Profile of a Founder - Jake Joraanstad of Bushel
Interviews

Jake Joraanstad of Bushel

thetechtribune
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Jake Joraanstad (co-founder and CEO) of Bushel, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Bushel – what problem were you trying to solve and why?

While we were a custom mobile & web development shop, a local grain elevator asked about providing digitized scale tickets. This sent us down a journey of understanding how much opportunity there would be in digitizing the outdated processes of agriculture. It went from simply showing information to taking action, such as digitally signing contracts or making grain offers. Today, we’ve built an entire payments infrastructure. But the key problem was always the same: solving for the inefficiencies of doing business between farmer and agribusiness.

What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?

The misconception that farmers are tech-averse. What we’re seeing is actually how hard it is for agribusinesses such as grain elevators and ag retailers to change their processes. Technology adoption is harder in the “messy middle” of the ag supply chain than it is on the farm. Our data and experiences show farmers at all ages are willing to adopt technology if it makes sense and if it makes their lives easier or helps them with more informed decision-making.

What does the future hold for Bushel?

This year we launched our biggest financial tool yet – setting up a digital wallet and interest-bearing account directly into our farm management software. This is expanding our digital payments network infinitely and giving farmers access to a digital financial platform built specifically for their challenges that personal banks can’t do today, such as higher FDIC insurance or higher amount limits on mobile check deposits.

What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in North Dakota?

Fargo is home to the best tech innovations happening in agriculture today. Why? It has a long history of innovation starting in the 1800s with Bonanza Farms. Today, we have great public/private/non-profit partnerships with organizations such as Emerging Prairie and the Grand Farm. The community support for startups is unmatched.

What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Learn as much as you can quickly through testing what works and what doesn’t. Also consider how to focus and prioritize. One of our best business decisions was pivoting from custom web development to focus on agriculture-related SaaS products.

For more exclusive interviews, see our full Profile of a Founder series