as it is to say, it was fate. I (Tessa) was in university studying environmental science. I was taking a course that touched on hydroponics as a greener and more sustainable alternative to growing our food at the same time, My brother Ryan is a nerd; in the best way, he was playing Minecraft and made a garden underground to protect it from the zombies. He then thought, why are we not doing this in real life? Why are we not growing food in areas we normally can not and have an automatic process.

It was on a phone call that we shared both ideas and combined them. This is what started our business adventure. What motivates us each day is the possibility to offer affordable healthy food. Just like water, we want to make food just as accessible and almost free. Having access to healthy food is so crucial to one's physical and mental health. People will function a lot better and at a higher level if they do not have to worry about where their next meal will come from.

What motivates us is helping people get healthier, fresher, nutrient-dense food that has not been shipped thousands of miles, sprayed with chemicals, and possibly grown on unstainable farms.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment as business owners is being able to create and sustain a business that is for the customer, even if it means not making as much money as we could. We mean that we made our products universal, so you aren't stuck buying solely from us. You have the option to buy elsewhere if you want to.

Majority of companies in our area make their product for investors. They want to get as much money as they can from the customer. They make custom parts, requiring you only to use their expensive plant refills. Essentially making it impossible to grow your garden without having to buy it continuously. We did not like this, and that is why we never got investors. We made a business that had the customer's needs as the highest priority. It meant we would make less money, but we could actually solve the problem and not add to it.

All of our product is universal, meaning you are not stuck only buying from us. You can interchange parts as technology comes out. You have the freedom to buy from us or any other store you want. Because we designed our company this way, we have the best, most supportive community. We are so proud of it and how active, passionate and kind they are.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing when it comes to being a business owner is figuring out your message and product before running out of money. Being your own boss is super scary and risky. You do not have a guaranteed income, and things are always changing. The hardest thing is getting your message to resonate with your audience, speak their language, and get inside their head. So when they look at your business and product, it is the solution to all their problems.

This is extremely difficult to do and expensive. The hardest thing is finding it out before running out of money or going into debt. You want to make sure your product matches your audience's needs, and your message portrays that. Getting all these pieces to fit is super challenging as it is always evolving and changing.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. You do not need investors, a huge team, or lots of money to start your own business. In fact, it is better not to get investors so you can stay true to your company and yourself. You can make your business the way you want it and do not have to bend to the investors' wants (how much money I can make in the cheapest way possible). There are so many great online platforms and ways to raise funds and start your own business. You do not need to be rich or have a massive team. It was just my brother and I that started our company and scaled it.
  2. Listen to your customer's wants and needs before starting anything. You may think it is a genius idea; however, it might not be what they need or want. Make sure you listen to your ideal audience's wants or needs before starting anything. This will save you a bunch of money and time.
  3. You are going to fail and fail and fail. However, look at each thing as a way to improve. Enough failures will be the strongest and best foundation for success. It will get disheartening and hard, but if you keep the focus on your goal and look at each failure as a learning opportunity, you will get there.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: http://www.hopeinnovation.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeinnovations.eden
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eden_hope_garden/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.