By Whitney Baxter
Mary Staudt wants to encourage more people to start gardening and help them feel confident doing so.
The upcoming launch of her AI-powered gardening app, CultivAIte, brings her a big step closer to that goal.
“The inspiration for this app came from my own struggles with my garden,” said Staudt, a senior in agricultural business and entrepreneurship. “I was overwhelmed by what to plant, where to plant it and what tasks needed to be done and when during the growing season.”
The app will let users easily create a garden layout and decide what they plan to plant. From that information, the app generates a map showing proper plant spacing and a “to do” list with a list of tasks and reminders of when they need to be completed. Users can also see a garden calendar to plan for harvest and next year’s gardening schedule. For those who like to journal, the app provides a spot to note gardening successes and lessons learned.
When questions arise, app users can consult the Garden Coach, which pulls reliable information from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and USDA resources.
“The Garden Coach is named ‘Lou.’ It is also the bird in my logo,” Staudt said. “The coach is named after my grandmother, Donna Lou, who is a Master Gardener and taught me how to garden.”
Staudt also designed an eye-catching website to support the app, promising users every gardening season will feel “organized instead of overwhelming.”
“I’ve received such good feedback from people who have tested the app that I’m very confident it will do well,” Staudt said.
CultivAIte was one of two business ideas Staudt developed for an assignment in Kevin Kimle’s ECON 3340: Entrepreneurship in Agriculture class last fall. She continued to meet with Kimle, director and Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship for Start Something CALS, last semester to develop her business idea further.
She wanted the app to:
- have a simple layout
- be visually attractive
- save gardeners time
- be reliable
- be inexpensive.
She also leaned into lessons from her other economics classes – everything from market trends and demands to knowing what consumers want and what they will actually use.
“It’s been a privilege to watch Mary advance from an idea in a classroom last spring to launching a business today,” Kimle said. "Whether in CyStarters or our Student Incubator, she has engaged deeply in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is so important for forming relationships and learning.”
This past summer, Staudt was part of CYstarters cohort 11, an 11-week summer accelerator that helps students with their startup or business idea. Through that group, she connected with other students and received guidance on marketing, financial tracking and legal requirements – all things entrepreneurs need to know when starting a business.
“I feel like I’m prepared to start, grow and scale a business and confidently take risks thanks to this experience,” Staudt said. Her attitude echoes the tagline for the CultivAIte app, “small seeds, big plans.”
The app will be available to Apple users later this fall along with the web application version. The Android version will be available later.
She encourages other aspiring entrepreneurs to do market research to gauge the success of a business idea and not be afraid to take risks.
“If you’re super passionate about it, go for it,” she said.
Visit the CultivAIte website or follow CultivAIte on Facebook for more information and to watch for the app launch announcement.