The NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and North Iowa Area SBDC are proud to announce Mitchell Hora of Continuum Ag in Washington, IA是 2023年9月月度企业家.

Continuum Ag is a soil health data intelligence company, using its TopSoil Tool to scale the “how-to” of regenerative agriculture and enable farmers to profit from improving their soil health. Mitchell founded Continuum Ag in 2015 as an agronomy consulting company for farmers, using the Haney test to offer insights into soil health and make fertility recommendations. 作为一个7岁的孩子^th 一代爱荷华农民, Mitchell is passionate about creating results: improving soil health, 提高作物产量, 增加产量, 全面改善土地管理. “I care about family farm profitability and rural communities,” Mitchell says. “Continuum Ag首先以农场为重点.”

随着咨询业务的发展, Mitchell saw that they needed better tools to document and manage the data produced by new agricultural technologies and practices. 他自己承担了这项任务. Mitchell enrolled in the Spring 2019 cohort of the University of Iowa Venture School, a 7-week entrepreneurial training program hosted at the 帕帕约翰中心 & SBDC. In Venture School, Mitchell refined his value proposition and business model and then got to work. “Venture School is a no-brainer starting point for Iowa entrepreneurs,” Mitchell says. “资源, 指导, and guidance are the perfect launch pad and ignoring the resources available would be a mistake.”

Continuum Ag’s system connects with labs and agronomic data systems and returns actionable recommendations to farmers. Farmers can view all of this personalized information in one place through a web-based interface and make data-informed decisions for their land. “Regenerative practices make farmers more profitable and more resilient,” Mitchell says. Continuum Ag’s program mimics nature and how our soils were originally built, 支持ing a natural cycle of increasing soil health while improving water quality, 降低碳强度, 提高产量.

继续扩大Continuum Ag的业务范围, Mitchell has proactively sought out opportunities and made use of his resources. He began by competing in the University of Iowa Venture School Launch Day competition at EntreFest in Summer 2019, 他是怎么打进决赛的. Mitchell was a finalist at the John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition multiple times, 在2022年获得一等奖. He worked with America’s SBDC Iowa which helped with grant writing, proposals, and projects.

Continuum Ag’s innovative yet practical solutions have garnered much acclaim and recognition in the last few years. In 2021, Continuum Ag was the Fourth Runner-Up in the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge. In 2023, they were chosen as the Grand Champion of the Mass Challenge Sustainable Food Solutions competition, 也是Thrive Global Accelerator IX的获奖者. And Continuum Ag’s momentum continues to operate full speed ahead. 2023年6月, they announced the initial closing of their Series A investment round, 由总部位于奥马哈的风险投资公司Grit Road牵头, 获得了ISA Ventures的额外投资, 农业风险投资联盟, 和SVG茁壮成长. Continuum Ag has also secured Propel funding through the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Mitchell and his team have raised over $2 million in capital over the last three years.

Mitchell’s advice for entrepreneurs is simple but comprehensive. “Utilize the advice and resources around you,” he says. “Understand the specific problem and value proposition you need to solve for. Then build your processes and scale at an appropriate pace.” He also notes that the most valuable resources for a business owner aren’t the ones you have to pay for – they can be found much closer at hand.  米切尔来自一个企业家家庭, 并娶了一位企业家(他的妻子), Tympest赫拉, 在费尔菲尔德拥有高温带舞蹈学院, IA). He says, “The number one reason to be an entrepreneur is to be happy and do what we want to do. We’ve found our passions and are able to build businesses within the things that we love. As a family of entrepreneurs, we’re able to lean on each other.”

The NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is the expert in rural business innovation and success. In partnership with North Iowa’s Small 业务 Development Center, 我们一起提供工具, 支持, 为爱荷华州的企业家提供资源. We counsel both new and existing local businesses, from Main Street to industry leaders. We’re growing Iowa’s entrepreneurial culture through grade school initiatives, 大学和社区项目, 以及业务培训和发展. 联系NIACC帕帕约翰中心 641-422-4111 or pappajohn@ozdeicgiyim.com.

# # #

参考编号6927

The mission of 皇冠体育官网 (NIACC) is to enrich lives through comprehensive educational opportunities, 对学习者成功的承诺, 社区参与, 和领导能力. Founded in 1918, NIACC is a nationally-recognized, two-year college located in central North Iowa. 大约是3,000名职业和转学生, the College has been recognized by the Aspen Institute as a leading community college in the nation. 成为一个NIACC木马今天在 http://gqdme2.ozdeicgiyim.com/apply-mkt/.