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Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry, the President & CEO of GroGuru
Making you Own the Future of Agriculture
Wondering how to master the art of running start-ups successfully? Who better to learn it from than a serial entrepreneur who has been in the technology business for 20 years!
Patrick Henry, the President & CEO of GroGuru, has built multiple million-dollar businesses in areas where innovative technology is just emerging. With immense patience, perseverance, and hard work, he has built companies and businesses that address the consumer electronics as well as communications markets and is now focused on building a company in the agriculture technology space.
The renowned businessman treats every situation with a ‘beginner’s mind’ and assumes one can always learn something that is of value from it. The world needs more people like Patrick Henry who empower others with his experiences, wisdom, and knowledge.
About GroGuru
GroGuru takes pride in making the world a better place to live by allowing farmers to save water, grow more crops in a cost-effective way, and sequester more carbon in the soil. With an ever-increasing pool of skilled experts, the company is passionate about preserving the precious resources of the planet in a more sustainable way.
GroGuru solutions help farmers increase crop yield, while at the same time preserving water and other scarce resources. As a result, farmers can be more efficient and make more money. Additionally, the company deploys soil sensors that measure things like soil moisture, temperature, and salinity at various root depths of crops. Then, it wirelessly transmits this data to the Cloud where it adds additional information to make AI-based recommendations to farmers about when and how much to irrigate their crops.
With his commitment to excellence being unparalleled, Patrick Henry is focused on helping farmers implement strategic water management for the smart farm.
Leading by Example
Great leaders are determined to bring a change. A former CEO at QuestFusion, Patrick Henry has never failed to set ambitious and challenging goals in his life. He is an expert on building world-class teams, building strategic partnerships, and has a phenomenal ability to clearly articulate complex technologies into something that a layperson can understand. Additionally, he has had plenty of exists including an IPO on NASDAQ that led to a $1B valuation.
One key thing that has constantly helped Patrick in his career is to always keep learning from different experiences whether good or bad. He strives to take decisions impeccably based on what’s right for his company. As the CEO of GroGuru, Mr. Henry drives the overall strategy and operational execution for an exciting Agriculture Technology (AgTech) company that is changing the way that we grow crops by using an innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled software as a service (SaaS) for strategic irrigation management for commercial farmers. A true serial entrepreneur & a lifelong learner, Patrick perfectly defines how a well-rounded individual should be.
Awe-inspiring Accomplishments
With a strong desire for entrepreneurship and a passion to serve the community, Mr. Henry has passed countless milestones throughout his journey. He is a proud former contributor at FastCompany, Tech.Co, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post, and other publications. Besides, he is the winner of the 2008 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Technology, San Diego Daily Transcript 2008 Top Influentials in the Technology Industry, and 2011 San Diego Business Journal Most Admired CEO.
Patrick says, “I have successfully raised over $200 million in equity financing for my companies and been directly involved in over $2 billion of M&A transactions.” This extraordinary personality inspires his team to greatness, nurtures the talents and skills of his co-workers, and shows up for others, without fail. Previously featured on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and Forbes, Patrick Henry still has the same energy and optimism of his early days. The wealth of experience and wisdom accumulated throughout Patrick’s 20 years of being an entrepreneur is undoubtedly worth appreciating!
Impact of Covid-19 – One Step Closer
Downturns come with many silver linings. When Covid-19 hit, numerous companies struggled and went out of business. GroGuru, on the contrary, focused on the present opportunities and launched its stand-alone SaaS business that uses third-party hardware already purchased by farmers. Patrick asserts, “The key in a major economic downturn is to survive now to thrive later. Because GroGuru already had a geographically distributed team, the transition to virtual was relatively seamless.”
Although each one of us faced a nice bundle of challenges due to the pandemic, Patrick Henry used it as an opportunity to grow market share and expand his market channel presence. As a greatly ambitious entrepreneur, he strives to have a keen eye for the brighter side of things and surpass setbacks with a brave face.
His Dose of Inspiration
As we set out to establish our goals, we always know a handful of people who would say “go for it”. With so many changes all around, they give us a safe space to be able to express and share our opinion.
Some might call it a coincidence that Patrick Henry has continuously found opportunities to learn and grow because of the mentors he has had in his life. But to him, it’s no less than a miracle that he was able to find these mentors, without even knowing they were there. “I have had several exceptional mentors throughout my career, and many amazing leaders and coaches that have influenced me,” he shares.
Henry gives an extra credit of his indomitable spirit to Jesus Christ. He adds, “It is my relationship with God that has had the biggest impact on my life including in my career.” With sheer tenacity and confidence, Henry has climbed up the professional ladder of success and continues to influence aspiring minds with positivity!
Insightful Advice
When asked Patrick about his best piece of advice to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people, he stressed upon the need of building great teams that complement your skill set and areas of expertise. A team is powerful with the people in it. And when the leader is as balanced & disciplined as Patrick Henry, the voices become amplified and people get to realize their true potential.
Offering some pearls of wisdom, he mentions, “Don’t quit before the miracle happens – if you are always quitting, you are always starting over – there is no substitute for patience & persistence and having a ‘No Quit’ attitude when it comes to building a new business based on innovative technologies.” Henry is a firm believer in focusing on the WHAT, and then leaving room for Creative Intelligence to guide him in the HOW.