Three years ago, Matthew Rooda walked into the barn of a huge pig farm where he worked to find eight piglets crushed to death by the sow. It's a puzzling behavior that costs the pork industry more than $6 billion a year. Rooda, now a recent graduate of the University of Iowa, refused to accept this as a 'sunk cost', so he created a wearable device that, in the simplest terms, combines the technology of a tracker fitness equipment and a shock collar, alerting both farm staff and the sow when a piglet is run over.
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Rooda won the US National Global Student Entrepreneur Awards competition in March, an event organized by the Entrepreneur Organization. He also represented the United States at the GSEA in Frankfurt, Germany in April. The international competition was ultimately won by Julián Ríos Cantú of Mexico.
Rooda's company, SwineTech, has raised over $1 million in sales and competition winnings, and plans to continue strong marketing now that he no longer balances the roles of CEO and full-time student.
Acknowledging his success at relationships and mentorship, Rooda offers this advice to young entrepreneurs:“Don't be closed off. There are so many people who want to help you. Listen and build relationships. You are much more likely to succeed when you reach out, find the right people, and allow them to help you. »
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Related: Why mentors are essential to your success
This article originally appeared in the August 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
