How a Ukrainian entrepreneur in California is creating a technology that can change the way we approach landscapes and reduce environmental damage

In our California section, today we're featuring Volodymyr Dragan , a Ukrainian entrepreneur and engineer working in the field of water management, plant nutrition, and green infrastructure technologies in California. And we are talking about him for a reason: he is working on a solution that can significantly reduce water loss, ocean pollution from fertilizers, and generally have a positive impact on the environment in California, where water and soil issues are critical.

In California, where water, resource efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure have long gone beyond the realm of professional debate, solutions are emerging that could change the very logic of environmental management. One of these solutions is being developed by Ukrainian-born entrepreneur Volodymyr Dragan, founder and CEO of GreenPlace Inc. and the startup GreenMix.

Who is Dragan and what is his idea? Dragan's professional career in the United States began not with theory but with practice. He worked directly in the landscape industry in California, participated in the implementation of facilities, and gradually formed a systematic vision of how this market works from the inside. Under his leadership, the team has completed more than 400 projects in the state. It was this experience that allowed him to see not only the external side of the business but also its underlying problems: water overruns, inefficient use of fertilizers, significant operating losses, high dependence on the human factor, and lack of transparency in service.

At the intersection of these challenges, the idea of GreenMix was born - a technology that combines hardware and software and allows for the integration of nutrient supply into standard irrigation systems. The essence of the solution is that plants receive nutrition simultaneously with irrigation - in a controlled, dosed and stable manner. This approach can significantly reduce the loss of resources and make the process of landscape management much more accurate.

It's not just about business convenience. One of the main emphases of GreenMix is environmental. In traditional systems, a significant portion of fertilizers is not absorbed by plants and ends up in groundwater and ecosystems. According to industry estimates, such losses can reach up to half of the applied volume. In a state where water is a strategic resource and the environmental burden is growing, this problem is not local but systemic.

That is why Dragan's development deserves attention not only as a business innovation but also as a potentially important tool for environmental modernization. California has long been living in an environment where any technology that can improve water efficiency, reduce fertilizer loss, and reduce the burden on the ecosystem actually works not only for the market but also for the future of the state.

A separate area of the team's work is related to recycled water, which is becoming increasingly important in many parts of California. However, such water can have a negative impact on soil and plants if not properly controlled. GreenMix is also working to make its use safer, more predictable, and more technologically controlled.

It is also important that the project does not remain at the conceptual level. The prototypes have already been installed at real facilities, the company has its first paying customers, and is preparing to launch the first production series. At the same time, the team is developing a software platform that allows them to track maintenance, analyze efficiency, control processes in real time, and reduce the role of chaotic manual decisions.

In fact, Dragan offers a different approach to the landscape industry - not as a field of "manual care" but as a managed infrastructure, where data, automation, and environmental logic become the basis for decisions. And this is the scale of his idea. It's not just a new watering device, but an attempt to transform the entire model of territory management.

For the American market, and especially for California, where environmental sustainability has long been an economic necessity rather than a fashionable topic, such solutions can make much more sense than it seems at first glance. If successfully scaled up, GreenMix could become an example of how practical experience, entrepreneurial thinking, and technological innovation can create a product with real industry and environmental impact.

If California is really looking for tools that can combine efficiency, automation, and environmental responsibility, then such developments could be much more important than just another local startup. They could become part of a new infrastructure norm.