The team at Tractor Zoom in Urbandale thinks so, too.

“We’re the ‘Kelley Blue Book’ of farm equipment,” said Zac Sandvig, 35, chief financial officer of Tractor Zoom, which creates a real-time, online marketplace for agricultural equipment sales. “We help customers quickly find and value heavy equipment using big data and technology.”

Tractor Zoom is an Iowa-grown tech company, whose roots can be traced back to CEO and founder Kyle McMahon. When McMahon was growing up in Fairfield, he envisioned a career as a golf course designer or real estate developer, not an ag entrepreneur. Things changed, however, after he started working with the land transaction/private equity division of Summit Agricultural Group in 2013.

“I discovered a new world of ag business opportunities,” said McMahon, who traveled up to 125,000 miles a year across the Midwest, reviewing tracts of land for sale and attending 1,000-plus land and equipment auctions.

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Tractor Zoom helps people find and value farm machinery faster than ever. Monitoring the market in real time helps farmers make more profitable decisions, says company founder Kyle McMahon.

This sparked his interest in row-crop farming. When he wanted to buy a used Kinze 3600 planter, though, it wasn’t easy. McMahon subscribed to more than 10 newspapers to check the classified ads. He bookmarked auction websites. He was frustrated by the lack of searchable, digital sites to find farm equipment auctions.

“I was headed to Wyoming for a snowmobile trip and called about 25 farmers during the drive,” McMahon said. “I asked if they had the same problem finding used farm equipment easily. They all said yes.”

He reasoned that farmers should have a searchable, online database, like CarGurus in the automotive market and Zillow in the real estate industry. That’s why he created Tractor Zoom in 2017. “We help people find and value farm machinery faster than ever,” McMahon said.

“Monitoring the market in real time helps farmers make more profitable decisions.”

Tractor Zoom serves customers across the nation and has created new job opportunities in Iowa. After starting at a coworking space in West Des Moines, the growing company moved to an office in Urbandale in August 2019.

“Kyle approached me about doing financial forecasts for this startup,” said Sandvig, who has grown his career at Tractor Zoom. “I like being part of a team and contributing to something bigger than myself. Providing real-time, transparent equipment pricing options helps farmers make better business decisions as they continue to feed the world.”

Growing ag tech careers in Iowa

Tractor Zoom offers key resources its competitors can’t match.

“We listen to our customers,” said Sandvig, who noted that more than 200,000 active users visit Tractor Zoom each month.

“They’re concerned about the uncertain future of interest rates and supply chain disruptions, so we offer instant financing options through third-party financiers.”

Tractor Zoom has earned the Iowa Technology Association of Iowa’s prestigious Prometheus Awards, including the Startup Company of the Year (2020) and the Ag and Bio Tech Company of the Year (2021).

Rapid growth has defined Tractor Zoom, which includes 22 full-time employees, from data scientists to the customer success team. As the company plans to expand into Canada, Urbandale’s accessibility (to the interstates and the Des Moines International Airport) is a big plus.

“Urbandale and greater Des Moines also foster a sense of community and offer a desirable place to work and live,” Sandvig said. “This helps us recruit top talent, including college interns and local high school students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers. We’re thrilled to serve agriculture and help people grow their career in Iowa.”