SeedBlink Blog

Agriniser is a SaaS marketplace that empowers buyers and sellers of grain to connect, negotiate and close deals seamlessly, transparently, and efficiently. Agriniser has an experienced tech team consisting of over 10 members, led by Kristian Ivanov - CEO - who has over 15 years of experience in international commodity trading in the agricultural and energy industries, with studies in logistics, trading and finance in London.

Hi Kristian! We know that you are the founder and CEO of Agriniser now, but we are also curious about your background. What experiences led you to become a tech startup entrepreneur?

The short answer is that I needed to solve a problem in my family’s grain business. But let me give you a bit of background:

My father, an experienced entrepreneur, has been in the grains business for more than 30 years, through all stages of the supply chain – cropping, processing (flour milling), and physical trading. I joined our flour milling business in 2010, after getting my postgraduate degree and working for a while as a physical electricity & gas trader for a big energy company in London. Then I moved to Bulgaria, where my role was to source grains and distribute flour on the local and international markets.

I was shocked by the inefficiencies of the trading process and the time it takes to buy & sell grains. In many instances, I had to import specific types of high protein wheat, and searching for availabilities, making countless phone calls on a daily basis, and discussing prices was a nightmare. Initially, I thought that this approach is specific to the Bulgarian market only, but soon I realized that the process is the same in the international markets too. Wasting hours of my time on this, made me think that there must be a better way to do it. This was the moment that sparked the idea about Agriniser.

What problems does Agriniser solve and how would you say it eases your customers' pain points?

Traditionally, trading grains is a complex, manual, and time-consuming process. Transparency for grain availability, the information about the live opportunities and physical prices (market data) is quite limited. Even today, negotiating grain deals is an offline process that requires hundreds of phone calls, and traveling for in-person meetings, which is slow and inefficient. There are also a lot of intermediaries and middlemen involved, affecting both buyer’s and seller’s profits.

Agriniser solves all these problems by digitizing the grain-to-market chain that has traditionally worked in an inefficient & offline mode for decades. Buyers and sellers are able to list their bids and offer on the marketplace within seconds, which immediately expands their market reach to thousands of potential business counterparties. The platform enables a direct (no middlemen) and flexible negotiation approach between participants, thus saving everyone time, effort, and money. Agriniser also provides access to key market information and pricing data as support for the trading decisions of our customers, at any time.

That's interesting. How did the Bulgarian market react to your solution?

Our model is well accepted in the Bulgarian market. Of course, during our time of operations, we have been constantly collecting feedback from our customers and we keep doing so, and use this feedback to stay alert, plan product improvements, build new features, and accrue sound grain trading experience. We love what we do and we are looking forward to unlocking the full potential of our marketplace in Romania too, as the first step to our strategic international expansion across Europe.

What qualities do you think are mandatory in the Agricultural sector to thrive?

Persistence, active communication, and listening to your customers. Agriculture, in general, is a more conservative sector and it takes more time for new technologies to be adopted and become part of the daily routine. However, I see increasingly more young people getting into agriculture, as the majority of the farms are family businesses. This acts as a catalyst for faster digital transformation that will make the sector thrive in the long term.

What is happening in the industry you are active in? What are the most important trends?

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy for every nation and I can see a lot of innovation going on in a number of fields, such as precision agriculture, drone technology, satellites, data analytics, and many more. When it comes to grain marketing and trading however, solutions are quite scarce.

Over the last three years, we’ve seen significant shocks in the food supply chain, caused by the Covid 19 pandemic and, more recently, by the war in Ukraine. This has put the global grain industry under pressure, positioning Bulgaria and Romania as strategic markets not only in the Black Sea region but also on a global level. The need for digital solutions that support and facilitate the supply & demand for key agricultural commodities in this vertical, will be growing. This makes our vision to provide fair, transparent, and accessible opportunities for everyone on the grain-to-market chain, even stronger.

Who are your backers and how do they support you?

We get great support from both our clients and investors. Our clients are the main driver for our existence and we see them as a mirror, reflecting what we do well or not so well. They provide us with valuable feedback that helps us continue building the solution they really need.

On the other hand, we couldn’t be where we are today without our investors. Until this round, Agriniser has been funded only by angel investors, and working closely with them made us see the great value they have added to the company.

Currently, we are looking forward to welcoming our new investors and supporters through Seedblink, alongside our existing ones that include Vitosha Venture Partners, to help us grow and become the ultimate European grain marketplace.

What is your biggest challenge in scaling?

Our plan from day one was for Agriniser to become a platform of – at least – European level, and we can see that our system becomes increasingly interesting to the market participants as we keep adding new markets, thus creating more business opportunities. In order to scale across borders there are some challenges we need address, in particular analyzing the cultural profile of the potential customers, adding key people to our team, establishing local strategic partnerships, and properly marketing our services.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since you are Agriniser’s founder?

No matter how great your idea is, you cannot do it alone! The team you work with and the people you’re surrounded by are the most important component for success – and so is for Agriniser. I am lucky to have such people around me. And I am very thankful for that, too!

Where do you see Agriniser in 3-5 years?

I see Agriniser as the ultimate one-stop shop for grain trade across Europe. As we scale, our plan is to also add strategic ancillary services, including grain testing & quality assurance, and financial services – such as payment guarantees & insurance, transportation, and data analytics. The next 3-5 years will be a strong growth stage for us.

What makes Agriniser so special? Why should investors choose you?

Agriniser transforms the way grain is being traded today and in the future. We’re at the beginning of our journey and very keen to unlock the full potential of our marketplace. Our next milestone is to launch Agriniser in Romania and increase our revenue streams as users will get better connected and appreciate the value we keep adding.

Through Seedblink, investors can be part of our growth stage and benefit from favorable investment terms. By joining us in our mission to provide fair, transparent, and accessible opportunities for everyone along the grain-to-market chain, your investors will have the opportunity to change the agricultural industry for good.

Learn more about the investment opportunity.