Camilla, from Agronomist to Product Manager.

A life in start-ups, a passion for agri-tech, and a Cattle Dog named Nanga

Camilla, what do you do at xFarm?

I am Product Manager, somewhere between sales and IT. I lead the Product team, with which I am responsible for translating market needs into a technical requirement that leads to the development of a new function or technology within the platform. The input may come from farmers, supply chains, agricultural machinery companies, or others related to the agribusiness sector.

The number one priority of my job is to keep the product evolution roadmap up to date with respect to the market, competitors, and make sure that business deadlines agreed upon with customers are met. We also make sure that we are always up to date with the latest innovations and monitor new technologies that we want to introduce and propose within our platform.

How does one become a product manager?

In Italy there is no real path to get to my position-I studied agriculture, specialized in crop production and protection, and am an agronomist. After graduating and taking the state exam, I spent some time in Brazil doing volunteer work, and upon my return with some guys from the Milan Polytechnic I founded Wapi, a startup that aimed to create a digital farm notebook. We did a pre-acceleration course at Bocconi with B4I (Bocconi for innovation) and then at the Luiss Hub. After a little over a year, Wapi was acquired by xFarm and I then joined xFarm as digital product manager.

A life in start-ups--what was it like to go from co-founder of a start-up to a member of a scale-up?

That's right-I've only worked in start-ups in my life. Moreover, I am part of the generation that started working just before or during covid. As a result, I cannot imagine an environment that is not smart, agile, dynamic, with fast processes, and little bureaucracy, where colleagues often accompany me even outside of work life.

I strongly believe in innovation in agriculture, so I have continued to act as if the project is my own. I continue to have great freedom to express myself and to share my vision with the team, which is crucial for me.

How have you adapted to your new work environment?

I was excited from the moment I arrived, which gave me independence but also great responsibility from the first moment. As soon as I arrived, Matteo (Matteo Vanotti, CEO of xFarm Technologies) told me, "Camilla, there is a bug in Irrigation. Please fix it." Having just arrived, I had no idea what the Irrigation module was. By asking anyone for information and even with Daniel's help, I finally managed to solve the problem.

In general, smart working happens, but I prefer to go to the office-I like to interact and communicate with people face to face. The day, is a succession of calls, ideation, planning and discussions with the team. Occasionally I may visit clients in the company, but not as frequently as it happens to the Sales team. On my lunch break, I always take a walk in the park with Nanga.

But so your dog goes to work with you?

Yes! One day, Matthew, seeing me here at the end of the day, asked, "What about the dog?" The dog was at home (by a lucky coincidence, I live right across the street from the office). So he, "But excuse me, why don't you bring him here?"  

Since that day Nanga has been coming to the office with me every day. He has his own station, his own business cards, he is on Slack. He spends his day between naps, cuddles and cookies and keeps everyone's spirits up.  

What is the part you appreciate most about your work?  

The opportunity to be an active participant in the evolution of the product. Gathering feedback from the market, bringing these requirements to the tech team, and analyzing the new technologies available so that we have a competitive product make my job dynamic and always full of new stimuli. At the same time, it makes me very proud to know that all these efforts will help tens of thousands of farmers to be more efficient and sustainable in their daily work.

And a particularly challenging aspect?

There is also the fact that being a woman, 28 years old, leading a team in the AgTech sector, it can happen that I feel like a white fly. This is an area where unfortunately there are very few women, but it actually presents many opportunities for growth. When I joined xFarm I was the second; today there are eight of us.

I am afraid that I fill a role that few women feel they can reflect in. I actually believe that xFarm Technologies is an inclusive place where anyone can fulfill their potential. For the past two months we have had another woman on the product team, which makes me very happy.

The "craziest" moment since you started working at xFarm?

I spent several very fun evenings with Nicolò (Nicolò Barbano, Head of Marketing), organizing treasure hunts and riddles for our colleagues: in fact, Nicolò and I are part of the xDays team - the retreat days that xFarm offers every 6 months to all employees; therefore, we organize almost all of the activities of those days. This year, just before Christmas, we were in Barcelona, where we organized various logic and creativity activities for team building. And then also when we went to EIMA, we rented a space where we all stayed together and organized a beautiful party among colleagues, involving some influencers as well.

And the strangest place you've worked from?

Three months ago, I opened Slack (our corporate chat) in Machu Picchu. On the same occasion, I think I set the user record to higher altitude.

What do you see in your professional future?

I would like to see xFarm become even more established internationally. I would like to continue to grow together with the team and have more and more responsibility so that I can have an even greater impact on the entire agribusiness supply chain.