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Emily Davenport: 0:15

Welcome to Cultivating Curiosity, where we get down and dirty with the experts on all the ways science and agriculture touch our lives, from what we eat to how we live. I'm Emily Davenport.

Jordan Powers: 0:27

And I'm Jordan Powers, and we're from the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The following bonus content is part of our episode about creating a culture of entrepreneurship through the FABricate program. In that full length episode, we dive into the details of the pitch contest and speak with FABricate winners, Chris Ayers and Jeffrey Wittmeyer. We'll link that episode in the show notes for you. Be sure to give it a listen for more context about the FABricate program.

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Jordan Powers: 0:58

We're now joined by Layla Pettigrew. She is a third year student at the Terry College of Business getting her undergrad in Management Information Systems and has also applied for her Double Dawgs to get her master's in accounting. Welcome Layla.

Layla Pettigrew: 1:10

Thank you. Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Jordan Powers: 1:13

We're excited to talk to you and really learn about your experience with FABricate for your microgreens company, Lovely Acreage Farms LLC. Tell us a little bit about how you heard about FABricate.

Layla Pettigrew: 1:24

Yes. So I was a part of the Idea Accelerator Program in the entrepreneurship pathway in Terry. One day I think James Flannery kind of pitched FABricate to us and I was like, hmm, that might be good for me since, you know, we do sell microgreens, which is in the agriculture industry. So I basically went to an info session for FABricate, and they told us, you know, kind of how it would go, we would be paired with a mentor, which really attracted me because I take all the help that I can get. I heard about it, I showed up to the meeting, and it kind of went from there.

Jordan Powers: 1:54

You were hooked from that first info session?

Layla Pettigrew: 1:56

Yes.

Emily Davenport: 1:59

Can you talk a little bit more about what drew you to participate in FABricate?

Layla Pettigrew: 2:02

Yeah, so he told us about, you know, the pitch competition, how there would be a prize for and at the time, you know, me and my business partner were trying to expand basically our products, you know, besides just selling microgreens, we want to get into other areas of farming, selling other produce, like tomatoes, lettuce, things that are local to Georgia. And so I figured, hey, that funding will kind of help us because we have an acre of land. And so we need to develop that we need to clear it off, we need to get irrigation out there. And so the funding, that was another thing that really caught my attention, as well as the training because there were different sessions, you know, how to raise money, how to market your product, basically the central, the foundations for, you know, getting your startup off the ground.

Jordan Powers: 2:45

Definitely. It's a very comprehensive offering. Tell us a little bit more about Lovely Acreage Farms.

Layla Pettigrew: 2:52

Yes. So the idea actually came from my business partner. And essentially, she was like, hey, do you want to be a part of this? And I was like, yes, because me and her both, we have a passion for holistic health, using food as medicine. And so when we did some research, and so microgreens number one, like we looked at the margins, and we were like, okay, like these have great margins on them, it will be something you know, simple. And so it's really easy to grow microgreens, like we have a greenhouse set up, where we have different trays of our microgreens stacked, so it doesn't require a lot of space, which is really nice. And so we wanted to go ahead and kind of jump on this movement. And so microgreens was kind of the start to that.

Jordan Powers: 3:33

Absolutely. And then there's, sounds like there's plans to, is it all microgreens right now? Or do you have other produce?

Layla Pettigrew: 3:40

So currently, right now, our focus, we are specializing in microgreens. But we are looking to eventually expand that into other areas, because our goal is to have a farm where we can have people come and visit you know, as well as come in purchase the produce that's grown in those particular seasons.

Emily Davenport: 3:57

Can you tell us a little bit more about what a microgreen is, for those who don't know?

Layla Pettigrew: 4:01

Yes, for sure. So it's similar to a sprout but it's not technically a sprout. Basically, it would be harvested right before it gets to that sprout stage. But it only takes about one to two weeks to actually grow and harvest. And there's different ways that you can ingest them or eat them. You can have them raw, sometimes we'll put like a balsamic vinaigrette with them. Or sometimes we'll cook them lightly like in a stir fry with other vegetables. There's all kinds of ways you can get creative with it. You can put them in salads, you can put them in soups, you can put them on a taco, smoothies. I like to put them in my smoothies, on oatmeal, I mean, there's literally all kinds of ways. You can even fold them into baked goods like pancakes, you can really just experiment with them. I think it's a better alternative to taking different supplements because a lot of supplements are manmade. And so you're really not getting the natural benefit, which is really what you want. The best way to get your vitamins is from the actual, like, the source itself. And so we think that it kind of, like, meets both of those, like in the middle in a sense.

Jordan Powers: 5:05

Yeah, kind of that get it on the table, get that get that nutrient in, in a simple way. But in in one of its most pure forms.

Layla Pettigrew: 5:13

Yes.

Jordan Powers: 5:14

Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Layla Pettigrew: 5:16

Yes, for sure. Like, ever since I was a kid. So when I was in about second grade or so, my brother and I, we actually started selling candy after school. We would get off the bus and we would ask our mom to take us to the gas station, which was close to where we lived, we would go in there and get like Blow Pops and Jolly Ranchers. And then the next day, we would sell them at school to, like, the kids on the bus, which, technically, you're not supposed to do that. But at the time, we were we were we've always been the type to kind of be, I guess you'd call it go getters, however you want to say it. But yeah, we wanted our own cash. We didn't like asking other people. And so we eventually kind of went beyond just candy to you know, like chips, drinks and stuff like that, which again, not technically supposed to be doing in school. But yes, that's what we did. And so that, for me, kind of sparked it. I was like, hey, I like doing this. Like I like being able to go out and keep track because I would keep track of my sales, how much I was buying, the cost, and all that kind of stuff that I was charging. And so that for me kind of triggered it all.

Jordan Powers: 6:23

Absolutely. From from the halls of second grade, or the bus of second grade to UGA. I love it. An entrepreneur through and through.

Layla Pettigrew: 6:30

Yes, for sure.

Emily Davenport: 6:32

Can you tell us what FABricate did for your company?

Layla Pettigrew: 6:35

Yes, things going? Where are you at? And that really, I mean, to me that made me like, it just kind of touched me, right? Because I was like, oh, like, you know, he still cares and stuff. He's still, you know, he's still reaching out. But yeah, he really gave me a lot of good pointers, even for the pitch competitions. We did like practice pitches, he helped me kind of refine things that would be good, you know, to stress or bring out in my pitch, things that I wouldn't you know, necessarily know. It really kind of helped my overall understanding of how to run a business basically.

Jordan Powers: 7:15

Absolutely. There's a lot involved. If you could bring that down into describing FABricate and your experience in one word, what would that word be?

Layla Pettigrew: 7:26

I would say useful. Useful in the sense that there are things that I didn't know, coming into it, that I can say, you know, after doing the program, I would definitely recommend it to other people. Because when you're a young entrepreneur, and you're just starting out, you don't really know anything about business, any kind of help, honestly, you know, is great, very much appreciated. And so I'm very grateful for the opportunity to participate in FABricate.

Jordan Powers: 7:58

Was there anything that surprised you the most about your experience in FABricate?

Layla Pettigrew: 8:00

Maybe the fact that the people who were in the program with me, just seeing like the different types of ventures, which it was last semester, so I don't remember all of them. But there were different types of ventures. You know, you've got, and it can range because when you think agriculture, you might think of just a small little bucket of things, you know, just produce or whatever it may be, farming things. But then once I got into the program, and I, you know, was listening to the other participants, their business ideas, I was like, wow, okay, so this classifies as the agriculture industry or, you know, this is something that's sustainable. Because another element that was really, I guess, key to it is it didn't necessarily just have to be, you know, food or agriculture, it could also be something that is helping, you know, sustainability practices, which the world is, you know, starting or a lot of economies are starting to trend towards. But yeah, there were a lot of different ideas and things that went into that category that I just didn't necessarily think about.

Jordan Powers: 9:04

So really kind of not only focusing on your own venture, but seeing what other opportunities are out there and that collaboration.

Layla Pettigrew: 9:12

Yes, very broad, so I thought that was cool. It was neat.

Emily Davenport: 9:17

You've talked a little bit about your mentor, but can you tell us more about how that relationship has evolved over time?

Layla Pettigrew: 9:23

Yeah, so while I was participating in the program, we met definitely more often. Yeah, I think we catch up about you know, once every other month or so, something like that. But I kind of basically just give him an update on the business. You know, he offers me advice in any way that he can. He gives me tips and things like reach out to restaurants, you know, whoever the manager is, that's the person that you need to be speaking to not really just the business owner, because the manager, whoever's there, that's the person who really makes the decisions. Things like that, I didn't know before and that gives you direction, when you're really not sure where to go. So definitely a very helpful resource for sure.

Jordan Powers: 10:03

Having having somebody that you can call on with those questions, but then also having them be able to proactively offer those tidbits is incredibly important. What's next for you and for Lovely Acreage Farms?

Layla Pettigrew: 10:16

I love that. So, right now we're kind of at the point where we're trying to figure out, how can we get more customers? How can we get more sales? Just trying to figure out how we can devote more of our time and energy to it so that we can really get it off the ground.

Jordan Powers: 10:29

Absolutely. Lots to focus on. Is there anything else we've missed that you want to share?

Layla Pettigrew: 10:35

For the audience, whoever's listening, if y'all would like to follow us on social media, we have a Facebook as well as Instagram and TikTok. It's lovelyacreagefarms. We're constantly trying to, you know, provide new recipes, show you how we're harvesting and growing to kind of give more transparency into it to build that trust so you can see what's going on with us. But I mean, other than that, I think we covered a lot of the bases. Thank y'all for this opportunity to be able to do this. I appreciate it.

Jordan Powers: 11:03

Absolutely. Thank you for joining us today.

Emily Davenport: 11:05

Thank you so much.

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Emily Davenport: 11:07

Thanks for listening to Cultivating Curiosity, a podcast produced by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. A special thanks to Mason McClintock for our music and sound effects. Find more episodes wherever you get your podcasts.