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Land & Everything Else
Land & Everything Else is dedicated to demystifying the world of alternative investments. Brought to you by the department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, Land and Everything Else will explore the nuts and bolts of non-stock and bond investing. From dirt to derivatives, this podcast will guide financial planners, wealth managers and consumers into the land of alternative investing.
Land & Everything Else
59. Leaving Academia to Build the Future of Ag Software with Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao
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What pushes a tenured associate professor of agricultural engineering to "eject from the aircraft" and start a software company? For Kaustubh Bhalerao, it wasn't a singular moment, but a persistent drive to move beyond journal articles and into the field where his work could solve real-world problems for farmers and soil labs.
In this episode, Dr. Craig Lemoine sits down with Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao, Ph.D. at the Land Expo to discuss his journey from academia to entrepreneurship and how technology is fundamentally reshaping the agricultural landscape. Kaustubh shares a fascinating look at how he uses AI not just as a tool for automation, but as a "second brain" and a thinking partner to build anti-fragile software and defensible business workflows.
Key takeaways:
- How a Jesuit education and academic mentorship shaped Kaustubh’s view of impact.
- The process of building geospatial modeling and digitizing workflows for an underserved ag industry.
- Practical ways to use generative AI for back-office automation and code maintainability.
- How AI tools can help investors better understand their risk appetite and lifestyle goals.
- Why tangible assets and family networks are becoming the ultimate hedges against a volatile labor market.
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