5 Go-to-Market Lessons from SESO’s Rapid Rise in AgTech

When most founders enter traditional industries, they lead with technology innovation. But in a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Michael Guirguis shared how SESO took a different path to become the third-largest H-2A visa platform in just three years. Here are the key go-to-market insights from their journey.

1. Listen First, Build Later The typical Silicon Valley approach to agriculture has been to build first and sell later. SESO flipped this model. “I spent a ton of time early on just driving and flying to farms all over the country. I’ve visited hundreds of farms in the last few years,” Michael shares. This extensive market research revealed that farmers didn’t want another tech solution telling them how to farm – they wanted help with operational challenges they already understood.

As one farmer told Michael directly: “A lot of people from Silicon Valley, they come here and they try to tell me how to farm, and I know how to farm. You don’t know how to farm. But you came here and told me about a program that I’m trying to use that I don’t understand. And I appreciate that.”

2. Find Your Lane and Stay There While exploring the agricultural market, Michael discovered multiple problems begging for solutions. But rather than trying to solve everything, SESO maintained strict focus. “We’re staying in our lane and we’re really just maniacally focused on everything related to labor. So the regulations like what’s happening in DC, that’s going to affect labor policy. What are the different workflows related to an I-nine or onboarding a worker or payroll compliance.”

This focus paid off dramatically. “In terms of the size of h-two a agents that support farms with helping bring in labor, were the 45th largest in the first year. We were the 7th largest last year, and we’re currently the third largest.”

3. Lead with Expertise, Not Technology Instead of positioning themselves as a tech company disrupting agriculture, SESO positioned themselves as labor compliance experts who happened to build software. “When they see that, hey, we don’t just have software, we really understand this better than anyone they’ve ever spoken to. And we’re going to help them maintain compliance…we have to earn the trust,” Michael explains.
4. Be Selective About Early Customers Rather than pursuing growth at all costs, SESO carefully selected customers who aligned with their vision for the industry. “We’re not just going to say yes to every farm if we don’t think that we have the same values aligned,” Michael notes. This selective approach helped them build a strong foundation of reference customers who truly valued their solution.
5. Look for Hidden Market Signals The breakthrough insight for SESO came from an unexpected Thanksgiving dinner conversation about the H-2A visa program – “a visa we treat like gold, but nobody knows how to get it.” While venture capital was pouring into robotics and automation, this casual conversation revealed a massive underserved need in agricultural labor management.

These GTM lessons challenge the conventional Silicon Valley playbook for entering traditional industries. Instead of disrupting from the outside, SESO succeeded by deeply embedding themselves in the agricultural ecosystem, building expertise before building technology, and maintaining ruthless focus on a single problem space.

For B2B founders targeting traditional industries, SESO’s experience suggests that success might depend less on technological innovation and more on becoming a trusted domain expert who can streamline existing processes. As Michael puts it: “There’s a lot of really shiny objects. AG has so much opportunity for improvement…but we really tried to stay maniacally focused on the labor problem.”

This focused approach creates a strong foundation for future expansion. Looking ahead, Michael sees opportunities to apply their model to other industries: “We see a lot of these same problems in other industries, in landscaping and forestry, fisheries, truck drivers, construction.” But this expansion will come only after thoroughly solving the agricultural labor management challenge – maintaining the same focused approach that has driven their success so far.