A Chicago startup making indoor hydroponic systems just landed some seed funding to help you grow vegetables, fruits and herbs in your home.
Rise Gardens, founded by former Sportsvision CEO Hank Adams, announced Wednesday that it raised $2.6 million in a seed round led by True Ventures. Investors also include Michael Alter of the Alter Group and owner of the WNBA's Chicago Sky; Howard Tullman, the former CEO of 1871; and Jai Shekhawat, the founder of Fieldglass.
The startup designs in-home and IoT-connected hydroponic systems, devices that grow plants in a reservoir of moving water and organic materials. Rise Gardens' modular system is made out of hardwood and heavy-gage, powder-coated steel. It has a built-in water pump, seed sockets and a programmed LED light system that automatically shifts on and off to give plants the perfect amount of light.
Since January, Rise Gardens said its sales have doubled every month, with a 750 percent growth rate over the previous quarter. Customers have planted 6,000 plants in the last two months alone, the startup says, which equal about 1,500 pounds of produce.
Once consumers purchase a hydroponic system, they are encouraged to subscribe to Rise Gardens’ subscription service, which sends them seed pods every month and gives them access to the company’s mobile app that reminds users when to add water or nutrients. The startup sells seeds for a range of vegetables and herbs, including kale, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, basil and rosemary.
“We’ve made it simple,” Adams told Chicago Inno last year. “If you follow the instructions, it grows really robustly.”
Adams began making prototypes for Rise Gardens in 2017, working out of Chicago startup incubators 1871 and mHub, and began selling the final product last year. The system starts at $549 for one level and goes up to nearly $950 for three.
