A new agrarian business venture could be an anecdote straight out of "The World is Flat," Tom Friedman's opus on the increasingly entangled and competitive nature of the global economy. The fledgling enterprise took root in the Meeting Street offices of Ernest Andrade, director of the city's Charleston Digital Corridor initiative.

While brainstorming ways to bolster the local life-science industry, a Medical University of South Carolina employee mentioned that his scientist father in India had harnessed his biotech skills to develop an all-natural pathogen-free line of fertilizers that enhances soil conditions. Made from sterilized cellulose materials and Red Wriggler worm casings, the liquid concentrate has been available in the Mideast and Asia for more than decade. But it had not yet cracked into the North American market. Andrade said that conversation made him think of Jonathan Butler, who was on his organization's board.

A co-founder of Automated Trading Desk, which uses sophisticated computer programs to buy and sell stocks, Butler had left as chief technology officer after the Mount Pleasant-based company was sold to Citigroup last year for $637 million.

"He'd expressed interest in 'green' technologies," Andrade said. Long story short, after more than a year of methodical planning, the 40-something Butler last week completed the first round of financing, including his own money and funds from other local investors, to launch Surya Biofertilizers LLC.

The company goes to his belief that "the introduction of clean and green technologies is the next wave of entrepreneurship." But, he added: "It has to be cautious approach."

That's not surprising given the time he spent at ATD, a firm that has thrived on its prudent handling of risk. So Butler set out to quantify the pitfalls as best he could. For example, he had the biofertilizer scientifically analyzed and tested against synthetic versions to compare crop yields and other attributes. He liked the results. He also determined it could compete on price against chemical brands and "jumped through all kinds of hoops" with regulators, including the U.S. Agriculture Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"It's not like, 'We're going to take a chance on this and see what happens,' " he said. "We're really staging this."

Butler's interest in what goes into the soil can be traced to a farm his family owns near Santee. It was reinforced by a stint working at Abide-a-While Garden Center in Mount Pleasant. Now that it's funded, Surya –- the Indian term for "sun" –- plans to start beating the bushes to build a distribution network in North America. It hopes one day to grow to the point that it would make financial sense to manufacture the liquid in Charleston instead of importing it.

Samples are now being used at 15 sites, including Ravenswood Plantation Sod Farm on Johns Island. The company sees home improvement stores, backyard gardeners and golf courses as natural customers. "It's a huge variety," Butler said.