Every livestock transaction carries an unseen cost: valuable information that never gets to market.

Buying and selling livestock is often risky due to limited information shared during transactions. Despite the high-value trades, buying stock with insufficient data is like buying a farm without seeing the back paddock. This can lead to surprises and headaches for stock agents and farmers alike.

Imagine creating a comprehensive livestock listing and being able to immediately share it with a trusted network, tracking everything in one place.

This is Stockies, an intuitive tool designed to strengthen connections between farmers and agents through simple and well-informed stock trades. Designed to integrate with the current market rather than replace it, this technology allows farmers and agents to work within their own networks but with better data and more informed decisions. For agencies, it's a powerful platform to manage, track and share listings across their entire team.

Meet the founder, Tom Platts, a Sprout Accelerator Spring24 cohort participant.

"We are not trying to change the market - just grease the wheels. We are trying to be as helpful as possible without taking a pound of flesh."

Tom understands his market, as he grew up on a Taumarunui farm and spent time farming in Taihape. He has previously worked as a civil engineer before moving into IT in the UK and Canada, but the agricultural sector is where he wants to be."Farming was the best job that I ever had. This is my way to get back into the industry, using the skills I have gained over the years."

Tom describes himself as obsessed with his work and stoked to be doing what he does.

"At Stockies, we simply want to make it easy to transfer the data for farmers and agents alike," Tom states. "Farmers already know everything there is to know about their livestock - for example, when animals were last drenched, what performance is like, breed and genetic history. We want to make it easier for livestock agents to get this information to market so that it can be traded on.”

When taking the app to test at Fieldays, the Stockies team left motivated by the positive engagement. What surprised them the most was that numerous other companies approached them, eager to see a tool like this on the market.

"This issue is so entrenched in agriculture," says Tom. "After Fieldays, we took our loose concepts and refined our ideas. We realised this was an information problem. We need a streamlined way to get information through to the end user."

Following this refinement, Tom is currently testing the app. When the first real-life listings came through the app from his testers, he was over the moon. "It has been a lot of work to get to this point. Those listings are a validation of all of my work to date. "

Tom knows this problem extends beyond New Zealand's borders and is eager to scale his technology to help hardworking farmers around the world, reducing risk and worry from their operations.

In order to reach that goal, the team is working to expand their user base and integrate with other industry bodies to do the work and influence the system using systems in place that are akin to other industries—like the real estate market. Ultimately, this will have a positive impact on animal welfare and transport.

Working with Sprout Accelerator, Tom notes that their partnerships and industry links are second to none. He is looking forward to drilling down on his business and interrogating it from all angles to ensure a solid platform. From there, he would like to investigate capital raising.

"However, even the application process challenged me to reevaluate the work I am doing, the details and the product," says Tom. "Then, on top of that, the process of pitching to a room of high achievers made me want to lift my game and rise to the challenge."

Following the experience of receiving the mentors was just as humbling. "They are just amazing. I can't believe they roped people of that calibre into mentoring startups."

Tom's innovative approach to stock sales is a transformative tool for farmers and agents who want to make informed decisions and reduce the risk in their operations. With the support of Sprout Accelerator, mentors and fellow cohorts, it will be exciting to watch this growing venture move from a dream into a revolutionary reality.