Shownotes
Join us on an exciting journey as we explore the groundbreaking world of indoor farming with Babylon Micro-Farms and their visionary CEO, Alexander Olesen. In this episode, Alexander shares his invaluable insights on sustainability, scaling, and customer satisfaction, while taking us through his remarkable entrepreneurial journey. Discover the incredible benefits of indoor farming, from its potential for local service operators and government involvement to its niche applications for self-sufficiency and unforgettable experiences. Prepare to be amazed by Babylon Micro-Farms' turnkey hydroponic farming modules and their game-changing products that are redefining the industry. With a strong focus on eliminating single- use plastic, delivering fresh and healthy crops, and fostering happy customers, this podcast uncovers the transformative impact of urban agriculture on the food service industry. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn about the cutting-edge technology, sustainability efforts, and exciting future plans that make Babylon MicroFarms a true pioneer in the field.
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Key Takeaways
- Discover how Babylon MicroFarms is revolutionizing indoor farming with their turnkey hydroponic farming modules, attracting attention and sparking conversations about the benefits of urban agriculture.
- Learn about the game-changing product, the Gallery, which makes it easier than ever to grow your own fresh food and offers features for food safety traceability and scaling.
- Uncover Babylon MicroFarms' commitment to sustainability, with a 55% reduction in plastic, recyclable components, and zero pesticides, aiming to set the standard for eliminating single-use plastic.
- Dive into the Alexanders’s journey, from wearing different hats to managing fundraising efforts, and how their decision to manufacture their own products amplifies their ability to drive down costs and complexity.
- Explore the company's relentless focus on happy customers and healthy crops, backed by six years of research and development for scalable success.
- Learn about the potential for local service operators and government involvement in the indoor farming sector, drawing parallels to the subsidization of renewable energy.
- Discover the exciting niche applications of indoor farming, from self-sufficiency for specific ingredients to creating special moments for seniors in senior living communities and even installing units on cruise ships.
- Stay tuned to witness how Babylon Micro Farms' cutting-edge technology and innovative approach will transform the food service industry and urban agriculture.
Tweetable Quotes
“Our goal is to empower businesses and communities to grow their own fresh food using remotely managed vertical farms. So we build turnkey modules that are sort of hydroponic farms that are self contained and then we actually run a lot of the day to day maintenance remotely so that's nutrients, PH, irrigation, lighting, all of the kind of day to day variables you need to control for optimal plant growth."
"I would say just in terms of executing on our plans, that focus is everything. I think when we look at again, compared to the status quo, we have elevated the concept, it's easy to use, but we've also implemented a lot of features for food safety traceability and scaling and tracking the efficacy of the farms that we know how much is growing and who's doing it. These are really important features for large food service companies who are looking to scale onsite growing."
"We're not measured by the same things, but ultimately for us, it's a lot about capturing some of the soft benefits of indoor farming that I think people often overlook. But the ability to actually grow food in front of people and do it in a way that can really change the environment."
Resources Mentioned
Alexander's Website - https://babylonmicrofarms.com/
Alexander's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-olesen-7aa4a16a/
Alexander's Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2UXd18j5kjVjvtlG-GvnQ
Alexander's Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BabylonMicroFarms/
Alexander's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/babylonmicrofarms/?hl=en
Alexander's Email - [email protected]
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Mentioned in this episode:
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
Transcripts
$680 million poured into precision ag last year.
Speaker:Autonomous weeding robots dominated, and John Deere made 2 acquisitions in 3
Speaker:months. A food company, not an equipment maker, bought a
Speaker:robotics startup to protect its own supply chain. The deals are
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Speaker:igrownews.com/precision. If you are starting a vertical
Speaker:farm and don't know where to begin or which technology would suit your needs,
Speaker:then reach out to the experts at Cultivated. As indoor farm brokers, they
Speaker:help connect you to the right technology and ensure your project is successful.
Speaker:Best of all, their service is free because they work on behalf of their partners.
Speaker:Visit cultivated.com to learn more. And that's spelled
Speaker:C-U-L-T-I-V-A-T-D.com,
Speaker:or click the link in the show notes. Yeah, so the remote management piece came
Speaker:out of a lot of trial and error. Like, you may remember our founding story,
Speaker:like, we started out as a research project looking at humanitarian applications for
Speaker:hydroponic farms, and we were really thinking about what's the smallest farm that could
Speaker:feed someone or support their family, support a business. And, you
Speaker:know, that was about 7 years ago. That was a radical departure
Speaker:from the big farms that are still the status quo today. So we were really
Speaker:just like, well, it is technically possible to grow enough food to feed someone in
Speaker:a very small area using a hydroponic farm. What's stopping that
Speaker:from being a reality?
Speaker:Welcome to the Vertical Farming Podcast, weekly conversations
Speaker:with fascinating CEOs, founders, and agtech
Speaker:visionaries. Join us every week as we dive deep into the
Speaker:world of vertical farming. With your host, Harry Duran.
Speaker:Vertical Farming Podcast, Season 8. Regular listeners to the show,
Speaker:I wish I could just give you a big hug and, or at least buy
Speaker:you a drink or high-five you. I want to
Speaker:thank you for all the support you provide for the show, all the ways you're
Speaker:spreading the word about the good work we're doing here and bringing
Speaker:people into the fold. I really appreciate each and every one of you
Speaker:listeners. Thank you so much for all the support you do. I feel it,
Speaker:and it really motivates me and fuels me to keep moving forward with this.
Speaker:This is our 100th episode, and it's been crazy to think about this
Speaker:journey that started 3 years ago. If this is your first time listening,
Speaker:then this'll probably tell you that you're in the right place. This is the show
Speaker:where we interview fascinating CEOs and founders of the leading vertical farming companies from around
Speaker:the world. My name is Harry Duran. I've been podcasting since
Speaker:2014 with my first show, Podcast Junkies.
Speaker:I'm the founder of Fullcast, our full-service podcast
Speaker:production agency, and started this show in
Speaker:2022, in March of all days
Speaker:and months. Lots going on in the world at that time. So
Speaker:it's been crazy to think about how the timing couldn't have been
Speaker:more perfect for addressing supply chain issues.
Speaker:This idea of access to fresh food in impoverished communities, food
Speaker:deserts, all of it has been coming to light. And it's been an incredible learning
Speaker:journey for me along the way as I have these conversations with some of the
Speaker:brightest minds in the space, folks that have come on for 1 or 2,
Speaker:maybe even 3 return trips to the show. I'm excited
Speaker:for all the events coming up in 2023. Indoor AgCon
Speaker:was great to meet and greet folks in Las Vegas
Speaker:earlier this year, getting ready for my trip to Indoor AgTech
Speaker:NYC. And that'll be my second trip there. That'll be in
Speaker:New York City at the Marriott Marquis. So if you're going to be going there,
Speaker:and if you're hearing this in time, then I'd love to connect with you as
Speaker:well. I'm also planning to attend Vertifarm in Dortmund, Germany
Speaker:this year, which will be fun. So that'll be 3 conferences definitely
Speaker:that I'm part of this year, which helped me understand and learn more about this
Speaker:wonderful, wonderful space that we're all in together. If you missed last
Speaker:episode, we had a great conversation with Gabriel Zarafonitis.
Speaker:He's the president and founder of Farm Anywhere. We connected in Dubai. He's a
Speaker:self-taught entrepreneur. He shared his passion for sustainable
Speaker:agriculture and the challenges he faced in building a high-tech farming
Speaker:solution. It was a great conversation, chock-full of
Speaker:interesting insights from someone who really
Speaker:understands the ins and outs of this business and has had a lot of success
Speaker:and shared a lot of those on the show. So make sure you check that
Speaker:out if you haven't already. This week we have a return trip. It's
Speaker:Alexander Olesen. He is the CEO of
Speaker:Babylon Microfarms. It's crazy to think about the
Speaker:progress of the show. Alexander was on with his
Speaker:co-founder way back in season 2, episode
Speaker:24. So if you want to get an overview of that story,
Speaker:please give that one a listen as well. This time around, we get to
Speaker:catch up on our experiences at Indoor AgCon. We were both there and
Speaker:we got to spend some time together touring downtown Las Vegas,
Speaker:which was nice to have some downtime and also see some of
Speaker:the challenges that that organization and that area is facing.
Speaker:It's been great to see some of the progress being made. If you've been following
Speaker:our socials, you'll see that previous guest Ali Daniyali of
Speaker:Harvest has been partnering with Alaric Overbay,
Speaker:also a previous guest, and they've installed 5 container farms on
Speaker:site. It's so exciting to see what's happened in just over 100 days since we
Speaker:were there for the conference. And I'm sure a lot more is planned as
Speaker:well. In this episode, you'll hear about Alexander
Speaker:and his thoughts on sustainability, scaling, and customer satisfaction.
Speaker:We talk about the potential for CEA with local service
Speaker:operators and government involvement. We also talk about
Speaker:eliminating single-use plastic, delivering fresh and healthy
Speaker:crops in a timely fashion, their work with the gallery, which is making
Speaker:it easier than ever for them to grow fresh food. onsite,
Speaker:and also their recent efforts with a successful
Speaker:fundraise and how their decision to manufacture their own products amplifies their
Speaker:ability to drive down costs and complexity. Lots to cover here.
Speaker:Grateful for Alexander to provide some nuts and bolts
Speaker:details about what's happening behind the scenes and how they've been continuing
Speaker:to have success with their product. So a great follow-up to our previous conversation. I
Speaker:know you'll get a lot out of this one. As a reminder, if you are
Speaker:enjoying this episode or any of our past episodes, Please
Speaker:leave us a rating and a review at ratethispodcast.com/vfp.
Speaker:Yes, you can actually pause this podcast, this episode right now
Speaker:if you'd like to and do that.
Speaker:ratethispodcast.com/vfp. Nothing puts a
Speaker:smile on my face more than to read those out on a future episode. Also,
Speaker:as a reminder, these episodes are chock-full of great takeaways and
Speaker:information. Remember, I want you to focus all your energy on our
Speaker:conversation. rest assured, you can always visit
Speaker:verticalfarmingpodcast.com and you'll have the full show notes at your
Speaker:disposal, which includes all of our guest links and all materials and
Speaker:resources mentioned as well. Again, episode 100. I'm so
Speaker:honored for you to come along on this journey with me. Sometimes we're
Speaker:moving so fast that we don't take time to celebrate the small wins. This is
Speaker:in fact an amazing win and so exciting to see
Speaker:where this has gone and where we're going to go from here. Ideas
Speaker:for new shows are percolating. I've had some great conversations with folks who
Speaker:answered my call from the previous episode about some possible opportunities.
Speaker:So if there's anything that comes to mind for you as you listen to these
Speaker:conversations, as you listen to me talk about the potential in this industry,
Speaker:you can always feel free to reach out to me. I'm on LinkedIn and also
Speaker:[email protected]. Okay, before we jump into this
Speaker:uninterrupted conversation with Alexander, here are a few words from the folks
Speaker:that support this show. This year, Indoor AgTech is coming to New York City's
Speaker:Times Square, and it's bringing together the world's leading growers,
Speaker:retailers, tech providers, seed companies, and investors. Join us
Speaker:from June 29th to June 30th to meet, expand networks, and
Speaker:produce fruitful partnerships. The team has been gracious enough to provide
Speaker:listeners of this show with an additional 10% off of the registration.
Speaker:Simply use promo code VFP when you register and lock that in.
Speaker:And by the way, if you're on the fence, remember that early bird discount ends
Speaker:on May 11th. After a pivotal year for CEA, the summit will
Speaker:explore what's needed to ensure the industry can continue innovating and growing
Speaker:into a crucial part of the global I'm excited to
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Speaker:can now buy online. This product is concentrated plant food for any size
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Speaker:ounceofhope.com to experience the aquaponics side of cannabis
Speaker:and use promo code FISHPOOP. How fun is that? So
Speaker:Alexander Olesen, CEO and co-founder of Babylon Microfarms, thank you for
Speaker:returning again for round 2 on the Vertical Farming Podcast.
Speaker:Thanks, Eric. Excited to be here. I guess you had a good time if you
Speaker:decided to come back for round 2.
Speaker:Something like that. As it is, interesting time in the industry and interesting time for
Speaker:Babylon. So I'm excited to kind of share some updates and chat with you.
Speaker:I think what's interesting for me, and, you know, obviously in the beginning, the
Speaker:first rounds are getting to know about the company, getting
Speaker:to know about the founders. I was on with your co-founder, Graham
Speaker:Smith, last time. And Indoor AgCon was my
Speaker:very first indoor farming conference last year in 2022.
Speaker:But the thing that did stand out for me, and I told you this when
Speaker:I saw you this year, is the fact that you've got, smartly enough,
Speaker:a Babylon Microfarms display front and center as people are
Speaker:registering for the event. So since Indoor
Speaker:AgCon— so last year was my first one. As far as conferences go,
Speaker:had you been going for a while with Indoor AgCon? Yeah, so we're a big
Speaker:fan of Indoor AgCon, and I think it's a good industry get-together, although I would
Speaker:say it's one of the only industry conferences we do because we're not
Speaker:the same as most of the other companies there. And I think it's
Speaker:always, you know, obviously the same fundamentals. We're growing plants and helping grow food at
Speaker:the same, to some degree. But for us, we spend a lot of time at
Speaker:customer conferences. So in the food service world, you know, healthcare,
Speaker:education, that's where you'll find us most of the time. But it was exciting to
Speaker:see Indoor AgCon, and it has grown so much in the last few years, which
Speaker:I think is a a testament to the industry and the growth behind it. And
Speaker:how many had you been to so far? So we did one
Speaker:pre-COVID, which was a completely different thing. It was like a
Speaker:tiny get-together compared to what we saw a few months ago. And I think we've
Speaker:done the last 2. Okay. Yeah, and even between last year and this year,
Speaker:from everything that we've heard at the conference, they doubled in size. So kudos
Speaker:to Suzette and Brian and the whole team there, just in terms of
Speaker:what they've done to bring awareness It's challenging. There's so much
Speaker:competition, especially now. It feels like there's an indoor farming conference popping
Speaker:up all over the world lately. Yeah, there are a few out there. Although there
Speaker:was one that I think has been canceled, Cumulus. Oh, okay. Oh yeah, Cumulus. I
Speaker:heard about that one. Yeah. That was— I don't know, but I guess there's a
Speaker:lot of change going on in the space at the moment. Yeah, yeah, to say
Speaker:the least. When you go there, and I don't know if this is something
Speaker:you had thought about or something from a— I'm always curious from a marketing perspective
Speaker:because You know, there's a lot of people that go into the pavilion and they
Speaker:get to go and make the rounds and see all businesses and the farms
Speaker:there and all the technologies. But somehow you managed to secure some prime
Speaker:real estate front and center. So it's literally as you're going in and as
Speaker:you're going out of the conference, even just from a curiosity standpoint and
Speaker:almost like even for Indoor Icon, just to have that visual of like actual,
Speaker:that visual display you have in front, in the front is really great. Yeah, I
Speaker:think it serves both purposes, right? Obviously we were pretty happy with the location and
Speaker:one of the reasons we were there is because it was co-laid co-located with the
Speaker:National Grocers Association. So, you know, for us, we see
Speaker:retail and food service as prime locations for people to grow their
Speaker:own food on site. And we do it in a way that they can do
Speaker:it in a safe, reliable, convenient format. And I think that kind of
Speaker:hopefully bridged the gap nicely between the expo hall and
Speaker:the Grocers Association. What type of conversations were you having there? I think there are
Speaker:a lot of things around like, what can you grow? Why does this make sense?
Speaker:You know, you've got guys in the next room talking about, hundreds of
Speaker:acres of greenhouse, and then you're in here with something
Speaker:that's 15 square feet. Like, how does that work? And I think that's a really
Speaker:common question. We're like, that's because this is designed for on-site
Speaker:production. So these are small volumes of high-value ingredients
Speaker:designed to be in a way that captivates the end consumer. So the value prop
Speaker:is just very different. And I think for a lot of the grocers, especially the
Speaker:ones that are more local, farm-to-table— and it's not only grocers, right?
Speaker:There are a lot of kind of urban agriculture enthusiasts who were there from the
Speaker:food service world as well. They're like, yeah, we get it. This is exactly why
Speaker:we think indoor farming and urban agriculture is so great. It's because you can
Speaker:captivate the end consumer and help kind of thread that needle
Speaker:between kind of local and healthy sourcing and growing your own food.
Speaker:And I think, you know, that's kind of a space that we fit into that's
Speaker:very different to the big commercial greenhouses and plant factories. Did you
Speaker:spend some time in the National Grocers Conference as well? Very
Speaker:briefly. Yeah. And so what other type, I mean, how many
Speaker:other conferences now at this point now are you attending every year? I
Speaker:actually don't know off the top of my head, but plenty, you know, as I
Speaker:say, I think really across the food service realm where they're trying to get
Speaker:units and be in front of people and let them know that growing their own
Speaker:food is an option, because I think there's still an education gap where a
Speaker:lot of places are like, wait, I didn't even know this was an option, or
Speaker:they've seen the status quo. And I think that is something we challenge is like,
Speaker:You can go to Lowe's and drill a hole in a PVC pipe and have
Speaker:a hydroponic farm if you want to look after it every single day. And
Speaker:it is a little science experiment. And that is for most small-scale growers, that is
Speaker:still the status quo. It towers, it's PVC pipe, and it is a
Speaker:science experiment that you have to look after every day. Yeah. That's great.
Speaker:We're trying to apply some technology and some nice design and the service
Speaker:to kind of expand the market and make it possible for people who have no
Speaker:interest in trying to be a farmer to grow their own food, right? And I
Speaker:think that's trying to show people that that's possible is really what, what
Speaker:we've been trying to do, and conferences are a great vehicle for that. Well, it
Speaker:doesn't hurt that you have a beautiful form factor in terms of
Speaker:what you're offering. Specifically now you've got Gallery. So
Speaker:can you talk a little bit about— as I mentioned earlier, it was 2 years
Speaker:since we chatted last time. Safe to say a lot has changed since then,
Speaker:but think about where you were February 2021,
Speaker:what you were tasked with as
Speaker:the leader of Babylon and what you were focused on.
Speaker:And looking back over those past 2 years to present day,
Speaker:talk a little bit about how well you feel you've
Speaker:executed on what the plan was. Yeah. So if I just unwind the clock
Speaker:back a couple of years, I think we'd just come out of 3 years
Speaker:of iterating prototypes. We just secured some early contracts, and I
Speaker:think we got the technology to a point where we were very happy. with the
Speaker:functionality, but it wasn't wrapped up in a way that we felt
Speaker:comfortable scaling. And that's really what the Gallery addresses. So we'd got
Speaker:the technology to where we'd want it to be from a remote management point of
Speaker:view, but we are then adjusting the hardware and
Speaker:the sort of design for manufacturability. And that's really what the Gallery does. So it
Speaker:brings kind of a new level of aesthetic. It's way easier to install
Speaker:and manufacture, and it's also way easier to maintain for
Speaker:our clients. So I think there are so many minutiae
Speaker:learnings that you just simply wouldn't know unless you'd had a lot of units
Speaker:out in the field with customers. So collecting that feedback, iterating
Speaker:on the software side as well as the hardware, that's really where the
Speaker:Galley elevates this concept to a new level. And, you know, we're now ready
Speaker:to scale with it because it is kind of, we think, a category-defining
Speaker:product that makes it easier than ever before to grow your own
Speaker:fresh food. So for folks who are not familiar, and I'll encourage folks
Speaker:to go back and listen to that first interview we had just to get an
Speaker:overview of your origin story and, you know, how Babylon
Speaker:started, but for people that may not be familiar with
Speaker:the product offering and who an ideal partner or
Speaker:client is, can you talk people through that? Yeah, so our goal is to
Speaker:empower businesses and communities to grow their own fresh food using
Speaker:remotely managed vertical farms. So we build turnkey
Speaker:modules that are sort of hydroponic farms that are self-contained,
Speaker:and then we actually run a lot of the day-to-day maintenance remotely.
Speaker:So that's nutrients, pH, irrigation, lighting, all of the kind of
Speaker:day-to-day herbals you need to control for optimal plant growth. We do
Speaker:that remotely so the user doesn't have to worry about it. They're responsible
Speaker:for planting, harvesting, and cleaning, and we provide a service and account
Speaker:managers in between to just streamline it and integrate it into their
Speaker:workflow. So our go-to-market has focused on
Speaker:institutional food service operators, property managers, you know,
Speaker:restaurants, that kind of dynamic where we're able to allow them to
Speaker:grow their own sort of fresh ingredients year-round. So we found, had
Speaker:some early success there. And yeah, we took tailored
Speaker:experiences for the B2B market is kind of where we're focusing our efforts today.
Speaker:Has the partner or client mix changed since we
Speaker:last spoke about who you're working with and who this would be an ideal fit
Speaker:for? It's grown, but the focus is still the same. And I would
Speaker:say just in terms of executing on our plans, that focus is everything. You know,
Speaker:I think when we look at, again, compared to the status quo, We
Speaker:have elevated the concept. It's easy to use, but we've also implemented a lot of
Speaker:features for food safety, traceability, and scaling,
Speaker:you know, and tracking the efficacy of the farms that we know how much is
Speaker:growing and who's doing it. And these are really important features for large food
Speaker:service companies who are looking to scale onsite growing. You know, if you're looking at
Speaker:a raised bed or an alternative, like urban farming
Speaker:solution, they don't offer that traceability. And I think that's where we're
Speaker:really playing to our strengths. And catering to these larger corporate clients.
Speaker:And yeah, we're focused across kind of healthcare, education,
Speaker:some corporate settings, and some other food service and retail applications. And
Speaker:that focus is served as well. I was looking at the
Speaker:unit on the site, and it seems like there's been a lot of thought and
Speaker:consideration into this next version of
Speaker:it. And just some of the things that stand out for me, the fact that
Speaker:it's 55% less plastic, on-site compostable growth
Speaker:medium, more recyclable components, 30 minutes a
Speaker:week to keep up, which I think is great, 45 varieties of produce,
Speaker:and the fact that it's zero pesticides. Obviously, I
Speaker:could list all the improvements in terms of cameras and sensors, but
Speaker:how much thought was put into, you know, this idea of making it easy
Speaker:to use, but also, you know, towards an eye towards sustainability
Speaker:and obviously questions people have about Plastic and recycling and impact to
Speaker:the environment? Yes, there are a couple of buckets. I think for the unit
Speaker:itself, that's really kind of us internally knowing that we're now
Speaker:setting the standard. So food safety, and ultimately
Speaker:kind of the sustainability of operating a farm state, that is one of the main
Speaker:reasons people are investing in indoor farming across the spectrum is that it's a
Speaker:more sustainable solution. And we better be setting the standard for that. So
Speaker:eliminating single-use plastic, these are things that are just important to us as a company
Speaker:and our customers appreciate that. And then the other bucket is really like, it's
Speaker:happy customers and healthy crops. Those are the 2 things that matter. And
Speaker:so everything we do is to kind of serve those needs. So
Speaker:whether that's adding new features, changing the design to ensure that the crops are growing
Speaker:in a more healthy and reliable way, that's like absolutely kind of
Speaker:table stakes. And then the other layer is just around like ultimately making it
Speaker:easy for people. Making it easy for people is also about helping them avoid making
Speaker:mistakes. Yeah. And so there are a lot of kind of features, whether that's through
Speaker:software or through sensors that are there to catch issues before they
Speaker:become real issues for the plants. And those 2 things working in harmony
Speaker:together has taken, you know, what, coming, actually it's our 6th anniversary as
Speaker:a company later this month. Wow. And so 6 years of R&D
Speaker:and trial and error to figure out a way to really
Speaker:keep the crops healthy and the customers happy at scale, right?
Speaker:Because that's the thing is like the status quo is
Speaker:running this farm like a science experiment every day. And when people have looked
Speaker:at running distributed farms, that usually meant sending a person between those
Speaker:distributed farms every day or multiple times a week
Speaker:to manually run them. And we have kind of figured out a way to do
Speaker:that remotely. And that really opens up a lot of possibilities as to who
Speaker:can start running these farms successfully. Would you say that that's always been
Speaker:the vision from the moment you started, this idea of having it being run remotely?
Speaker:And how has that affected your decisions about
Speaker:the makeup of the team as you look to grow and hire?
Speaker:Yeah, so the remote management piece came out of a lot of trial and error.
Speaker:Like, you may remember our founding story, like, we started out as a research project
Speaker:looking at humanitarian applications for hydroponic farms, and we were really
Speaker:thinking about what's the smallest farm that could feed someone or support
Speaker:their families or a business. And, you know, that was about 7 years ago.
Speaker:That was a radical departure from the big farms that
Speaker:are still the status quo today. So we were really just like, well, it is
Speaker:technically possible to grow enough food to feed someone in a very small area
Speaker:using a hydroponic farm. What's stopping that from being a
Speaker:reality? Yeah. And that is where the whole notion of remote
Speaker:management came in and the service that we built. We're like, okay, so if we
Speaker:could actually control that, the complexities of the user experience
Speaker:remotely, and the customer doesn't even have to think about that, then you're going to
Speaker:really create a new user experience that could unlock the potential of this?
Speaker:Because it goes without saying that people want to grow their own food. We've been
Speaker:doing that throughout history. This is a new form factor that's allowing people to do
Speaker:it year-round in urban environments where they may not have been able to do it
Speaker:before. The remote management kind of evolved. I'm like, okay, if we could
Speaker:remove all of these friction points, then who's going to
Speaker:start doing it? And that's what we're seeing today. We've got LinkedIn, we've got IKEA,
Speaker:we've got cruise ships, we've got all these people now who are like, wait, I
Speaker:can grow my own food? And they're starting to do it. So I think it's
Speaker:really exciting to see that new adoption. And we have all sorts of kind of
Speaker:fringe use cases coming at us inbound now, which is exciting to
Speaker:see as this market heats up. And I really think none of that would be
Speaker:possible if you were still asking those people to learn the intricate
Speaker:science of like hydroponic agriculture. And because we're remotely
Speaker:managing it, people are now getting creative with the different applications
Speaker:for on-site farming. What are some of the niche
Speaker:applications or markets that, you know, you hadn't probably even thought would be a
Speaker:use case for this? I think one thing I see a lot of
Speaker:which gets me pretty excited is around like being self-sufficient for certain
Speaker:ingredients. You know, I think it's an aspirational goal for us, but really getting
Speaker:the units down to a point where you can tell me how many pounds and
Speaker:ounces of a given ingredient you use, and I'll tell you how many
Speaker:units of how many microfarm units you would need to meet that need. Yeah.
Speaker:and then you're self-sufficient. That is something we're seeing more of, which is really encouraging.
Speaker:And then the other one is just on the use cases. Like, we have, you
Speaker:know, senior living communities who have like a weekly harvest celebration
Speaker:in the salad bar. And I'm like, that's creating a very unique and special moment
Speaker:for those seniors where they're able to engage in farming
Speaker:year-round. It's like, those are sort of cool, cool applications we see. And then, yeah,
Speaker:the recent one on a cruise ship, I think that was the world's first installation
Speaker:on a cruise ship. They're actually doing more of those projects now. That was— it's
Speaker:more than a one-off. But yeah, they're now growing food on the 7 seas wherever
Speaker:they are, and I think that's super cool. I wonder if that's something like a—
Speaker:yeah, a claim to say that you're the first to grow leafy
Speaker:greens on the open seas. I'm waiting for SpaceX
Speaker:to call up. We're ready. I think you partnered with iGrow News, or they
Speaker:mentioned you in this discussion around the importance
Speaker:of urban farms You and I actually took part in a tour
Speaker:of a food desert in Las Vegas. So I'm curious about
Speaker:your thoughts about the importance of shining a light
Speaker:on that problem, this idea of urban farms, the role of government. You know, I
Speaker:know you've got an opinion about how they can help in this task as well.
Speaker:Yeah, I think, well, first of all, I want to shout out to Greenside Up
Speaker:Farms who gave us that tour of the Las Vegas food deserts, and I think
Speaker:they're doing great work. And I think it's tested— they're a great case study actually
Speaker:of a lot of things we're seeing where You have local groups who
Speaker:are taking up indoor farming and trying to run different types of urban farms
Speaker:across the US. They're people we're actively seeking to work
Speaker:with. So if people listening to this run an indoor urban farming
Speaker:initiative in any city, we can partner with them to install farms in the
Speaker:area. And we're hoping to do that with Green Setup, actually. And I think that's
Speaker:just part of this trend, right? Everyone greening up our cities is going to
Speaker:happen. Yeah. It's happening right now. And there are lots of different kind of form
Speaker:factors emerging, the need for local service operators is
Speaker:key. And also the need for local government involvement. I think we've started to
Speaker:see a trend in that direction. And we're a little bit of an outlier, because
Speaker:we don't really fit the mold for traditional indoor farms. So we've seen some pretty
Speaker:exciting grants and subsidies becoming available for
Speaker:electricity and things like that, but tailored primarily for the larger-scale
Speaker:growers. And I think we, in an ideal state, the indoor farming
Speaker:sector would be subsidized in a way similar to
Speaker:renewable energy. I think once the soft benefits and the social
Speaker:benefits of indoor farming are understood, as well as the savings on
Speaker:emissions from not shipping stuff all around the world and the waste that comes
Speaker:with that, I would see that— I can see that happening. It's just really, we
Speaker:need to be more transparent with the data to have more success
Speaker:stories. And certainly for our space, you know, if there were— if the subsidies
Speaker:were available, whether it's on the manufacturing budget, it would completely change the
Speaker:business model. Like, we— that's the path we're on right now. We're driving the
Speaker:cost down of our units as fast as we can within the resources we have.
Speaker:And the goal is, and we see it with every step down in cost, being
Speaker:able to save money on the produce compared to buying it from
Speaker:that farm that shipped it all the way across the country. Right now, it's only
Speaker:kind of a handful of high-value herbs and microgreens, but
Speaker:as the cost of our units comes down, we're kind of unlocking new crops
Speaker:that can be commercially viable. And I think that trend is similar
Speaker:across the industry. So yeah, any incentives that can exist to further
Speaker:that would be greatly appreciated. Yeah, in addition to the
Speaker:round you raised, you also received a grant as well. Yeah, we've been lucky. We
Speaker:sort of pursued every angle that we needed to get started. And the
Speaker:National Science Foundation has been great for us. It is one of the more
Speaker:exciting pieces of technology that we've developed. So in short,
Speaker:everyone tracks the same input variables. It is
Speaker:pH, EC, nutrients, irrigation, like everyone kind of tracks
Speaker:those. It's the output that matters. And right now, in most cases,
Speaker:you're manually tracking that. So the sort of coloring of the leaf, the
Speaker:flavor, the yield, and what we've developed with the National Science Foundation is a
Speaker:method of using our cameras to actually track the growth rate of the leaves,
Speaker:spot imperfections, and that is essentially automatically tracking
Speaker:the output so that you don't need human intervention. And it's
Speaker:in early days now, but that is super exciting for us as we think
Speaker:about scaling a distributed network of farms. You need to be able to have
Speaker:that feedback loop in a way that can be automated. And so that's
Speaker:something we're really trying to build in. And the grant funding allowed us to do
Speaker:that because it was pretty out there. We wouldn't put it in our day-to-day business
Speaker:plan, but the fact that there are innovation and research grants
Speaker:available that identified that as a need, and we're able to build that,
Speaker:that is going to help with our own commercialization and potentially benefit the industry is
Speaker:really exciting. I think the challenge that some companies face when
Speaker:looking at the opportunities available with grants, I think, is just The overwhelming
Speaker:amount of detail that needs to go into— you need a skill set
Speaker:to apply for these, to know how to write these, to have the time to
Speaker:do them, and also the time for when you receive them. There was one that
Speaker:recently was just, I think, expired at the end of March, but I think it
Speaker:was like $7.5 million, I think, for urban farming.
Speaker:But when you look at it, the money wouldn't have been available, I think, till
Speaker:sometime in September. So I think when people are looking at it, it's not something
Speaker:obviously that's going to be a quick fix. And it's something you probably need a
Speaker:bit of a skill set in order to think about how to write these in
Speaker:a way that has the best chance of success of receiving them. Yeah, they're a
Speaker:commitment. You really have to kind of deliver on the work that you set out
Speaker:to unlock the funding. And that's, for us, it's just really important
Speaker:to apply to things that are aligned with our product roadmap. And we've done
Speaker:that. But yeah, they're cumbersome. But I think ultimately, like all these things, make time
Speaker:if it matters. Yes. So talk a little bit about the work that went
Speaker:into raising this round. How, how long was this process for
Speaker:folks that may not be familiar with what it takes to raise a round of
Speaker:this size? And talk a little bit about the relationship with your investors
Speaker:as well. And just curious about what that journey was like.
Speaker:It was rough. I think this environment is tough. I think in
Speaker:the time that we are raising, unfortunately, we largely closed everything before
Speaker:the Silicon Valley Bank crisis. However, the environment
Speaker:has been changing for quite some time. But I think ultimately we've got good
Speaker:fundamentals. We've got a product in the market that is ready. We've
Speaker:got it UL listed. It has reached a kind of maturity, that our customers are
Speaker:really happy, and the fundamentals are good. So we've just got to execute on our
Speaker:plan, fill our backlog of orders, and continue
Speaker:growing. So I think investors appreciated that and saw that there was real
Speaker:substance to our business in a way that perhaps in this
Speaker:environment others may not have. And we're also at a stage where we're
Speaker:still small enough. I think that we're raising what we need to get to
Speaker:the next milestone. And I think that, again, we're lucky in a way to be
Speaker:smaller. But then some of the other companies in the space, I don't know if
Speaker:you saw the news this week, I think a couple of other companies
Speaker:are shutting down. And it's really tough to see that. But again, we hadn't raised
Speaker:big venture capital money. So the expectations perhaps weren't as high.
Speaker:And so for us, it's just about execution. And when we are lucky to have
Speaker:great follow-on from our existing investor base and to attract some new ones that
Speaker:really want to help see us execute. How much have you had to grow
Speaker:as a CEO in terms of wearing the different hats? Because obviously when
Speaker:you have those conversations with investors, lots of meetings, lots of planning,
Speaker:lots of spreadsheets, I imagine, and lots of, you know, figuring
Speaker:out, you know, how you explain the story to them and how
Speaker:you show them the potential of what's possible, in addition to having
Speaker:to run the business on a day-to-day basis. It's a
Speaker:lifestyle almost, you know. Every day I'm in the office for a lot of hours
Speaker:and then at home studying, you know, just studying to an extent. And
Speaker:I think that is the necessary growth that you have to do to
Speaker:succeed in the space. And, you know, we're still early. I think
Speaker:one of the challenges we face is we're not measured by the
Speaker:same standards as other indoor farms. Like, there is generally
Speaker:held, like, KPIs for greenhouses and things that just don't apply to
Speaker:us. Yeah. So there is a little— that's sort of one of the things that's
Speaker:exciting about what we do, but it's also one of the risks. And so just
Speaker:trying to kind of paint a picture of how we benchmark against other
Speaker:connected hardware and things that maybe are outside of the vertical farming
Speaker:space as being really helpful. Where are you seeing some innovations in the
Speaker:space? Because obviously with something like Gallery, there's a lot of moving parts and
Speaker:a lot of, I imagine, relationships that you have with
Speaker:manufacturers, equipment, technology, talking about
Speaker:sensors, software, lots of moving parts. I'm wondering what that supply
Speaker:chain looks like and what those relationships look like over time. I think
Speaker:that has become one of our greatest strengths. And I think people often overlook
Speaker:just how difficult it is to make something. Like, the idea might be good,
Speaker:everything might be— the market might be great, but the execution
Speaker:on making products that are reliable, that you can engineer costs out of,
Speaker:that is something that we really— we've decided to just own that. We actually are
Speaker:manufacturing ourselves. And the ability to
Speaker:drive cost and complexity out of the unit has been amplified by that
Speaker:decision. So That is something, being able to deliver
Speaker:consistent product and have realistic lead times is something
Speaker:that we've been able to achieve over the last year or 2, which I think
Speaker:is a huge milestone that's often overlooked. It's actually just super
Speaker:hard to make things consistently. I noticed you had— obviously,
Speaker:there's been a ton of publicity lately for Babylon.
Speaker:You were both selected, I think, as Forbes 30 Under 30, if I read
Speaker:that correctly. Yeah, I was a great, great accolade.
Speaker:Lucky as me and my co-founder Graham that we were able to get that. And
Speaker:then also you were featured in TechCrunch as well. So it's interesting when we talk
Speaker:about technology, do you find that there's more availability
Speaker:to get exposure in the technology side as well because of the work you're doing
Speaker:here? I think it is interesting. Like remotely managing a fleet of
Speaker:devices is kind of a new thing in
Speaker:general, and it's— and which we have a pretty unique application of that,
Speaker:right? We're managing mini micro greenhouse and growing plants and all of
Speaker:the stuff that comes with that. So yeah, we do get some exposure on that
Speaker:front. And I think the nature of our product, right, everyone wants one in their
Speaker:home. That's like the automatic reaction. Although we don't do
Speaker:consumer applications at this time, it does mean that people really
Speaker:relate with the product and what it represents. That was interesting because when
Speaker:you see the form factor, it naturally lends itself well if you have enough space
Speaker:in the home for something like that. Is that something that's on the roadmap, or
Speaker:like a mini It is not clear at
Speaker:this time. We have all of the tools to do it. Like, remote management is
Speaker:the core of what we do, and that is hardware agnostic. So we definitely see
Speaker:opportunities to develop systems for different markets, like the
Speaker:consumer space, or for different crop types. And that's kind of where we see—
Speaker:we're being a little opportunistic on that front because it's not obvious, the consumer
Speaker:market, at this time. Yeah. But we could do it. Yeah.
Speaker:How is the plan— and this might have been the plan from the time we
Speaker:last spoke— but how do you think about the growth of the team? How have
Speaker:you grown the team? And I'm also curious also about the different skill sets you
Speaker:need, because everything you described, you could almost
Speaker:have like a deep dive in subject matter experts on growth,
Speaker:on subject matter experts on software, on remote management, on technology, on
Speaker:supply chain issues. So you need folks that have
Speaker:those specific expertises. But obviously, you know, there's a challenge
Speaker:with, in terms of who you can hire and how you hire. So I'm curious
Speaker:how you think about that challenge. Yeah, I think there are different moving parts.
Speaker:Ultimately, it comes back to, I think, healthy crops and happy customers, right? So as
Speaker:long as everything's aligned behind those, it doesn't have to be as
Speaker:complicated as it sounds. Yeah. And how has the team
Speaker:grown since we last chatted? So we're, yeah, actually we
Speaker:have not grown the headcount that much. You know, we're really focused at the moment
Speaker:on our go-to-market and sales. But ultimately, we kind of laid the foundation
Speaker:with our seed round. Headcounts remain about flat there. And
Speaker:that's part of, I think, just trying to be disciplined around how
Speaker:we're allocating resources. I think that's part of what we're trying to put to the
Speaker:test, right? If you can really remotely manage farms with
Speaker:software, then you shouldn't need to add too much. Yeah. The headcount
Speaker:should not scale with the install base. So we're really trying to put that to
Speaker:the test, and we've kept our headcount flat for the I'm
Speaker:curious, just coming back to our— we chatted a little bit when we were in
Speaker:Las Vegas. Just personally, I'm curious, what was it about the
Speaker:opportunity to go see what was happening in person
Speaker:with these food deserts? Because what was interesting about the conference is you get the
Speaker:high level, you have the super big farms, you have everyone on stage
Speaker:talking about the mega farm potential. And
Speaker:what's interesting is it's a big difference between seeing the potential and people
Speaker:talking about feeding the world, which you hear a lot of, but
Speaker:also this ability to actually go see what's happening
Speaker:literally with people like on the street who have to like, who didn't grow up
Speaker:in a neighborhood with access to fresh food. And, you know, this
Speaker:concept of a food desert is something that we've talked about as well. So
Speaker:when you saw that that opportunity was available to have that tour, what was it
Speaker:that drew you to make sure you made time to go do that? Yeah, it
Speaker:is. And it was a great experience and, you know, great as in it's a
Speaker:challenge to see. It's a challenging environment. And I think it's all too
Speaker:common across the US, right? Yeah. Food deserts and what they
Speaker:represent is something at the core of why we exist as a company.
Speaker:We're trying to create new ways for people to grow their own food, largely in
Speaker:urban areas. And while it's price prohibitive at this stage, we
Speaker:know that's not going to be the case forever. And that's something we— I feel
Speaker:as a company we can drive forward, is accessibility to these
Speaker:kinds of technology and this kind of sustainable growing. So To go and see that
Speaker:firsthand, I think, is super impactful for me. It's a good reminder of why we're
Speaker:doing what we do. Because, you know, in the same way you go to these
Speaker:industry conferences, there's a lot of high level, a lot of talk about tech and
Speaker:AI and investment, but it's like, well, ultimately we're growing food.
Speaker:Yeah. Right? That's what it's like. Yeah. And so I think it was
Speaker:important for me to see that. And again, the Green Side Up, the work they're
Speaker:doing is fantastic. And I hope we'll be partnering with them to deliver some
Speaker:microfarms to Vegas in the near future. Do you think that's the model that works
Speaker:the best to partner with folks who have those relationships on the ground,
Speaker:folks like the Green Side Up? Because it's interesting because it's
Speaker:almost like a trust factor with the community and an education factor because I
Speaker:think a lot of times these communities, they don't know what they don't know. And
Speaker:if they've never had access to fresh produce and all they've known is the
Speaker:Jack in the Box and the 99-cent cheeseburger,
Speaker:there's a challenge between what's available with your budget and your
Speaker:desire to— maybe you do have the desire for something nutritious or
Speaker:something that's better for you and your family, but
Speaker:either you don't have the money for it. So there's a lot of moving parts
Speaker:in there. Partnering with local governments, I think, is also something that people have talked
Speaker:about. But what do you see just from your perspective in terms of some of
Speaker:the challenges to make that actually viable at the ground level?
Speaker:I think especially with distributed farming solutions, it's all
Speaker:about people, right? You know, certainly at our company, that's really what
Speaker:matters is relationships. And I think the same extends to sales, especially when you're
Speaker:looking, whether it's in educational settings, community settings, you know, there's a
Speaker:number of stakeholders that need to be involved. There's often grant funding
Speaker:and other things. And so you really need people who have got their finger on
Speaker:the pulse of what's out there. And that's certainly something we've seen success
Speaker:in, is when you partner up with community actors, they often know about
Speaker:resources that are available. People who are involved. And I think one thing we
Speaker:find, 9 times out of 10, people really want to do this. It's lining up
Speaker:the other things. There's resources that are the challenge. And so partnering with
Speaker:local people is important. And then, you know, ultimately just making sure people
Speaker:have the resources and the education they need to understand what they're getting
Speaker:into. I think that is key to setting expectations for what
Speaker:we do and for all indoor farming. It's right, setting expectations
Speaker:correctly and making sure people are informed because it is a decision, right? You're going
Speaker:to start growing your own food. Okay. Great, you're going to get the output of
Speaker:that food, it's going to be higher quality, and ultimately it can be a really
Speaker:beneficial experience. But you're also, you are taking up farming just because we made it
Speaker:really easy. And that's the same for all indoor farming
Speaker:solutions, especially at the community level, right? It's getting— and that's where we look
Speaker:at partnering with people who understand that, right? So if they're already urban farming, they
Speaker:probably think what we're doing is the easiest thing ever. And so it
Speaker:helped to find those people. When you have conversations with
Speaker:new partners, new clients, what are some of the
Speaker:misconceptions in terms of what they think? Part of it may be that the fact
Speaker:that they think it might be easier than it is, but what else have you
Speaker:come across? Yeah, I think we're in an interesting time, right, where staffing
Speaker:shortages, other things play a factor in decision-making. And I
Speaker:think we hear a lot of unsuccessful endeavors
Speaker:into urban farming of all sorts because people didn't really understand what they're getting into.
Speaker:So do you have the time available? Do you understand the
Speaker:output that you're going to get? And Ultimately, do you understand how to get the
Speaker:most value out of it? Like when we have engaged operators, this can be like
Speaker:absolute centerpiece for their dining operation. And we
Speaker:have some amazing success stories. And then in the same way, you know, if they're
Speaker:not engaged, that can present some challenges. So yeah, I think setting
Speaker:expectations, making people realize that we make it really easy, but it doesn't mean it's
Speaker:fully automated. We've had people who, you know, where we don't have robots
Speaker:like harvesting crops for them yet, you know, despite, although that's what some
Speaker:people might think. Yeah. Where are you seeing the most innovation
Speaker:when you think about the genomics, when you think about seeds, when
Speaker:you think about all the specifics that go into growing crops
Speaker:specifically for these types of environments? Where
Speaker:are you seeing innovations, or are you having conversations with folks on the seed side,
Speaker:on the genomic side, to partner with them to create
Speaker:what you need to grow specifically in your farms? Yeah, I think the way I
Speaker:look at it is these distributed farming systems are a tool, right? So you
Speaker:could have container farms, you could have microfarms that we do. You could also have
Speaker:kind of larger-scale tower systems where they're turnkey devices. They are a
Speaker:tool and you've got to find the right application for those tools. So that fits
Speaker:in with the setting expectations, right? So we know for us, for certain applications where
Speaker:it's really successful and we found kind of a happy product and
Speaker:a market fit. And I think that is really where you see these
Speaker:tools being developed and for specific applications, they can be amazingly
Speaker:successful. But ultimately, if you use the wrong tool for the wrong job, you're not
Speaker:going to have success. Yeah. And so I think I'm most excited about
Speaker:distributed turnkey systems because I think they are ultimately opening
Speaker:up indoor farming, vertical farming to new markets that actually
Speaker:need it the most and they may not know it yet. And then, yeah, I
Speaker:don't— genetics and stuff has not directly impacted us too much. I know
Speaker:there's a lot of hype around that. Yeah. But ultimately, you know, the big indoor
Speaker:greenhouses and vertical farms, greenhouses have existed for decades. So I think there's
Speaker:a lot of Room for improvement there, but that's a proven business model.
Speaker:Again, selling produce into the conventional supply chain at a more local level. But
Speaker:really, the turnkey systems that are coming on the market, and that I think,
Speaker:like ours, that are on the market now, I think they're really opening up indoor
Speaker:farming to new markets. And that's super exciting. So I expect to see
Speaker:that trend continue as remote management solutions like
Speaker:ours prove that you can do vertical farming in very different
Speaker:ways. We're going to see more innovation on that front. Are you seeing any
Speaker:folks being more experimental in terms of the types of crops? I mean, I think
Speaker:you did list 45 different varieties, so there's a wide range of, I imagine, crops
Speaker:you can choose from with your environment. But are you seeing anyone
Speaker:pushing the limits of what's possible? I've seen some interesting stuff. I think
Speaker:we're particularly excited about more like heirloom varieties.
Speaker:I wouldn't say they're necessarily— but like being able to grow stuff that you can't
Speaker:source conventionally, I think, is Opens up a lot of possibilities for
Speaker:culinary teams and for educational purposes. So that's something we're leaning into.
Speaker:And as you think about the potential that's available now that you've got this
Speaker:round of funding in, let's look out maybe 12 months from now.
Speaker:What does the roadmap look like for you going forward? Right now, it's just
Speaker:execution, getting out there in the market. I think we've got a great product, we've
Speaker:got some happy customers, and a lot of work to do to scale up our
Speaker:install base. That's really I
Speaker:asked this the last time, but the answer may have changed since we last spoke.
Speaker:But what's a tough question you've been asking yourself recently? Yeah, I think there are
Speaker:some underlying questions. We've proven that you can run these homes remotely and that
Speaker:we can, with relatively light touch, teach people to be happy.
Speaker:But what is it going to take to drive the cost of these units down?
Speaker:And I think that's a bigger picture question, right? Because
Speaker:a lot of the sustainable solutions that exist that are going to be
Speaker:really important to the future, especially a climate-resistant one, really is about
Speaker:driving the cost down and opening up the market, right? So I think that
Speaker:is really top of mind for us is like, how quick— what do we need
Speaker:to change? And what can we do with the limited resources we have
Speaker:to get the cost of our units down as quickly as we can to
Speaker:ultimately make them more accessible? Where are you seeing the most
Speaker:growth for you personally as a CEO? And as
Speaker:since you started the company? You probably have to ask my co-founder or some of
Speaker:our team, but I try to be a lot more deliberate about meetings
Speaker:and spending the right amount of time with people, especially if
Speaker:they're working with me directly. I think before, as in everything's always
Speaker:rushed and there's always too many things to do, but making time is really important
Speaker:for the things that matter. Yeah. One of the things I've been doing is leaving
Speaker:some space at the— towards the end of these conversations, given
Speaker:the increased visibility of the show, There's a
Speaker:lot of industry folks listening, a lot of your peers in the space listening as
Speaker:well. And what's been interesting for me is just the feedback that I've
Speaker:gotten from that perspective. So is there a message that you
Speaker:have specifically for this industry based on, you know, what
Speaker:we've been talking about or things that you're seeing from your end where, you know,
Speaker:it's helpful to have this platform? And just want to give you that
Speaker:opportunity to share your thoughts. Yeah, bigger does
Speaker:not mean better. But I also think it's a question of focus. We're very different
Speaker:to a lot of the big indoor farms I mentioned earlier. We're not measured by
Speaker:the same things, but ultimately for us, you know, it's a lot about
Speaker:capturing some of the soft benefits of indoor farming that I think people
Speaker:often overlook, but the ability to actually grow food in front of people and
Speaker:do it in a way that can really change the environment. So, you know, when
Speaker:we install microfarms in the lobby of a hotel or in a dining room, it
Speaker:really changes the environment for the better. Yeah. And I think that's capturing value
Speaker:in a way that very few other companies do. Or other systems. And
Speaker:that's because we know our lane and we're focused on it. And I think that's
Speaker:something that seems to be emerging as a common trait,
Speaker:is focus is key. And not trying to do too many things at once
Speaker:is absolutely key to success. We know our lane and we're just focused on executing
Speaker:in it. And in the same way, you're seeing other super exciting companies kind of
Speaker:emerge, but just focusing on specific crop types, specific markets, whatever it
Speaker:might be, is often or appears to be the key to succeeding. Do you
Speaker:have any other indoor farming conferences scheduled for the rest of this year?
Speaker:I believe we're going to the New York AgTech Innovation Summit. I'll be
Speaker:there. Yeah, Indoor AgTech NYC. Excellent. Very good. See you there.
Speaker:So another question would be why people aren't looking at
Speaker:the ways these systems are being integrated together more closely.
Speaker:Yeah, I think that is something that is not being asked enough. And ultimately,
Speaker:like, we see ourselves as one part of this And
Speaker:so whether it's with a local urban farming
Speaker:initiative, with a container farm, or even with a big kind of commercial
Speaker:greenhouse plant factory operation, our farms are a great way for them to kind
Speaker:of captivate the end consumer, placing them in retail outlets, placing
Speaker:them in schools. And, you know, I think all of these things are
Speaker:ultimately growing the market, right? The more people you can educate on the
Speaker:benefits of local and indoor grown product, the better. And I think we've
Speaker:really been looking at ways to partner with whether
Speaker:that's Local Farm Initiative or any other solutions already out there, because we can be
Speaker:an additional revenue source to them. We can be a way to kind of capture
Speaker:that end consumer. I think we're ultimately educating a lot of people on the space
Speaker:anyway, just by growing ourselves. But I think there are so many
Speaker:opportunities for growers to work together and
Speaker:deploy distributed solutions alongside their existing
Speaker:operations. I think that's often overlooked at the moment. Yeah, I think it's
Speaker:something people don't think about. I think they almost envision it as an
Speaker:either-or solution, like you have to pick one or the other, and
Speaker:there's not this opportunity to actually like have a hybrid approach or even partner
Speaker:together as well, which I think is fascinating. I think that the partnering is like,
Speaker:you know, you've got to focus on your thing and we focus on our thing,
Speaker:but it doesn't mean you're not like— we can come in and do it for
Speaker:you. Yeah. And you can see some of the benefits when you talk about these
Speaker:soft benefits. I think that's how we see it at least, is everyone's got their
Speaker:lane and we should be looking to work together more. Yeah. Well, I appreciate you
Speaker:coming back on and sharing the updates. It was great to connect with you
Speaker:in person as well because obviously we have these conversations remotely, but
Speaker:it's just nice to shake your hand and be there in person. And then we
Speaker:got some extended time on the tour, which is great as well, just to kind
Speaker:of see what's happening on the ground. So looking forward to getting reconnected again in
Speaker:New York, and congrats again on the recent
Speaker:round. And we'll be sending folks to babylonmicrofarms.com. Anywhere
Speaker:else you want to send folks? Yeah,
Speaker:just follow us on LinkedIn or on Instagram. Okay, we'll make
Speaker:sure all those links are in the show notes as well. So thanks again for
Speaker:getting us caught up to date. Thanks again to Alexander for
Speaker:returning and coming back on the show for round 2. I'm so
Speaker:grateful when guests get to spend that first hour, so even more
Speaker:grateful that they decided they've had such a great experience and want to come
Speaker:back. And I think that's going to happen a lot more. As I end up
Speaker:attending conferences, shaking hands, hanging out with some of my previous
Speaker:guests, and making new friends at all these conferences. So expect a
Speaker:lot more to be coming pretty soon as I'm headed to Indoor AgTech
Speaker:NYC at the end of June, 29th and 30th,
Speaker:2023, as of this recording. As always, incredibly
Speaker:grateful to our Season 8 title sponsor Cultivated. If you are looking into a vertical
Speaker:farm and don't know where to start or which technology would suit your needs, Reach
Speaker:out to them today. Best of all, their service is free because they work on
Speaker:behalf of their partners. Learn more at cultivatd.com, and that's spelled
Speaker:C-U-L-T-I-V-A-T-D.com. Just leave out that last D. Podcast
Speaker:production marketing provided by Fullcast. Learn more at
Speaker:fullcast.co and see if a podcast is in your
Speaker:marketing future. As a reminder, if you enjoyed this show
Speaker:or past episodes, please leave us a rating and a review at ratethispodcast.com/vfb.
Speaker:That's VFP for Vertical Farming Podcast. We'll be sure to read those out on
Speaker:future episodes.
Speaker:ratethispodcast.com/vfp. Tune in next
Speaker:week for my conversation with another fascinating leader from the world of vertical farming.
Speaker:This time, it's the high-energy
Speaker:conversation I've been looking forward to sharing with you. It's with Samuel
Speaker:Bertrand of 1.1. Definitely won't want to miss that one.
Speaker:Until we meet again, here's to your health. Cheers. Thanks for listening. To read the
Speaker:full show notes for this episode, which includes any links mentioned in
Speaker:the episode, as well as a full show transcription, visit
Speaker:verticalfarmingpodcast.com. There, you can sign
Speaker:up for our email list to be notified when new episodes are published.
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