David Derkits, the founder and Chief Grower of nuHydro Farms LLC, an indoor hydroponic farm specializing in microgreens. In 2021, after an early Marine Corps retirement and completing eight years of service as a private military contractor with the Department of State, I wanted to pursue my passion for farming.

When I embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and centered nuHydro Farms around the gap in indoor farming and the vision that microgreens ought to be more approachable, inclusive, and understanding. Within a year of launch, I’ve grown a profitable, bootstrapped brand and a partnership with Local Mama Catering Company, and have since partnered with Plants & Coffee, and Herbs to Your Success.

While building a brand may have looked effortless from the outside, starting a business at 44 with no resources or funding quickly forced me to realize that early-stage entrepreneurship was anything but transparent. Over the past two years, NUHYDRO Farms has sold upwards of 100 pounds of microgreens and blossomed a business that began with a small grow room in the basement into a 750-square-foot storefront.

NUHYDRO Farms is licensed, insured, agriculturally certified (as a producer, processor, warehouse, distributor, and retail location), a member of the Farmer Veteran’s Coalition, Homegrown by Hero’s Certified, PA Preferred Certified, Better Business Bureau Accredited, and a member of the Slate Belt Chamber of Commerce.