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Apr 30, 2017 · 15m · top-founders

645: WeFarm Helps 140k Off-Grid Farmers Learn Faster, $1.7M Raised, 90% Still Active After 3 Months with CEO Kenny Ewan

Nathan Latka · 6m spoken Kenny Ewan · 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

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Kenny Ewan, CEO of WeFarm, to explore how his SMS-based peer-to-peer network empowers 140,000 off-grid smallholder farmers. Ewan details WeFarm's operational mechanics, $1.7 million seed fundraising, 90% user retention rates, and future plans for natural language processing technology.

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 49.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 2.8 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 1.8
05100:0010:000:55–4:03 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Preview of Upcoming Guest Scott Brinker Nathan introduces Kenny and asks how WeFarm functions and monetizes. Kenny educates Nathan on the offline farming ecosystem, explaining how SMS and machine learning route agricultural queries among 500 million unconnected farmers.4:04–8:26 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Funding History, Google Grant, and Global Team Nathan explores funding rounds, team distribution, and user acquisition metrics. Kenny details their unconventional radio marketing campaigns in East Africa and extraordinary 90% three-month retention rates.8:26–11:29 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Technology Roadmap and Early Monetization Strategy When Nathan asks for projected 2017 top-line revenue, Kenny deflects by stating investors instructed them to ignore early monetization in favor of growth. Nathan firmly pushes back to uncover how low the actual revenue figure is, prompting Kenny to state $50,000.11:30–13:46 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions without friction, followed by closing remarks and sponsor promos.0:55–4:03 · Guest teaching 4/10 Preview of Upcoming Guest Scott Brinker Nathan introduces Kenny and asks how WeFarm functions and monetizes. Kenny educates Nathan on the offline farming ecosystem, explaining how SMS and machine learning route agricultural queries among 500 million unconnected farmers.4:04–8:26 · Guest teaching 3/10 Funding History, Google Grant, and Global Team Nathan explores funding rounds, team distribution, and user acquisition metrics. Kenny details their unconventional radio marketing campaigns in East Africa and extraordinary 90% three-month retention rates.8:26–11:29 · Guest teaching 2/10 Technology Roadmap and Early Monetization Strategy When Nathan asks for projected 2017 top-line revenue, Kenny deflects by stating investors instructed them to ignore early monetization in favor of growth. Nathan firmly pushes back to uncover how low the actual revenue figure is, prompting Kenny to state $50,000.11:30–13:46 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions without friction, followed by closing remarks and sponsor promos.0:55–4:03 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Preview of Upcoming Guest Scott Brinker Nathan introduces Kenny and asks how WeFarm functions and monetizes. Kenny educates Nathan on the offline farming ecosystem, explaining how SMS and machine learning route agricultural queries among 500 million unconnected farmers.4:04–8:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Funding History, Google Grant, and Global Team Nathan explores funding rounds, team distribution, and user acquisition metrics. Kenny details their unconventional radio marketing campaigns in East Africa and extraordinary 90% three-month retention rates.8:26–11:29 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Technology Roadmap and Early Monetization Strategy When Nathan asks for projected 2017 top-line revenue, Kenny deflects by stating investors instructed them to ignore early monetization in favor of growth. Nathan firmly pushes back to uncover how low the actual revenue figure is, prompting Kenny to state $50,000.11:30–13:46 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions without friction, followed by closing remarks and sponsor promos.0:55–4:03 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Preview of Upcoming Guest Scott Brinker Nathan introduces Kenny and asks how WeFarm functions and monetizes. Kenny educates Nathan on the offline farming ecosystem, explaining how SMS and machine learning route agricultural queries among 500 million unconnected farmers.4:04–8:26 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Funding History, Google Grant, and Global Team Nathan explores funding rounds, team distribution, and user acquisition metrics. Kenny details their unconventional radio marketing campaigns in East Africa and extraordinary 90% three-month retention rates.8:26–11:29 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Technology Roadmap and Early Monetization Strategy When Nathan asks for projected 2017 top-line revenue, Kenny deflects by stating investors instructed them to ignore early monetization in favor of growth. Nathan firmly pushes back to uncover how low the actual revenue figure is, prompting Kenny to state $50,000.11:30–13:46 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions without friction, followed by closing remarks and sponsor promos.

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

0:00 · Nathan 64.9% · guest 35.1%0:00 · Nathan 64.9% · guest 35.1%3:00 · Nathan 22.1% · guest 77.9%3:00 · Nathan 22.1% · guest 77.9%6:00 · Nathan 26.7% · guest 73.3%6:00 · Nathan 26.7% · guest 73.3%9:00 · Nathan 56.2% · guest 43.8%9:00 · Nathan 56.2% · guest 43.8%12:00 · Nathan 81.8% · guest 18.2%12:00 · Nathan 81.8% · guest 18.2%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:58 Kenny resists revenue focus

Kenny attempts to deflect Nathan's direct revenue question by arguing that their investors explicitly told them to stop focusing on minor monetization.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:11 Nathan demands exact revenue figure

Nathan refuses the guest's growth-only deflection, explicitly stating he wants to know just how low the figure is, forcing Kenny to disclose $50k.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:46 Kenny educates on offline global supply chains

Kenny breaks down the realities of 500 million farmers operating without internet access yet producing 70% of global food supply.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:05 Nathan cites live platform statistics

Nathan checks WeFarm's website during the call and quotes precise platform activity numbers (206k questions and 287k answers) to validate marketplace liquidity.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Preview of Upcoming Guest Scott Brinker 3400 Nathan introduces Kenny and asks how WeFarm functions and monetizes. Kenny educates Nathan on the offline farming ecosystem, explaining how SMS and machine learning route agricultural queries among 500 million unconnected farmers.
Funding History, Google Grant, and Global Team 3312 Nathan explores funding rounds, team distribution, and user acquisition metrics. Kenny details their unconventional radio marketing campaigns in East Africa and extraordinary 90% three-month retention rates.
Technology Roadmap and Early Monetization Strategy 4225 When Nathan asks for projected 2017 top-line revenue, Kenny deflects by stating investors instructed them to ignore early monetization in favor of growth. Nathan firmly pushes back to uncover how low the actual revenue figure is, prompting Kenny to state $50,000.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 1000 Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions without friction, followed by closing remarks and sponsor promos.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
WeFarm Plans Monetization Through Data and Marketplace Commissions
“For us, it's about growing a massive volume of people using our product and using it regularly, and we'll look to monetize on the back of that. But that'll be in two principal ways. One is through the data that we generate.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 2:00
Assertion Partly supported
Ewan: 500M Offline Farmers Produce 70% of World's Food
“Five hundred million farmers without internet, but supplying 70% of the world's food”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 2:16
Assertion Supported
WeFarm Closed a $1.7 Million Seed Round
“So we just closed our seed round for about 1.7 million dollars.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 4:19
Assertion Supported
WeFarm Launched With a £500,000 Google Grant
“So that was 500,000 pounds, which at that point was a lot more dollars than it would be now.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 4:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
WeFarm Has Seen Up to 5,000 User Sign-Ups in One Hour
“Four, maybe 5000 people is our record for one hour.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 6:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ewan: WeFarm has reached roughly 140,000 farmers
“So that's about a 140,000 farmers now.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 6:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ewan: Roughly 35% of WeFarm users actively contribute knowledge
“People that actively contribute knowledge, which for us averages about 35% of all users actively contribute”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 6:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ewan: WeFarm sees 85% to 90% three-month user retention
“About 85, 90% of people are still using the platform three months after, after they sign up.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 7:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ewan: WeFarm churn occurs almost entirely within the first 24 hours
“Most people that churn, most people that leave, do so in the first 24 hours. And once people stay for 24 hours, they pretty much never leave.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 7:31
Disclosure
Ewan: WeFarm has commercial contracts with a UK high street retailer
“We already have a couple of commercial contracts with one major high street retailer in the UK.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 9:31
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ewan: WeFarm expects around $50,000 in commercial revenue in 2017
“I would expect our revenue this year from really commercial sources to be around 50,000 dollars.”
Kenny Ewan Apr 30, 2017 ▶ 10:16
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