Keenan Pinto is the founder and CEO of Nordetect, which enables farmers to test their own soil samples for Nitrogren Phosphorous, and Potassium and then see the results in real time. This not only enables smarter farming practices, but also prevents over-fertilizing. With a diverse scientific and international background, Keenan shares his advice, lessons learned, and smart cuts for starting an Ag or FoodTech hardware / software company in the Nordics. We also discuss the pros and cons of building and scaling a company in Denmark.
5:00 What does Nordetect do? Where did the idea come from?
8:25 How does the industry work when it comes to testing soil?
12:15 What is the impact of Nordetect’s technology for farmers and the environment?
17:04 How does Nordetect’s hardware / software solution?
19:40 Why did you chose to start Nordetect in Denmark? How has the choice helped or heard Nordetect’s development?
24:50 Can the Nordic FoodTech ecosystem support you in in scaling?
The Nordics are great for hardware companies if you are passed the development stage. If you’re just starting up, it’s expensive. There is a limited access to tools and parts. Ordering any parts outside of EU bove 80 DKK are taxed at import. It’s an expensive bottleneck.
28:30 Is there anything you wish you’d done differently or advice you’d pass on?
31:15 How should someone reach out to a knowledge institution to start working with them?
I wish we’d started working with knowledge institutions earlier! That’s where a lot of innovation is coming from.
33:28 How would you like to see the Nordic FoodTech ecosystem evolve?
36:10 Are there any other initiatives you would like to highlight for their work?
37:55 How can listeners help Nordetect and what’s next?