Henry Turcotte, a rising senior at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, has always been drawn to solving problems. Whether he’s skiing, biking, running, writing, or building businesses, he enjoys challenging himself and exploring new ideas. That curiosity has already led him to co-found Irrigant, a startup focused on helping farmers make more informed irrigation decisions through artificial intelligence.
Henry’s interest in technology and entrepreneurship has been years in the making, but recent advances in AI have helped transform his ideas into action. “Artificial intelligence has been a huge part of that,” Henry shared. “It’s multiplied both my productivity and what I’m capable of building, and it’s let me actually apply my skills to real-world problems rather than just think about them.”
That mindset led Henry and his co-founder, Marco Trotta, to launch Irrigant during Christmas break in 2025. After discussing Idaho’s growing water challenges and discovering a lack of modern irrigation tools available to farmers, they set out to create a solution. Their flagship product, Helios, combines weather and soil data with artificial intelligence to help farmers make smarter irrigation decisions while conserving water. As they developed the technology, Henry quickly realized that building a successful product meant more than writing code. Working alongside University of Idaho researchers and members of Idaho’s agricultural community helped him better understand the realities farmers face every day and shaped the direction of the project. As Irrigant continued to grow, balancing coursework with building a startup became increasingly important. The flexibility of taking classes through Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA) allowed Henry to continue making progress academically while dedicating time to developing the company.
After first enrolling through IDLA for its scheduling flexibility and dual credit opportunities, Henry found that online learning fit naturally alongside his growing entrepreneurial ambitions. One course, Dual Credit Entrepreneurship, proved especially impactful. Beyond teaching the course, IDLA Teacher Susan Fullen took a genuine interest in Henry’s work and connected him with a University of Idaho extension contact who introduced him to researchers and industry professionals. Those relationships became instrumental in moving Irrigant forward.
“Henry had a wonderful idea but needed a few connections for his pilot project,” Fullen shared. “I was able to reach out to local AG teachers in the Magic Valley, who helped facilitate a connection with the local Extension office, and Henry took it from there!”
For Fullen, Henry’s journey reflects the opportunities IDLA strives to create for students by connecting classroom learning with real-world experience. She is grateful to everyone who helped support “an outstanding young man on his way to becoming a successful entrepreneur.”
“It was a good reminder that one connection, in the right place, can change the trajectory of an entire project,” Henry reflected.
Since then, Henry and his team have been recognized as Idaho State Champions in the Presidential AI Challenge, and Helios has continued to gain attention from researchers and the agricultural community. Yet for Henry, the greatest reward has been seeing others recognize the work’s potential. “Watching people take Helios seriously made the countless hours behind it feel worth it,” he explained. “I’ve learned that innovation rarely moves in a straight line, and that leadership often looks less like having all the answers and more like staying committed, staying curious, and bringing the right people together around a shared problem.”
Looking ahead, Henry plans to continue his education while building companies that solve meaningful, real-world problems. He hopes other students won’t wait for the “perfect” moment to pursue an idea of their own. “Just start,” he encouraged. “You’ll learn far more by building something imperfect than by waiting for the perfect moment, because that moment rarely comes. Start small, start now, and let the work teach you the rest.”
