Ryan Higgs
Co-founder & CEO
In the rich soil of New Zealand, we planted the seeds of a simple purpose: to create technologies that give farmers the freedom to grow
OUR MISSION
1,954,000
Digital check-ins to rural properties
57,000
Hazards logged improving farm safety
15,000
Rural properties mapped across ANZ
In 2015, the Onside journey began with Ryan Higgs, Michael Falconer and Juliet Maclean.
Their stories intertwined at a large dairy farming venture in Canterbury, New Zealand. Juliet was a founder of the business, and the CEO. Michael had an investment banking background and had worked with Juliet on a capital raise. Ryan, recently back from living in New York, joined Juliet to take on an operational role at the company.
The idea for Onside sparked from a big problem. With 13 farms and hundreds of people coming and going every day, there was no simple way to know who was on farm, what they were doing, how to contact them and how to ensure they had what they needed to get on with the job quickly, efficiently and safely.
The answer was clear - a solution that was simple, digital, mobile, and needed to work for everyone including the farm team and contractors. The first version of our app was born – a digital check-in app to manage who's on farm and keep everyone safe and informed.
As the check-in app grew, we realised we were building a large interconnected network that was mapping movements around the entire agriculture sector, providing real-time insights.
During Ryan's time studying in the US, he crossed paths with Hautahi Kingi, who later became a data scientist at Facebook and Google. Together, they used this network data to create Onside Intelligence, the world's most advanced network-based tracing, readiness and response platform for biosecurity.
Fast forward to today, we've expanded our footprint to Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, with offices in Christchurch and Melbourne.
At Onside, we go beyond making operations smoother and compliance automated. We are building technology that not only helps farms run well but also collects important information to help keep the agriculture industry safe from pests and diseases.
And that's our story – from humble beginnings solving a day to day problem for farmers, to powering the world's biosecurity.
Co-founder & CEO
CFO
Head of Product
Head of Marketing
Head of Customer
Co-founder & Chairman
Co-founder & Director
Independent Director
Independent Director
Co-founder & Executive Director