Soil Economy, an agricultural technology startup founded by Bob Jones University students Joe Simpson and Reagan Riddell, announced Oct. 25 it was welcomed as a member company by South Carolina Research Authority, a public, nonprofit corporation that works to fuel the state’s innovation economy.
Simpson and Riddell launched Soil Economy as a separate venture after they served as members of the BJU Global Challenges class that was named one of the winners of the Musk Foundation’s $100 million XPrize Competition, led by Tesla Founder Elon Musk. The company’s goals include:
- Lowering the cost of measurement, reporting and verification technology
- Improving crop yields for farmers
- Making South Carolina a greener state
“In less than a year after winning the XPrize, Joe and Reagan took the initiative to start a company and secure funding,” said BJU President Steve Pettit. “Their success is the embodiment of the BJU Premium. It is gratifying to see a class project potentially have a real world impact. I know Soil Economy will be a credit to the SCRA and spur further innovation in the field of carbon measurement.”
As a member company, the business will receive:
- Coaching
- Access to experts in SCRA’s Resource Partner Network
- Eligibility to apply for grant funding
- Consideration for an investment from SCRA’s investment affiliate, SC Launch
For more information, visit scra.org.
