Irrigreen

Irrigreen is raising at a $16 million valuation and is offering a SAFE with a 20% discount. This valuation is slightly overpriced compared to other startups currently seeking funding. However, the company has seen growing revenue in its most fiscal year, which is a boon to Irrigreen. Additionally, the 20% discount makes this round more attractive to investors. Therefore, Irrigreen’s price score is above average.

The global sprinkler irrigation market size was estimated at just under $2.6 billion in 2019 and is set to grow to just under $3 billion in coming years. As the world turns more and more towards sustainable choices that protect the environment, products geared towards water conservation may soon become the norm. However, it’s important to note that the irrigation market includes both farming and landscaping uses. Irrigreen is currently only targeting landscaping, thereby limiting its overall market potential. Additionally, the market’s extremely slow growth will also naturally restrict the overall opportunity. Due to these factors, Irrigreen’s market score is its lowest across all five metrics.

Irrigreen’s executive team is led by founder and CEO Shane Dyer. Dyer has a bachelor’s in Computer Systems Engineering from Stanford University and is a serial entrepreneur. Most recently he founded Arrayent, an IoT platform, which was bought by Prodea Systems in 2017. Dyer also co-founded Propellerhead Studios — a product development firm for the toy industry — and solely founded ActivePhoto — an IoT platform for photos and digital cameras.   

Gary Klinefelter acts as the company’s CTO. He previously worked as a vice president of technology at Fargo Electronics and oversaw printing products valued at more than $90 million. The company was acquired by HID Global in a $325 million purchase. The executive team is rounded out by Vice President of Revenue Kim Levin. Levin has a career of more than 20 years in sales and marketing, experience that will prove useful in growing Irrigreen to new heights.

The executive team’s experience with exits is especially encouraging for potential investors. Dyer has founded and run multiple other startups, which increases his likelihood of leading Irrigreen to success. Thus, Irrigreen scores strongly in the team metric.

The space of “smart sprinklers” is growing crowded – with companies like Rachio, Orbit, and Wyze already offering similar products. However, Irrigreen’s product is slightly different from many of the current options on the market. Orbit and Rachio provide sprinkler controllers that allow the customer to control the water, where it is sprayed, and how much of it is sprayed on their lawn. These options simply allow for control over wasteful sprinklers. Irrigreen offers a system that reduces the number of digital heads to one-third the average system. It “prints” water that perfectly covers a lawn and utilizes internet weather data. This functionality cuts down on water waste by up to 50%, potentially saving customers thousands of dollars in water bills throughout the use of Irrigreen’s product. Irrigreen also has six patents and another one pending, which provides crucial defensibility for its smart sprinklers. Therefore, the differentiators score for Irrigreen is high. 

Irrigreen has seen revenues grow over the last two years, from just over $77k in 2018 to more than $177k in 2019. The company’s long-term debt also rose considerably in 2021 with its most recent Form C filing indicating $738k in long-term debt. Prior to this raise, Irrigreen has seen venture capital firms pour in nearly $5 million in funding, which has allowed the company to create and patent its existing products. 

Irrigreen has installed more than 300 sprinklers thus far and has targeted both residential and commercial locations. With a wide range of potential customers, Irrigreen is solidly positioned to continue its early traction. These factors result in a very high performance score.

Innovation is key to success, and Irrigreen’s product looks eerily similar to existing products already on the market. If it is unable to communicate the benefits of its smart sprinklers to consumers, it may struggle to grow. Additionally, the company is operating in an extremely limited market that is barely growing. Although efficient and environmentally-friendly irrigation solutions are likely to grow more popular in coming years, there’s still a hard limit on how much landscaping irrigation is needed across the country. These market restrictions could prevent Irrigreen from realizing its slightly ambitious $16 million valuation.

The executive team behind Irrigreen has led multiple successful exits, giving them much needed experience in the world of startups. Irrigreen’s technology is patented, and the company has a clear business model identified for growth. On top of supplying residential and commercial properties, it is working on rolling out digital sprinklers for large parks, golf courses, and sports fields. Doing so would only increase the reach of the company’s products. With solid early traction and the world turning toward sustainable solutions, Irrigreen could be well-positioned to occupy a healthy slice of the sprinkler market.

With patented technology, a solid number of early installations, and an executive team that has experience in taking startups to exit, Irrigreen has quite a few aspects of its operation trending in the right direction. However, a crowded market with many competitors and a slightly high valuation are factors that work against the company. Much of Irrigreen’s future success depends on its ability to expand its customer base, but there’s a hard limit on how much landscaping irrigation is needed. All things considered, Irrigreen is a Neutral Deal at this time.

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Analysis written by Ethan Thomas.