Grafted Growers™

A local Tucson startup goes into production

Grafted Growers™ won local and national awards, SBIR grants from the USDA, and was then founded in 2014.

G

rafted Growers™ was developed in the top ranked McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. Through consistent and dedicated work while in graduate school, the co-founders were able to transform a venture concept into reality – what is now a full production agriculture technology company.

“Owners John Jackson ’00 ’13 and Ricardo Hernandez ’12 met in the highly ranked McGuire Program for Entrepreneurship at the UA, where they began collaborating on their idea for Grafted Growers™. Hernandez received his Ph.D. from the School of Plant Sciences and Jackson received his MBA from the Eller College of Management.”
– UA Alumni Association, University of Arizona

Working through the rigorous one-year program, Dr. Ricardo Hernandez and John Jackson, M.B.A. conceptualized and validated the idea of a 100% controlled environment horticulture business in vegetable plant grafting. Realizing the need for cost effective propagation of high quality grafted trans-plants, Grafted Growers™ combined technology and agriculture to create the perfect solution.

“Had we not had the early support and recognition from the ecosystem in Arizona, our company would’ve not be where it is today. Today, we’re able to support other entrepreneurs and encourage innovation at partner institutions.”
– John Jackson, Co-Founder and CEO

A Special Thank You!

Our founders and team have received advisement, professional services, and recognition since our conception. We are truly thankful for the support we have received from our fans, friends, family, and support in the ecosystem to bring our solutions to market and grow. Here are some of our favorites.

ecosystem-startuptucson-ideafunding-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-university-arizona-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-techparks-azci-arizona-center-innovation-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-mcguire-eller-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-techlaunch-arizona-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-agriculture-ceac-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-acabi-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-northcarolinastate-graftedgrowers
ecosystem-usda-sbir-graftedgrowers

Here are some of our early videos!

5 Key Questions

Grafted Growers’ CEO  and Co-founder John Jackson discusses entrepreneurship with the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship for their 5 Question Series.

1st Place, IdeaFunding 2014

Grafted Growers won 1st place at the 2014 IdeaFunding event, hosted by Startup Tucson! See our winning pitch here.

NewVenture Competition, 2013

Grafted Growers’ pitch at the 2013 McGuire New Venture Competition and Showcase

Innovation Day 2013

Check out this video introduction of Grafted Growers on Innovation Day at the University of Arizona in 2013!

Born at McGuire

Learn more about the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program that helped Grafted Growers get started!

graftedgrowers_logo_350x144

awards & milestones

2018-2019

Raleigh Facility LIVE and E-Commerce Open for Orders

2017

Raleigh UpFit Grant Award for Economic Development and installation of technology in primary production facility in Raleigh, North Carolina.

2016

USDA SBIR Phase I completion and won USDA SBIR Phase II.

2015

Accepted into the Arizona Center for Innovation incubator at the University of Arizona, and won a USDA SBIR Phase I grant.

2014

Founded in Tucson, Arizona, winning New Venture Competition awards, the HURST Grant, and Idea Funding.

Request a Call Back?

For a quick call back, fill out our form and a member of our team will contact you. In most cases, we are able to reply in 24-hours or less. Thank you!

Not readable? Change text. captcha txt