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Invst Guru
The Organic Nitrogen Breakthrough Aiming to Transform Global Farming
Season 1, Ep. 97
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In this episode of Invst Guru, host Jeff “fuzzy” Wenzel sits down with Chaz Berman, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Grower’s Secret, to explore one of the most ambitious developments in sustainable agriculture today.
Berman—who previously took MyPoints public at a $2.5B market cap—shares how his team spent eight years testing more than 30 materials to create a patented organic nitrogen fertilizer designed to match the power and cost of synthetic nitrogen, a $134B global industry that has supported food production for 80+ years… while also causing massive environmental harm.
Grower’s Secret has now reached its fourth pilot plant stage, ramping toward commercial production with a goal of delivering a scalable, organic alternative that doesn’t leach, doesn’t burn crops, works in extreme climates, and actually helps regenerate soil rather than degrade it. Farmers are already asking for it as fast as it can be produced.
Jeff and Chaz dive into:
- The science behind Grower’s Secret’s 80% amino-acid-based organic nitrogen
- Why synthetic nitrogen became the global standard—and the environmental crisis it created
- How this new material performs across crops, climates, and farming styles
- The company’s patent strategy and global protection plan
- A long-term roadmap that includes licensing, partnerships, and worldwide expansion
- How farmers can switch with zero new equipment or processes
- The early traction of Grower’s Secret’s StartEngine equity crowdfunding campaign
- CEO lessons from Berman’s decades of scaling companies, managing teams, and staying persistent under pressure
This episode is a must-listen for investors, founders, sustainability enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the future of global food production. Whether you're new to agriculture or deep in the impact-investing world, this conversation will change how you think about soil, farming, and the innovations shaping the decades ahead.
👉 Links to Grower’s Secret and the StartEngine campaign are in the show notes. https://www.startengine.com/offering/growers-secret
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