Brahmmjyot Singh Kalsi's Bet on Indoor Farming: The Story of Purple Farms

This is my Bet on Indoor Farming to Save the Future. 

I launched the parent company of what would eventually become Purple Farms back in 2018. 

I didn’t do it for valuations. 

I didn’t do it to create the next buzzword startup. 

I did it because I saw something coming that most people refused to see. 

To me, climate change was not a theory—it was a crisis that was going to unfold on our lands.

While the world of startups celebrated the rise of quick commerce and fintech unicorns, we went to work on something way less attractive but way more urgent than that: the future of farming. 

Those early days were brutal. 

We pitched to rooms of investors that didn’t get it. 

Indoor farming? Fogponics?

Most of them politely smiled. Some called us crazy. 

Almost all of them said, “Please, come back when you have revenue.”

But how do you create something revolutionary—something that could one day feed the world—without support?

You push through. 

During the pandemic, while the world was in lockdown, we were locked in. 

We spent four unrelenting years building what we believe is one of the most advanced indoor farming systems in the world.

No money. No pomp. Just hard work.

We finally got a small grant from the Government of Gujarat in 2022. It was not a lot, but just enough to get our proof of concept farm in Ahmedabad up and running.

Still, it wasn’t easy.

I spent a year pitching to investors, doing Zoom call after Zoom call. Most of them passed.

But two angels did not.

They took a chance on us.

They gave us the belief—and runway—to believe in our vision.

And we launched the world’s first indoor vertical farm utilising Fogponics technology.

A few months later, we got a second round from friends and family—people who saw how hard we worked and wanted to bet on our belief.

Still, we are in the trenches.

Seven years and we are still pitching. Still building. Still running.

Because that is what it means to be a founder in agri-tech in India.

There is no hype.

There is only work.

We are not here for headlines.

We are here because traditional farming will not be here in 15–20 years if we don’t change what we are doing—right now.

The world might not see it yet.

But we surely do.

We place our bets on science and climate-resilient food systems.

On indoor farming as a method not just to feed the world—but to save it.

And to every aspiring founder out there:

The hustle doesn't stop. The stress doesn't evaporate.

But if there is one thing that only gets stronger as you create, it is the purpose.

So keep building. Keep imagining! Keep one eye on the long game.

– As narrated by Brahmmjyot Singh Kalsi, penned by the Rolling Authors® team. Visit us at www.rollingauthors.com for book writing and editing.