StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Dec 1, 2019 · 16m · top-founders

1590 Why Farmes Are Buying This $1000 IoT Device to Increase Crop Yield

Bruno Fonseca · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Bruno Fonseca, founder and CEO of a Portuguese agtech startup, breaks down how his company uses proprietary IoT hardware and software subscriptions to optimize crop irrigation and disease prevention. He details their hardware unit economics, zero-churn retention, crowdfunding history, and B2B channel partner distribution strategy.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 40.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 2.2 Nathan pushing back 3.6
05100:0010:000:00–2:23 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Executive Summary and Key Company Metrics Overview Nathan introduces the company metrics and prompts Bruno to explain the core IoT value proposition and parameters collected by the sensor.2:23–6:46 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Pricing Structure, Hardware Deployments, and Customer Retention Nathan showcases strong domain knowledge regarding hardware-plus-SaaS business models, zero-churn dynamics in agtech, and unit economics.6:47–10:22 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Evaluating Software Revenue Growth and Market Validation Nathan firmly challenges Bruno's revenue figure when Bruno mixes hardware sales into monthly recurring revenue, forcing a clarification on pure SaaS metrics.10:25–12:39 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Team Composition, Seedrs Equity Crowdfunding, and Burn Rate Bruno educates Nathan on his funding path, clarifying that Seedrs is a UK equity crowdfunding platform rather than a rewards-based Kickstarter campaign.12:39–16:03 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Production Batch Strategy and Over-the-Air Feature Upgrades Nathan probes whether sensor updates require hardware replacement or over-the-air software before moving through standard rapid-fire questions.0:00–2:23 · Guest teaching 2/10 Executive Summary and Key Company Metrics Overview Nathan introduces the company metrics and prompts Bruno to explain the core IoT value proposition and parameters collected by the sensor.2:23–6:46 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pricing Structure, Hardware Deployments, and Customer Retention Nathan showcases strong domain knowledge regarding hardware-plus-SaaS business models, zero-churn dynamics in agtech, and unit economics.6:47–10:22 · Guest teaching 2/10 Evaluating Software Revenue Growth and Market Validation Nathan firmly challenges Bruno's revenue figure when Bruno mixes hardware sales into monthly recurring revenue, forcing a clarification on pure SaaS metrics.10:25–12:39 · Guest teaching 5/10 Team Composition, Seedrs Equity Crowdfunding, and Burn Rate Bruno educates Nathan on his funding path, clarifying that Seedrs is a UK equity crowdfunding platform rather than a rewards-based Kickstarter campaign.12:39–16:03 · Guest teaching 3/10 Production Batch Strategy and Over-the-Air Feature Upgrades Nathan probes whether sensor updates require hardware replacement or over-the-air software before moving through standard rapid-fire questions.0:00–2:23 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Executive Summary and Key Company Metrics Overview Nathan introduces the company metrics and prompts Bruno to explain the core IoT value proposition and parameters collected by the sensor.2:23–6:46 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pricing Structure, Hardware Deployments, and Customer Retention Nathan showcases strong domain knowledge regarding hardware-plus-SaaS business models, zero-churn dynamics in agtech, and unit economics.6:47–10:22 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Evaluating Software Revenue Growth and Market Validation Nathan firmly challenges Bruno's revenue figure when Bruno mixes hardware sales into monthly recurring revenue, forcing a clarification on pure SaaS metrics.10:25–12:39 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Team Composition, Seedrs Equity Crowdfunding, and Burn Rate Bruno educates Nathan on his funding path, clarifying that Seedrs is a UK equity crowdfunding platform rather than a rewards-based Kickstarter campaign.12:39–16:03 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Production Batch Strategy and Over-the-Air Feature Upgrades Nathan probes whether sensor updates require hardware replacement or over-the-air software before moving through standard rapid-fire questions.0:00–2:23 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Executive Summary and Key Company Metrics Overview Nathan introduces the company metrics and prompts Bruno to explain the core IoT value proposition and parameters collected by the sensor.2:23–6:46 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Pricing Structure, Hardware Deployments, and Customer Retention Nathan showcases strong domain knowledge regarding hardware-plus-SaaS business models, zero-churn dynamics in agtech, and unit economics.6:47–10:22 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Evaluating Software Revenue Growth and Market Validation Nathan firmly challenges Bruno's revenue figure when Bruno mixes hardware sales into monthly recurring revenue, forcing a clarification on pure SaaS metrics.10:25–12:39 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Team Composition, Seedrs Equity Crowdfunding, and Burn Rate Bruno educates Nathan on his funding path, clarifying that Seedrs is a UK equity crowdfunding platform rather than a rewards-based Kickstarter campaign.12:39–16:03 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Production Batch Strategy and Over-the-Air Feature Upgrades Nathan probes whether sensor updates require hardware replacement or over-the-air software before moving through standard rapid-fire questions.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 44.6% · guest 55.4%0:00 · Nathan 44.6% · guest 55.4%3:00 · Nathan 52.2% · guest 47.8%3:00 · Nathan 52.2% · guest 47.8%6:00 · Nathan 25.8% · guest 74.2%6:00 · Nathan 25.8% · guest 74.2%9:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%9:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%12:00 · Nathan 40.3% · guest 59.7%12:00 · Nathan 40.3% · guest 59.7%15:00 · Nathan 71.8% · guest 28.2%15:00 · Nathan 71.8% · guest 28.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:58 Disputing monthly revenue calculations

Bruno pushes back against Nathan's low recurring revenue calculation by insisting on counting one-off hardware sales in the monthly figure.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:02 Refusal to conflate hardware with SaaS MRR

Nathan cuts through the guest's 7k revenue claim by restating the math and demanding purely software-based recurring revenue.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 11:53 Equity crowdfunding vs Kickstarter correction

Bruno corrects Nathan's mischaracterization of their 800k raise as a Kickstarter campaign, specifying it was done via UK equity platform Seedrs.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 3:52 Agtech hardware-software retention playbook

Nathan demonstrates deep SaaS expertise by explaining industry-standard agtech retention dynamics, high switching costs, and manufacturing unit cost scaling.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Executive Summary and Key Company Metrics Overview 4211 Nathan introduces the company metrics and prompts Bruno to explain the core IoT value proposition and parameters collected by the sensor.
Pricing Structure, Hardware Deployments, and Customer Retention 7324 Nathan showcases strong domain knowledge regarding hardware-plus-SaaS business models, zero-churn dynamics in agtech, and unit economics.
Evaluating Software Revenue Growth and Market Validation 7247 Nathan firmly challenges Bruno's revenue figure when Bruno mixes hardware sales into monthly recurring revenue, forcing a clarification on pure SaaS metrics.
Team Composition, Seedrs Equity Crowdfunding, and Burn Rate 4523 Bruno educates Nathan on his funding path, clarifying that Seedrs is a UK equity crowdfunding platform rather than a rewards-based Kickstarter campaign.
Production Batch Strategy and Over-the-Air Feature Upgrades 5323 Nathan probes whether sensor updates require hardware replacement or over-the-air software before moving through standard rapid-fire questions.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
Fonseca: Hardware sells for €1,000 upfront plus €200 annual SaaS fee
“We charge the Stuk, the IoT device, a one-time fee of a price of 101,000 euros. And then we will charge also the customer for software fee, annual fee of 200 euros per year per each sensor.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 2:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fonseca: Startup serves roughly 50 to 55 farming customers
“So basically one customer has two sensors. So it's more or less the half of that. So 50, 55 customers more or less.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 3:28
Insight
Latka: Hardware-enabled agtech models enjoy near-zero churn due to physical installation
“You're seeing a lot of ag tech products taking off right now, which have this kind of model where it's hardware up front, and then there's software on the back end, and the retention rates are typically through the roof because the farmer actually has to insta…”
Nathan Latka Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 3:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fonseca: Startup has experienced zero customer churn to date
“Until, until, until now we don't.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 4:10
Disclosure
Fonseca: Stuk IoT sensor production costs roughly €450 per unit
“Until now, the production cost is more or less for 150 euros per sensor.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 4:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fonseca: Software revenue was roughly $1,000 per month one year ago
“So the software is about 1000.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 7:26
Disclosure
Fonseca: Startup targets agronomists and fertilizer companies for channel distribution
“So basically we are trying to build a connection and to establish a connection with four types of entities that can be our channel. So basically we are trying to contact agronomists advisory companies, agricultural companies, fertilizer companies, And the farm…”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 8:20
Disclosure
Fonseca: Startup pays channel partners a 35% cut of software revenue
“And then we are also sharing the percentage over the software fee. The recurring revenue model. At 35%. So it's more or less 70 euros per each fee.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 9:54
Assertion Supported
Fonseca: Startup was first Portuguese company to close three Seedrs campaigns
“We were the first Portuguese startup that successfully completed not just one, but three crowdfunding campaigns on Cedars.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 11:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fonseca: Agtech startup has raised approximately $800,000 to date
“More or less, 800 K.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 11:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fonseca: Agtech startup has a monthly burn rate of roughly $20,000
“So the burn rate is of about 20, 20 K per month.”
Bruno Fonseca Dec 1, 2019 ▶ 12:31
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more