The People Behind Persephone's Basket
Our Team
Charles Zhang
Co-Founder & CEO
Charles is the strategic backbone of Persephone's Basket. With a BS in Strategy Consulting and Entrepreneurship from Babson College — ranked the #1 school for entrepreneurship in the U.S. — he brings a disciplined, market-first mindset to every decision the company makes.
His expertise in market research and competitive analysis shaped the company's go-to-market approach, identifying the 141,000+ small farms that have closed in the U.S. as a massive, underserved opportunity. Charles leads implementation strategy, ensuring what the team builds is not only technically brilliant but commercially scalable.
He believes the future of agriculture isn't in mega-farms — it's in empowering the small producers who grow the most diverse, highest-quality food in America.
Babson College — BS Strategy Consulting & Entrepreneurship
Market Research Competitive Analysis Strategy Go-To-Market
Paraskevas Fotiadis
Co-Founder & COO
Paraskevas — "Paris" to the team — brings a rare combination of financial fluency, technical depth, and lived agricultural experience to Persephone's Basket. With a BS in Finance and Tech Entrepreneurship from Babson College, he understands both the capital structures that keep farms alive and the data systems that can make them thrive.
His family's roots in agriculture give him something no textbook can teach: an intuitive understanding of what farmers actually need, how they think, and what it costs when technology fails them. That empathy drives every design and pricing decision at Persephone's Basket.
Paris has led sales-based startups, served as a campus entrepreneurship leader at Babson, and brings engineering and data skills that bridge the gap between the product team and the customer.
Babson College — BS Finance & Tech Entrepreneurship
Finance Sales Agriculture Data Engineering
Alex Wang
Chief Technology Officer
Alex is one of the most accomplished AI researchers in the country. Holding a PhD in Computer Science (AI) from the University of Pennsylvania, he has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and accumulated more than 1,200 citations — placing him among the top voices in multimodal AI research globally.
His industry career spans tenures
at DeepMind, Amazon, and TikTok, where he built and deployed AI systems at a scale most researchers never encounter. His specialization in multimodal understanding and reasoning is precisely what powers Persephone's Basket's core product: an AI that can look at a field image and understand what it sees.
Alex leads all AI and engineering development, translating frontier research into practical, field-ready technology that works for real farmers in real conditions.
University of Pennsylvania — PhD, Computer Science (AI)
AI / ML Multimodal AI DeepMind 20+ Publications 1,200+ Citations
Partner With Us to Scale the Future of Sustainable Farming
We are seeking visionary investors who share our passion for AgriTech innovation. Join Persephone's Basket as we bridge the gap between traditional agriculture and high-tech precision.