From Monsanto to startup: One PMBA alum’s journey

After an eight-year career in IT at Monsanto, Saurabh Bharadwaj, PMBA ’11, completed his graduate program and was inspired to do more. Having entered the program lacking the language of business, he left equipped with skills that would eventually lead him to launch his own company.

From Monsanto, Bharadwaj went to work for a market research company where he met his eventual cofounder, Dimitri Popov. Together, they launched Aggio in July 2016. Aggio has developed a software-as-a-service business platform targeting the agriculture industry, enabling companies to make better decisions using data.

While their entrance into St. Louis’ entrepreneurship scene may have been quiet, their success is anything but. Based out of downtown St. Louis’ T-REX building, Aggio has not yet taken any outside funding and boasts an impressive list of clients, more than doubling their team in the last year.

Bharadwaj’s background in the agriculture industry contributes to his success, but he also credits Olin for where he is now. Specifically, he still thinks of Daniel W. Elfenbein, Olin associate professor of strategy, when discussing Aggio’s strategy (“Can you say it in a sentence?”) and he appreciates the small business experience he gained through the Taylor Community Consulting Program at the Center for Experiential Learning.

For those WashU students who are interested in an entrepreneurial environment, Bharadwaj encourages them to learn more about the company, as they will continue to hire aggressively.

Pictured above: The Aggio team, with Saurabh Bharadwaj at right.