AVF Changemaker in the Spotlight: Maximilian Loessl On Agrilution and the AVF
This month I had a chance to sit down and chat with Maximilian Loessl. Max is the co-founder of the AVF and a co-founder of the startup agrilution - a company developing an appliance that helps people grow fresh, nutritious food at home. During the interview we had a chance to discuss how Max got started in vertical farming, what he's doing with the AVF, and we also explored a few of the lessons that he’s learned while building a startup as a young CEO. I hope you enjoy this month’s AVF Changemaker in the Spotlight with Max Loessl.
Chris: Max, thanks for coming on to share your story with us. How did you get the ideas to start agrilution and the AVF?
Max: I was still in the Netherlands when I had the idea for both agrilution and the AVF back in 2012. It started out as one blurry thing including all facets of vertical farming technology plus a global network. By talking about it more and more with several people, and especially Christine, we came to the conclusion that it would be better to separate the two. I then focused on shaping the idea of agrilution in more detail while Christine focused on framing the AVF concept, because she had the background of starting and running non-profits. Agrilution was officially founded in April 2013 and AVF got the status of a registered nonprofit in July. Both are registered in Germany.
Chris: Can you tell us a little more about agrilution?
Max: agrilution offers a complete vertical farming ecosystem consisting of a smart home-growing appliance and consumables, as well as an App that eliminates the need for a green thumb. Thereby we enable you to grow the healthiest, freshest most tasty greens in your own home.
Chris: You have a new product that’s set to launch this holiday season. What can you tell us about the plantCube? What can you grow?
Max: Theoretically anything. However we are focusing on leafy greens, herbs, lettuces and microgreens at product launch. But we have several other plant categories in the pipeline that we will be releasing over time.
Chris: When and where will they be available for sale?
Max: We will start selling them online through our website in Germany and Austria in December this year - mainly because we want to offer great after sales service and learn as much as possible from our early adopters. But the product is obviously targeted at a global audience. People outside the German speaking area still need to stay tuned for a while longer, but it’s coming and we’re in the midst of preparing the necessary steps already.
Chris: Who should use a plantCube?
Max: Pretty much anyone. What we wanted to develop is a system to democratize the technology of vertical farming and to give anyone access to fresh food while also educating them on how food is produced. Most of our early adopters are people that love to cook, hobby chefs, and foodies of all ages.
Chris: Let’s say we live in Germany and we open up our new plantCube on Christmas morning. Tell us about what we’ll get and what we’ll need to do to get started.
Max: It’s really simple to set up. The plantCube comes with automated watering, perfect LED Lighting, and climate control to make the process of home growing easy and fun. We basically provide everything to make sure that even people who know nothing about growing plants can succeed.
The plantCube is a plug and play device so all you need is electricity and wifi and then it comes with an app that runs on all platforms. The app basically lets you install the cube so that nothing goes wrong. Then you’ll need a bit of water to fill up the water tank. After you’ve done all of that and registered the device, then you can insert between 1-8 seed bundles and start growing right away.
The plantCube comes with an automated watering system, LED lights from OSRAM, and climate control to mimic ideal growing conditions. It’s in the standard dimensions of a European under the counter appliance sort of like a dishwasher so you can integrate them into a kitchen or also use them standalone. Dimensions are: 90*60*60cm.
[join the waitlist to get a plantCube for your own home today]
Chris: How many hours a week does it take to maintain?
Max: Our goal was to keep maintenance as low as possible for people that just want the greens without the work. Under 15 minutes maintenance per week was our target and we reached it.
Chris: How will plant recipes work with the plantCube? Can I already download a bunch and start growing?
Max: Based on which seed bundle you use, the machine recognizes which plants you’re growing and controls all of the variables for you.
Chris: What was the most interesting thing about getting agrilution started?
Max: For me personally it was the entire learning process I had over the years, meeting all these interesting, inspiring changemakers from around the world working in the vertical farming space or getting people from outside the space interested in vertical farming through agrilution.
Chris: How have agrilution’s values defined the strategy of the company?
Max: Our mentors and early investors helped us maintain our vision while building agrilution. Even though we are a small startup, we’re setting the stage for something much bigger. Building a profitable company to make an impact on the world. We want to impact a lot of people. One thing that has helped along the way is that money was never the main driver for us.
Chris: How do you imagine the future of residential growing on a long time horizon, say the next 5-10 years?
Max: By 2025 or 2026 vertical farming will be much more mainstream. By mainstream I mean that by 2025 every city will have a commercial scale vertical farm and consumers will be able to buy appliances like the plantCube. It’ll have a lot to do with consumer demand for transparency, which is a trend that will continue to grow in the next decade. Awareness is key… Consumer education will continue to drive the growth of vertical farming in the future.
I don’t think there is one model of vertical farming that will rule them all. There are a lot of niche markets that will continue to emerge as the technology grows… To me vertical farming is the next step in the evolution of food production and it connects our generation with farming. In our recent past farming has become viewed in a negative light because it’s something that young people don’t want to be associated with any more.
Chris: Switching gears to the AVF - do you have any recent milestones you’d like to share? Where do you see the organization heading in the near future?
Max: We’re on a great path with the AVF. It's really grown from an idea to global community already. Just last week we signed IKEA as members. That's one of 12 multinational companies that are part of AVF already (others include Metro, OSRAM, Microsoft, Philips etc.). The plan for the next few years is to scale the AVF, we believe we’ve put the right structure and strategy in place to achieve that collectively. The goal is to hire more full time staff and scale the organization in Asia, and the US where we don't have as many members as in Europe.
Chris: Now that the AVF has 85+ business members and lots of momentum, how does it feel for you when you think about what you’ve accomplished?
Max: To be honest I actually don't take enough time to sit back and reflect. It's awesome to see something grow and develop like AVF. But it's all still work in progress. In my opinion were still only getting started :) We need to make it more financially stable and impact way more people around the world. But we’ve definitely put in place a great foundation for AVF to grow and thrive and therefore to support Vertical Farming globally.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH MAX LOESSL’S TEDx TALK
Chris: If you don’t mind, I’d like to close with a few rapid fire personal questions. What motivates you to work so hard?
Max: Making the world a better place. Building a sustainable future. Being part of the solution.
Chris: You mentioned a few important mentors? If so, how has mentorship affected your career?
Max: Mentorship has dramatically impacted me in my career. I have had a few mentors who have accomplished a lot. That’s something that has given me a lot of confidence in building agrilution and the AVF. Our mentors have helped us to avoid mistakes early on.
Chris: How do you feel about the gender balance in AgTech? How can this be improved?
Max: It's weird that mainly men are active in this space and we definitely need more women! I honestly don't know how this can be improved but I've been asking myself that...
Chris: What makes you happy?
Max: Vertical Farming, sunshine, making other people happy, making an impact on creating a better future for everyone.
Chris: Who inspires you?
Max: Elon Musk
Chris: What are some of your favorite books?
Max: The Self Aware Universe (Amit Goswami), How Google Works, Power of Habit, Venture Deals, and of course “The Vertical Farm”.
Chris: What are you going to do right after this interview?
Max: I’m going to go home and make a healthy dinner with my girlfriend. We’re making a big salad (unfortunately not agrilution grown) with some chicken, pumpkin, sweet potato, and beetroot roasted in the oven.
Chris: Max, thanks so much for taking the time to share your story with our readers. Can you tell us if there’s anything you want our readers to do after this interview?
Max: Anyone reading this article should sign up to join the waiting list for the plantCube which will be launching for this holiday season. If we get a lot of sign ups from a certain country, that’s where we’ll plan our next expansion so put your name on the list.
Also, they can sign up to join the AVF if they want to start learning about vertical farming.
Author Bio:
Chris Powers is co-managing the AVF Press Division and working to drive targeted awareness and growth to early stage vertical farming projects. Check out his latest project by clicking here.
