What was the motivation behind your business idea?
Our original vision was to bring lab test technology to the dairy field to improve animal health and help the dairy farmer identify animals infected with mastitis. This is done in real-time, rather than having to send specimens to a lab and wait for the results. Since the animals are identified quickly and can be treated, the farmer saves both time and money.
The dairy industry is currently going through an active transformation process. The industry is looking for tech to automate farm management, coordinate complex supply chain issues, promote sustainability, and monitor and implement genomic selection processes. Labby's solution transforms the industry and shifts toward the digital dairy era - real-time data for animal health, supply chain transparency and visibility, and carbon footprint reduction. Our optical AI technology provides real-time and automated material (milk) sensing solutions for the dairy industry, enhancing milk biosecurity, improving animal health, and reducing greenhouse emissions.
What stresses do you feel in being the founder of a start-up in the animal health space?
It's not a secret. Most startups will fail. Only a fraction of those will learn, adapt and survive. Being a startup founder is a tough job with constant challenges and struggles with product issues, shortage of money, and talent. Then for a b2b startup like Labby, it also adds additional layers of complexity.
I came from enterprise hardware and software in the wireless network and healthcare industries, I had to learn everything – fast, about the dairy operation, dairy cows, milk payment systems, and the ecosystem and learn fast. It was a great rewarding experience. During the process, I learned from so many dairy experts; some became our pilot customers, while others joined the advisory board. I am so grateful for all the support that everyone gave us.
At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics?
Today we are in the phase of scaling up from the pilot stage. Our primary focus is revenue generation while achieving high customer satisfaction. The customer is gold, and their approval and support are a strong measure of our success. In the meantime, Labby is also the innovation leader in this space. We have to constantly look for new ways to improve our technology and solutions to remain competitive.
What specific experience in prior roles gave you the confidence/ experience to roll the dice?
I come from a hybrid background in both technology and business, studied electronic engineering as an undergraduate, and have a hi-tech MBA. I have worked for multiple multinational or fortune 500 companies, which gave me significant experience and exposure in system engineering for complex systems, P&L, RFP bidding, and product development. And I have worn various hats, including principal engineer, technical sales, and technical project lead. All these experiences gave me the foundation and training on how to run a company.
My experience helped me develop a strong appreciation for process optimization and efficiency and would like to think we have been a very capital-efficient startup, delivering significant results with a minimum of resources.
When I decided late to go to school to pursue a different career path, MIT gave me an environment to initiate my transition from corporate to startup and pursue my dream as a startup founder.
Labby is a deep tech startup, and my prior technical background made me quite comfortable leading both business and product decisions. I am lucky that I have a strong, capable, and innovative team that diligently works side-by-side with me.
Do you like to be in a leadership role?
Yes, I enjoy the challenges and opportunities, but it’s not a 9-5 job where you can drop all the concerns at 5 PM. My day-to-day decisions can affect both the company and my team. It can be lonely at times and you have to be “all in” to succeed, or you are not going to make it. Although I like being a leader, it is always good to seek out good advice to make informed decisions.
How has the value of what your company offers evolved over time?
Two issues that come to mind are the ever-increasing threat of climate change and the COVID pandemic. When we thought about improving the environment, many of our decisions focused on how to reduce the carbon footprint, and eliminate waste in the dairy industry. The pandemic caused staff shortages across many industries, and Labby can help farmers increase productivity and efficiency through the use of our technology.
Have there been any pivot points in the company’s lifetime? What triggered these?
Today we offered two products. The handheld is super portable and is an excellent tool for farmers and veterinarians to monitor targeted cows in hospital pens between their DHIA testing service. And the inline sensing device is installed at each milking station for fully automatic milk testing. Both products can either work together or independently. the inline sensing product can be retrofitted into your existing parlor milking system.
Interestingly, we almost discontinued our handheld product because we didn’t fully realize the interest in a portable manual testing device. In time, we received much interest in it, and the conveniences it offered compared to its inline automatic testing device counterpart. This brings me to another point, I always tell my employees that the customers often know best about our products, and encourage my team to share our product development with my customers as much as possible, and proactively seek their feedback.
Talk us through the
...funding process
We are seeking government funds, grants, and private funding right now.
...Go to market strategy
Dairy is an essentially connected industry, both dairy producers and processors allocate significant resources to improve animal health, increase milk yield and quality, and secure milk quality through the supply chain. Subsequently, our current focuses are dairy producers, dairy coops, and processors. We reach our customers via a three-prong approach.
- Direct channel sales to dairy processors or dairy coops by hiring experienced sales executives
- Strategic partnership with existing dairy testing labs to help them cut operating costs.
- Sales and marketing initiatives to build brand recognition through social media and attending industry-related conferences and seminars.
...Partnerships that have been fundamental
Cornell University Dept of Agriculture and life science
Best advice you got along the way
Do everything that is within your control really well. Stay focused
Advice to others wondering whether to take the leap and when not to
Startup success takes hard work, relevant experience, and yes, luck too! Be sure that you fully understand what it takes to run a startup and make sure you have. You can always learn on the go, but it takes time to accumulate knowledge and be good at it. Like any endeavor, preparation is key. A camper without proper camping equipment, for example, is going to likely have a rough time in the wild. It’s similar in some respects!
What would you have done differently?
I learned not to second-guess myself. But if one thing I could have done differently, I would delegate my work more, and trust the good people I have hired, since it is easy to burn out trying to tackle all at once. People can only grow when they have to make hard decisions and live with the outcomes, whether good or bad.
Looking to raise Money? How much?
We are looking to raise $5m for a series A investment to expand our team, hire salespeople to increase sales revenue and shorten the sales cycle, and continue improving the product development process.
Where you’d like to be in 5 years? How are you planning to get there?
Labby hopes to revolutionize milk testing for the whole dairy industry. This is a big claim of course, but if we did not believe in the possibility, we would not be in this.
Similar to how digital health transformed the human side of population health, our technology can push the industry forward with real-time milk testing, provide quality data, and ultimately better control and visibility along the supply chain. Ultimately, we hope our technology will increase farmers' profits, and contribute towards a high degree of milk safety for the consumer.
