CHEMIST TURNED ENTREPRENEUR, FOUNDER OF MOBIUS ANDWINNER OF THE 2019 AGSHARKS COMPETITION 24 Hours with Tony Bova
By Stephanie Metzinger T ony Bova’s fascination with renewable energy truly sparked when he and his good friend, Jeff Beegle, decided, on a whim, to participate in a startup pitch competition during their undergrad at the University of Toledo. The pair, who met in 2012 while conducting academic research for the State of Ohio, joined a team of students that came up with the idea to form a business that could install a set of buffer strips on farmers’ lands to give them the equipment needed to recapture fertilizer runoff with plants and turn those into biogas that could be used to power their facility. Though Bova and Beegle walked away empty handed, the competition gave them the “entrepreneur bug.” A few years later, mobius pbc was founded. Today, mobius is on its way to achieving its goal: to create a world where there’s wonder in waste. The company, which is still in its inception phase, is currently developing technologies that convert unavoidable organic waste into much-needed products such as waste-based fertilizers, biodegradable seed and fertilizer coatings, and biodegradable mulch films and nursery containers. Using the $500,000 equity investment earned from S2G Ventures at the 2019 AgSharks Competition during Western Growers’ Annual Meeting this past November, Bova plans to bulk up his team and refine the startup’s solutions. It’s not all about the agtech, it’s about the superstars behind it! Bova, 36, was kind enough to give us an in-depth look at his daily routine, how he manages his time and the unique way he is building his renewable chemicals and materials company—all the while pursuing a doctoral degree. Here’s a look at how he spends his average day. 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM I’m not an early riser. My of most productive hours are from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., so waking up exceptionally early is not part of my daily routine. The first thing I do when I wake up is to take my two dogs out for a walk. My eight-year old German shepherd, Rogue (yes, like the superhero from X-Men), and 10-year old bulldog/beagle mix, Pepperoni, have an incredible amount of energy and enjoy all the scents, scenery and terrain that Knoxville, Tennessee has to offer. After getting some morning air, I review my calendar to see what meetings I have that day, any important phone calls I need to make and possible team outings
that may be scheduled. I receive about 200 e-mails a day so lining up my priorities and “must-do’s” for the day allows me to be most productive, while still meeting everyone’s needs. 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM I head out to our office space in Lenoir City (a suburban city in Tennessee with a population of about 8,600), which takes about 30 minutes. During my short commute, I like to listen to podcasts that get me energized about the day. Some of my favorites include: • Up First from NPR: NPR’s Up First not only gives me an overview of the latest news but it analyzes the biggest stories of the day. • The Daily with The New York Times: I like hearing the stories from the actual journalists who write the stories, rather than a host or commentator. • This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis: Jason is an angel investor on the west coast who interviews a variety of entrepreneurs all at different stages of growth. It’s fun to hear what’s current in the realm of startups and gives me an idea of each of the cultures they have built within their companies. mobius is located in a little agtech incubator space that we share with three or four other startups. Our space is unique in that we are working out of a farmhouse that was built in the 1800’s. It’s on 30-acres of beautiful historical farmland and our materials science lab is literally in what used to be a garage. Though the entrepreneurial community in Knoxville is still rather small, they have been incredibly supportive, interested and invested in what we are doing. They have been integral in helping us build our network in the ag space and connecting us with farmers in the west coast, such as members of Western Growers. A misconception that I’d like to dispel is that there’s a lot of articles out there that make it look like the startups appeared out of nowhere and were an overnight success; but the truth is that success comes from a lot of relationship building that stem from support from the local community. 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Every Monday, we have a standing morning meeting where our team of six provides an update on what occurred the week
42 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2020
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