Two friends from Michigan's Thumb region are developing farm-management mobile application and Web software right here in Ann Arbor, backed by $1 million in venture capital and training at a vaunted Silicon Valley tech accelerator, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday.
FarmLogs announced it had reached the $1 million mark in venture capital funding in January. Co-founders Jesse Vollmar, 24, and Brad Koch, 23, both graduates of Unionville-Sebewaing Area High School and Saginaw Valley State University, are running the eight-person business from an office on Liberty Street.
The idea for the business grew out of customized software the two built for a local farming client during college. After other farmers expressed interest, Vollmar and Koch realized they'd stumbled upon a potentially vast, untapped market.
The two then made the decision to shut down their software business and apply for a spot in the prestigious Y Combinator, a boot camp-style tech accelerator in Mountain View, Calif. that gives entrepreneurs business training and access to high-profile mentors and investors.
The two opted to launch FarmLogs in Ann Arbor because of its startup culture, access to talent and proximity to Midwestern farmers.
For more, read the Free Press story.