Meet Sarah Hinkley, CEO of BOPA-Precision Agriculture
Meet Sarah Hinkley, the CEO and Co-Founder of BOPA-Precision Agriculture, where technology meets farming to make life easier for growers. In this Q&A, Sarah takes us through her entrepreneurial journey, what led her to build cutting-edge automation for agriculture, and how her rural Colorado roots have influenced her business. Let’s dive into her story!
Q: What’s your name, title, and business?
A: Sarah Hinkley, CEO-Co-Founder, BOPA-Precision Agriculture.
Q: What does your business do?
A: BOPA designs and builds farm automation systems starting with the Autonomous Nano Tractor (ANT) to help farmers manage daily field tasks of planting, weeding, and spraying for commercial specialty crops including edible dry beans, sugar beets, tomatoes, and sweet corn. The patented BOPA weeding tool is able to remove weeds at all stages and creates 50% savings in labor and 30% savings in inputs.
Q: Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.
A: I started working for Chick-fil-A when I was 14. I learned so much about business and systems during this journey and went on to start a company with my brother called 5th Man Window Washing. There were a lot of dirty windows in San Marcos, Texas during my undergraduate years and we pitched the businesses on what customers feel like with clean windows vs dirty windows when eating, window shopping, making decisions, and found success. The company was profitable but we did not really want to scale it. After my grandparents in La Junta, Colorado started to get sick I decided it was time to move back home and my job wouldn't allow me to work from there so we parted ways. Once back in La Junta, I saw our neighbors and community facing economic decline and hardships and decided to stay and reconnect to see if I could help. Using technology and experience gained from other industries we started Barn Owl Drone Services to help farmers solve problems faster. Since then we have changed to BOPA-Precision Agriculture, built one of the first autonomous tractors in the industry, sold 40 units, grown to a team of 9, and will start to scale to farm regions throughout Colorado and beyond.
Q: What was the most powerful lesson you learned on this journey?
A: We come from a very small town and are building our company in other small towns...The most powerful thing I've learned is that building a highly innovative and scalable business can be done from rural Colorado and there are rural communities everywhere that have this same drive to promote local development and innovation. There are so many benefits including reduced costs, flexible work-life balance, growth, and the supporting hidden networks of advisors, mentors, and talent.
Q: Why did you apply for the SCAPE Program?
A: SCAPE has such a great support system through their network which is the most powerful tool a startup has. We can call SCAPE with a question or ask and they can probably find an advisor to help. Our goal is to build a thriving business around our innovative technology and SCAPE has the tools to help.
Q: What companies inspire you the most (local, national, worldwide)?
A: Locally, I am inspired by our small farms that continue to grow the best produce nationwide while constantly overcoming new challenges in their environment which are always outside of their control. Tuxedo Corn, Hanagan Farms, Petrocco Farms and so many more. Worldwide, I think Toyota has put together some impressive systems and workflows that create a reliable, high-quality product.
Q: What do you love most about the Four Corners?
A: The people and environment. These communities are working to promote local innovation that supports the unique ecosystems in the Four Corners. The region has a very diverse environment and every time you turn a corner you are given the opportunity to be amazed at the beauty. It can also be very harsh which reminds me of the power of our natural resources and motivates me to be a good steward of our land.
Want to learn more about BOPA’s innovative solutions? Visit their website here!
