Innovation is the lifeblood of agriculture. Every new era brings breakthroughs in yield, methodology, and scale to redefine what’s possible. But the industry’s data infrastructure systems haven’t kept pace with the technological leaps seen elsewhere. Despite being one of the world’s most vital sectors, many agriculture companies still make multimillion-dollar decisions in spreadsheets.
Nuel is changing that.
The company just closed a $1.9 million Pre-Seed round to bring real-time visibility to agricultural supply chains. And unlike many tech startups entering this space, they knew exactly how to navigate it. In a notoriously anti–Silicon Valley sector, Nuel has managed to win deals with some of the most entrenched players in the game.
Krishna Manda, Nuel's co-founder and CEO, shared how the company built conviction, earned trust, and navigated one of the hardest fundraising environments in recent memory. For other founders looking to raise capital right now, there’s plenty to take away.
1. Start with problems, not products
Nuel started inside a Purdue-backed innovation fellowship, where Krishna and his co-founder Alan Kartchner were tasked with identifying urgent problems in agriculture.
"We talked to 72 companies, pitched 18 problems back to them, and narrowed it to the ones that made everyone sit up in their seat," Krishna said. One of those was real-time supply chain visibility. Another was traceability.
Instead of choosing, they designed a system where traceability becomes the byproduct of better operations and visibility. That kind of alignment—building what people already know they need—was only possible because they spent months listening before they built anything.
Even now, every new module is developed in collaboration with a real customer and tested against actual cost savings. "Each customer helps us build a module we can later scale across the industry," he said. "It’s like consulting, but with a product roadmap."
Takeaway for founders: Your startup idea doesn’t need to start with technology. It needs to start with urgency. Nuel earned trust by showing up as researchers, not founders. That made it easier to have honest conversations and find problems worth solving.
2. Sell before you build
Krishna and Alan had a signed customer before Nuel even existed. Fertilizer giant Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. (TKI) offered to pay $25,000 for a pilot based solely on a verbal pitch. The connection came through Nuel’s field research at Purdue, where Krishna and Alan first identified TKI’s supply chain inefficiencies.
"We hadn’t written a single line of code," Krishna said. "All we had was a commitment from TKI and a clear problem to solve."
That early validation gave him the leverage to raise a quick $350,000 from Right Side Capital and Hustle Fund. Both were previous investors in his last company. "It was the fastest I’ve ever raised. Five days, no deck."
Within three months, that $25,000 pilot turned into a six-figure contract. Their pricing model is simple: charge 20–30% of the savings they deliver. In TKI’s case, that was $11.8 million saved in just one product line.
Takeaway for founders: Before you write a line of code, make sure you're solving a real-world problem. Krishna and Alan didn’t start by building a product—they started by identifying a gap, confirming demand, and securing a customer.
3. Fundraising is full-time. Be ready.
Krishna assumed their Pre-Seed round would be easier. Nuel had real traction, paying customers, and enterprise LOIs. But the round still took over 100 meetings and more than eight months to close.
"We got ghosted. We got slow-played. We had VCs doing diligence just to look busy," he said. "The hardest part was managing my time—fundraising pulled me away from the company completely."
To keep the business moving, Krishna leaned on his co-founder to cover operations while he devoted himself to investor conversations. He also instituted a rhythm of regular investor updates so people could see momentum in real time, even if they weren’t ready to commit.
Takeaway for founders: Treat fundraising like a full-time job. Divide responsibilities so the business doesn’t stall, and build systems—like updates to prospective investors—to show progress without repeating yourself 100 times.
4. Build lean—because you don’t know when the money is coming
Even after closing the round, Krishna and Alan keep Nuel operating like a wartime company. Instead of bloating headcount, they brought on contractors for targeted needs like UI, and scaled engineering efforts based on ARR, not roadmap. The team remained small and scrappy.
"Just because you have capital doesn’t mean you need to spend it," he said. "We’re building for revenue, not for a pitch deck."
Each new customer helps finance the development of another module. That customer-funded model not only preserves runway—it keeps the team laser-focused on solving real, validated problems.
Takeaway for founders: Capital efficiency isn’t optional. Hire only when the work demands it. Build only what’s been validated. And treat every dollar like it’s your last.
5. Don’t lose momentum—even when it gets personal
Fundraising can be demoralizing, and it’s hard not to take rejections personally.
"I was scared for the team," Krishna said. "You start wondering if you're doing something wrong—if you're not worth backing. If I didn’t have a great co-founder and early believers like Dave Lambert, I might’ve quit.”
Instead of letting discouragement derail him, Krishna focused on what he could control: staying close to customers, building real value, and sharing steady progress with prospective investors.
"If I’ve learned anything, it’s that rejection doesn’t always mean no. Sometimes it just means not yet."
Takeaway for founders: Don’t confuse rejection with failure. Protect your mindset, stay customer-first, and trust that persistence compounds.
The bottom line
What makes Krishna and Alan stand out isn’t just that they raised in a tough market. It’s how they did it: by staying focused, staying honest, and staying close to their customers. Nuel is building the connective tissue for an industry that feeds the world, and they’re doing it by listening, adapting, and taking nothing for granted.
For other founders navigating today’s fundraising climate, the lesson is clear: trust is earned by solving real problems, not selling shiny products. And in that respect, Nuel isn’t just modernizing agricultural supply chains—they’re showing what it takes to build enduring companies in any industry.
