Investment Climate Podcast: Damilare Odumosu and Rillwan Shokunbi of CropMind, How to Get Funded in 2025

In this episode of the Investment Climate Podcast, Damilare and Rillwan, co-founders of CropMind, discuss their startup's use of computer vision technology to help tree fruit farmers estimate yields more accurately. They share their journey from starting as a master's thesis project to securing $500K in funding from investors. The team's approach involved cold outreach to farmers, deep research, and a focus on building a product that meets the needs of end users.

Key takeaways from the episode include the importance of empathy and research in outreach efforts, the evolution of an academic project into a real business, and grounding valuation in traction and early product-market fit. The podcast sheds light on CropMind's grassroots fundraising strategy and association-driven go-to-market playbook, emphasizing the significance of a "farmer-first" approach in the agtech industry.