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WYATT WARKENTHIEN
Co-Founder & Head of Operations, Lilac Agriculture · Fargo, ND
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APPLE ][ — 48K — READY.
Co-Founder & Head of Operations, Lilac Agriculture · Fargo, ND
You may:
What is your choice? █
— THEODORE ROOSEVELT
“CITIZENSHIP IN A REPUBLIC”
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I'm a co-founder and Head of Operations at Lilac Agriculture, based in Fargo, North Dakota.
My favorite part of the job is the people. I love working alongside other founders: trading notes, pressure-testing ideas, and helping each other through the hard parts of building something from nothing.
I'm a generalist at heart. I studied biotechnology at NDSU, but I'm just as happy digging into software, hardware, manufacturing, or whatever new idea is pointing at the future. If you're building something interesting, I'd like to hear about it.
Lilac Agriculture makes modern inoculants for pulse crops. Most commercial rhizobium inoculants get outcompeted by native soil bacteria, so farmers pay for strains that never colonize the root.
Our Guided Adaptation platform, built on research from NDSU, selects strains for both nitrogen-fixing efficiency and competitiveness in the soils where they're used.
Our first product, PL11, an inoculant for yellow pea and lentil, launched in 2026.
In 2026 we closed an oversubscribed $2.3M Series Seed led by Innova Memphis.
> lilac.ag
My work at Lilac spans operations, co-manufacturing, CFIA registration, SBIR/STTR grants, fundraising, and hiring.
> WHERE I COME FROM
I'm a fifth-generation North Dakotan. My dad has spent his career as a professional engineer, and my mom stayed home to raise my brother and me. I owe a great deal of who I am to them.
I didn't travel much growing up. College changed that, and since then I've been fortunate to see much of the United States and, more recently, parts of the world. The best part has been the people. I've learned the most by listening to others' experiences and perspectives, especially when they differ from my own.
> WHAT I TRY TO LIVE BY
I believe this country is at its best when it invests in its people, and I hope my work can play a small part in that.
> FAITH
My faith in Jesus Christ guides much of what I do. I don't always get it right, but I try each day to be a light for the people around me.
Email: wyatt@lilac.ag
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/wyatt-warkenthien
Company: lilac.ag