Sometimes I forget to introduce myself. Why is this important? Knowing who you are can be just as important as knowing what you do. August will mark 2nd Sight’s seventh year in business, but we are still young in the Ag industry. For many growers, we are still an agtech start-up and considered risky to work with. Having a proven track record of successful products takes time and enough commitment from early adopters who are willing to take that leap of faith. A grower may want to know more about who 2nd Sight is before inquiring about what we do. Establishing credibility in an industry with long-time players is a challenge. You do not become John Deere overnight.
So instead of saying what 2nd Sight does, I would like to tell you more about who 2nd Sight is. We value quality, reliability, and innovation and every member of our team helps establish these principles. “Engineering Better Solutions for the Ag Industry” started with Kevin Oldenburg, Ph.D., our current CEO and President. After a short retirement, Kevin founded 2nd Sight to get back to his farming roots and bring automation to the Specialty Crop Industry. Kevin’s hobbies include cultivating a variety of crops in his own one-acre orchard and newly installed greenhouse, fishing, hunting, and is an active member of the WA State Beekeepers Association.
Kevin’s passion is to solve problems. His educational background as a Biochemist combined with his hands-on experience developing automation for the Biotech Industry at his last company, Matrical, gives him the ability to look at a problem in a new way. Kevin can also “run the numbers’ to ensure that automation and technology makes financial sense for an operation. The ROI (Return on Investment) is always a key calculation when we evaluate new automation for a grower.
Kevin’s vision to make farming more efficient and more profitable is attainable by developing quality systems that solve the biggest problems that growers face at a reasonable price. Alongside reliable products, we strive to provide top-notch support to keep the automation running. For a small company, the success of each customer is critical to establish credibility and develop a larger customer base.
In future blog posts, we will continue to feature other 2nd Sight employees. Being a small and “lean” organization means every person plays a critical role in the design, development, and support of our software and hardware systems. With life returning back to “normal” post-COVID-19, the entire 2nd Sight team looks forward to more time back in the office and enjoying Friday lunches together again.
