0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 94

FOUNDER OF THE MONTH
MICHAEL SANTIAGO
FLORAPULSE
BY Russell Nichols
How do you measure the thirst of a plant? Michael Santiago, founder and CEO of
FloraPulse, says give it a chip. His new Davis-based irrigation-management startup
helps growers get accurate information on how much water their plants have and
need at any given moment.
“Agriculture has been around a long time, but even to this day growers still
struggle with knowing the right time to irrigate,” Santiago says. “When the leaves
start to droop, it’s too late because the plants are already under water stress, the
damage is done and your crop will suffer.”
While working toward a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering at Cornell
University, Santiago developed sensors to measure properties of water, including
liquid pressure, temperature and activity. From this technology grew FloraPulse’s
microchip implant. The team installs one or two probes per irrigation block into
sentinel plants that are representative of the whole irrigation block. The startup
uses the information gathered to recommend best methods for growers to
maximize crop yield, quality and water savings.
The team consists of five employees who work at the Davis
headquarters and two additional founders based in New York.
As of July, FloraPulse has 15 customers and 60 systems. The
startup has received $1.3 million in recent years and is looking
to raise another $1 million.
PHOTO BY TERENCE DUFFY
HydroMEMS.
My backup name for the startup was..................................
software engineer.
If I could have any other job, I’d be a..................................
The book that best represents my approach to business
would be............................................................................
“The Knack: How Street-Smart
Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever
..........................................................................................
Comes Up” by Bo Burlingham and Norm Brodsky.
.............................................................................................
disappointing
My biggest fear about launching was........................................
customers.
....................................................................................................
If I could give my younger self a word of advice, that word would be...
mindfulness.
.........................................................................................................
WITH COVID-19 HURTING BUSINESSES, WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO
STILL LAUNCH THIS YEAR? “It was now or never for us. We’re a new company
with a limited budget. If we lost the window, we would have to wait another
year. It delayed us a bit ... but we’ve been able to move forward, delivering the
product, even if it’s late.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST BENEFIT OF THIS SYSTEM? “If you can treat plants
better, you get higher yield, more profits, more quality food.”
For more on FloraPulse, read Russell Nichols’ Startup of the Month column
at comstocksmag.com.
94 comstocksmag.com | September 2020