Meet our newest Member Spotlight! Each month, we feature one of our Chamber Members.
To apply for your spotlight, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
We asked Cody Hsu, with Lopperly, to tell us more about the company and about being a part of the Poway Chamber. For those looking for more information about Lopperly, Cody can be reached directly at cody@lopperly.com or by phone at (415) 713-3928.
Tell us about your company.
Lopperly is a free community platform I’m building here in Poway to make it easier for people to connect with their local food ecosystem. We help people discover local farms, farmers markets, nurseries, community gardens, food recovery organizations, classes and events—all in one place. Lopperly also gives neighbors a way to share what’s growing around them, whether that means selling, trading, giving away or donating surplus produce, plants, seeds and other garden goods. The bigger idea is simple: there is already so much food, knowledge and abundance within our communities. We want to make it easier to find and share it.
What made you decide to choose this field or industry?
Interestingly, I didn’t come from agriculture—and I still consider myself a novice gardener. Lopperly really grew out of becoming more aware of what was happening right around me. I would see fruit falling from neighborhood trees while families elsewhere struggled to access fresh food. I started growing more of our own food at our home in Poway, meeting local gardeners, discovering farms, nurseries and nonprofits, and realizing how fragmented all of these resources were. At the same time, I’m raising two young boys, and I started thinking much more seriously about what a resilient food future looks like for their generation. Technology can connect almost anything today. I started wondering: why isn’t it easier to connect the people who grow food, the people who have excess, the organizations that can redistribute it, and the neighbors looking for it? That question eventually became Lopperly.
What is the most interesting part of your business?
Lopperly is a technology company designed to get people off technology. We use a digital platform to help someone discover the farm down the road, find a gardening class, volunteer at a gleaning event, support a local nursery, or realize their neighbor has a lemon tree producing more fruit than one family could possibly eat. The technology is really just the connector. The goal is more real-world relationships between people, food and the communities where we live.
What do you wish you knew starting out, or what would you have done differently?
I wish I had understood sooner just how valuable it is to start talking to the community before everything is finished. As a founder, there is a temptation to stay behind the scenes until the product feels perfect. But some of the best ideas for Lopperly have come from conversations with gardeners, nonprofits, nurseries, local businesses and community members. Building in public—and being willing to say, “Here’s what we’re trying to solve; what are we missing?”—has made the platform better. If I were starting again, I would have those conversations even earlier.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud that something that started as an idea on a walk around my Poway neighborhood with my boys is becoming a real community resource. I’m building Lopperly while working full-time and raising two young boys, so there have been a lot of very early mornings, late nights and sacrifices along the way. But my kids are also a huge part of why I keep going. They pick tomatoes and blueberries straight from our garden, watch caterpillars turn into monarchs, and are growing up understanding that food doesn’t simply appear on a grocery store shelf. If Lopperly can help more families have those connections—and at the same time help local growers, businesses and organizations thrive—that is something I’ll be incredibly proud of.
Tell us something we would not know about you.
Before starting Lopperly, I definitely would not have described myself as a gardener. I’m learning as I go—and very publicly! I’ve killed plants, planted things in completely the wrong places, battled slugs and caterpillars, accidentally allowed mint to take over part of our property, and learned far more about irrigation than I ever expected to know. That has actually become an important part of Lopperly for me. You don’t need to own a farm or be an expert gardener to participate in a stronger local food system. Sometimes it starts with one tomato plant, one fruit tree, or simply choosing to support someone local who grows food.
What keeps you inspired and motivated?
My children and my community. As a parent, it’s hard not to think about what our food system will look like decades from now. At the same time, working on Lopperly has introduced me to so many people right here in San Diego County who are already doing incredible work—growing food, teaching people to garden, composting, rescuing excess produce, feeding families and building community. The resources already exist. The people already exist. What motivates me is the possibility of connecting more of those dots so that participating in our local food system becomes easy and normal for everyone.
When and why did you join the Poway Chamber of Commerce?
I joined because Lopperly was born here in Poway, and it felt important to build relationships in my own community first. One of the principles behind Lopperly is that strong local systems are built through relationships—not just transactions. The Chamber gives me the opportunity to meet the business owners, nonprofits, community leaders and residents who are already investing in Poway. I also want Lopperly to be a resource that strengthens local businesses rather than competes with them, whether that’s helping someone discover a Poway nursery, farm stand, class, community organization or local event. Poway is our starting point, so being part of the Chamber felt like a natural fit.
What would you tell someone who is considering joining the Poway Chamber?
Join—and then actually participate. The real value isn’t simply having your business listed as a member. It’s meeting the people behind the organizations around you. Especially as someone building a new company, I’ve found that one conversation can lead to an introduction, a partnership, an idea you hadn’t considered or simply a better understanding of what your community needs. There’s a lot of value in being connected to the people building alongside you.
What has been your favorite part of being a member of the Poway Chamber of Commerce?
The people. I’ve especially appreciated being able to introduce Lopperly while it is still young and hear directly from local businesses and nonprofits about what they’re working on and what our community needs. Those conversations are important to me because I don’t want to build Lopperly in isolation. I want the platform to evolve with input from the communities it is designed to serve.
About The Member Spotlight
Members who fill out the form below will be put into a drawing to become our next member spotlight! Spotlighted members will be put into the Chamber Report eNewsletter, as well as featured on the homepage of our website!
Non-Profits: Fill out this Non-Profit Member Spotlight form which has been tailored to non-profit organizations!