Agtech - So What?30 Okt 2025

The realities of winding up an agtech app, with Nikki Davey

What happens when an agtech startup with market pull, a clear mission, and global momentum still doesn’t make it?

Nikki Davey is the founder of Grown Not Flown, which helped thousands of local flower growers reach customers who wanted sustainable blooms. Nikki’s app directly addressed the problem of ‘flower miles’. In Australia and the US, a store bought bouquet is likely to be made up of flowers that have been flown long distances, from places such as South America, Asia, or Africa.

Nikki won the National AgriFutures Rural Women's Award in 2023 for Grown Not Flown, which helped to further establish the business. But, as the Grown Not Flown app was taken up across multiple countries, the challenge of scaling became harder for the startup and ultimately it was wound up.

In this candid, episode Sarah and Nikki discuss:

· Misconceptions about the hardest part of founding an agtech startup.

· The realities of small founding teams, finding investors, and scaling with limited resources.

· The emotional toll of what happens when your identity is tied to your startup.

· Why the end of a business does not mean the end of the mission

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The information in this post is not investment advice or a recommendation to invest. It is general information only and does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision you should seek financial advice from a professional financial adviser. Whilst we believe the information is correct, we provide no warranty of accuracy, reliability or completeness.

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