groundbreaker
you tell us
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Growth Science Nutrients Inc.
BUSINESS ADDRESS: 4200 Scotts Valley Dr. Ste A, Scotts Valley, CA 95066
PHONE NUMBER: 1-831-600-8679
WEBSITE/EMAIL: growthscience.com, [email protected]
YEARS IN BUSINESS: Four
With a goal of bringing more of a scientific focus into
the business of growing, Eric Sharp founded Santa Cruz-
based Growth Science Nutrients and never looked back.
Now, as the company expands, they have turned their
attention to the burgeoning organic nutrients industry.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO NUTRIENTS?
I spent over 10 years as a grower myself. Back when I
was just getting started, I always tried to up my game by
observing and asking questions of growers who were more
experienced and seemed successful. After some time, I began
to notice that the advice from various old-timers would often
completely contradict one another.
I concluded that there was a singular science governing
how these plants worked and [I] no longer wanted to base
my actions on anecdotes and hearsay. I wanted to base
my actions on science, so I started enrolling in horticulture
classes on organic growing methods, hydroponic growing
methods, and so on. I was now basing my actions on the fun-
damental truths of how the plants function.
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groundbreakers
First and foremost, it was obvious to me that
nutrient companies were profiting from this lack of
information by trying to separate what the plant
needed into as many bottles as possible to squeeze
a few extra dollars out of growers. My first thought
was “Come on man, these are farmers.” Being a
farmer isn’t easy, you need all the help you can get. I
knew I could do better.
This was back in 2012 when some pretty big chan-
ges were about to happen. I knew there would be some consolida-
tion. It would evolve into a business. There would be large-scale
projects run by business-savvy growers who would be running
their operations off spreadsheets rather than throwing a bunch of
money at a project in hopes that it ends up being profitable. Those
growers would want a high-quality, high-performance, consoli-
dated solution, without all the gimmicks. So, I assembled a team
that included a chemist, a soil scientist, and myself to incorporate
those principals and it became Growth Science Nutrients.
WHEN AND WHERE DID THE COMPANY BEGIN?
The company was founded in Santa Cruz, California, in
2013. Santa Cruz has always been a mecca for growers. It’s
also home to a large university that focuses on life sciences.