When two gaming experts and a social networking founder collaborated to tackle a significant challenge in agriculture technology—the intersection of human health and animal health—they crafted more than just an app.
But let’s be clear: “We’re not just playing games here,” emphasizes Ariel Yi Chi Chang, a 2020 30 Under 30 honoree and founder of GeGe Design.
During the Forbes Under 30 Agtech+ Hackathon this past weekend, Chang, along with her teammates Ashley Deese, a 2019 30 Under 30 honoree and manager of digital media at Smithsonian, and Kemishia Sorzano, For(bes) The Culture member and founder of Social Tea, were part of three teams tasked with finding solutions for sustainable agricultural and animal health practices. Their innovative proposal resulted in the creation of the Happy Herd app—an engaging platform where users care for a virtual farm, making decisions similar to real farmers. Users manage currency to select animals, monitor their overall health, and make decisions about nutrition.
While the concept may resemble long-standing apps like Farmville, the three-fold mission serves a more significant purpose: increasing public awareness and education around farming, channeling funding into agriculture advocacy groups and nonprofits (with 70% of the proceeds directly supporting these organizations), and implementing data collection from user interactions to cultivate more sustainable practices for farmers.