Alum's vertical farming startup heads to market
Chemical engineer Justin Smith leaves the University of Arizona with a degree and funds to pursue a novel business venture.
Justin Smith, who graduated with a bachelor’s in chemical engineering in May 2025, is entering the workforce with ambitious plans.
During his senior year, he founded Lazy Towers – a startup focused on soil-less, vertical farming to reduce labor and space needs in greenhouses.
"The system is designed to create smaller micro farms, spread across cities," Smith said. "This approach reduces transportation and distribution needs, which lowers the carbon footprint and production costs."
Tech Launch Arizona’s student resources hub, Startup Wildcats, has been instrumental in connecting the young company founder with investors. In fact, he received $1,250 at the 2025 TLA Startup Night on Feb. 18 to build out his prototype.
“I like that I can create my own company. I can enable workers to have an easier job and still be paid enough to where they can live on the wage," he said. "That’s what I want. I want something that’s actually fair.”