Sheridan-based entrepreneur Nate Roma turned indoor farming from a passion project to a fully-fledged business called Root to Shoot. Earlier this month, he was one of three winners of Gillette's Energy Capital Start-Up Challenge, receiving $5,000, with the chance to apply for extra funding from a $50,000 balance.
Roma also received an additional $1,000 from the competition on Dec. 4 for winning the Audience Choice Award.
"Pitch Night included five outstanding and diverse plans that are great examples of our area's entrepreneurial spirit," said Scot Rendall, founder of advisory firm CFO4Sucess LLC, in the event's press release. Rendall helped run the competition. "It's been a pleasure to work with each of the entrepreneurial teams as they continue development of their plans."
Roma first developed an indoor farm while studying botany at the University of Wyoming in 2021. He started growing microgreens — young seedlings of vegetables and herbs. Older than a sprout, microgreens are harvested roughly 13 days after planting. In microgreens, nutrient content is concentrated, and they often contain high amounts of minerals and antioxidants.
Read more at The Sheridan Press