{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F031c1ed9-8ca4-4631-a04d-442483bac8a3","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S3E28: Robert Laing - Farms of the Future","description":"Episode Summary\r\n\r\nJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show founder, leader and author, Robert Laing. Rob is the Founder and CEO at Farm.One, an organization that has reinvented specialty farming, and now supplies some of the best chefs in New York. In this episode, Harry and Rob discuss Rob\u2019s background in design and how Rob\u2019s entrepreneurial drive led him to launch Farm.One. Rob talks about how the pandemic impacted his business and how he was able to pivot to different business models to combat those challenges. Rob shares the work he and his organization are doing to help underrepresented groups as well as the work they\u2019re doing with Google to address sustainability.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCULTIVATD\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n03:22 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show Rob Laing, Founder and CEO of Farm.One, who talks about his roots and his passion for food\r\n13:56 \u2013 Rob speaks to his background in design and his entrepreneurial spirit\r\n18:54 \u2013 The origin story of Farm.One\r\n25:10 \u2013 Rob talks about the strategic decision to pursue higher end restaurants as customers\r\n27:57 \u2013 What Rob would do differently about building Farm.One if given the chance\r\n31:49 \u2013 Rob speaks to the incredible response he\u2019s received on his products from New York City chefs\r\n37:10 \u2013 Rob shares sustainability work he\u2019s been doing with Google to address plastics in the environment\r\n40:35 \u2013 Challenges Rob and his organization had to overcome amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and how the pandemic changed his business approach\r\n54:00 \u2013 Rob speaks to what inspired him to start his podcast and what excites him about future initiatives of Farm.One\r\n56:35 \u2013 Harry thanks Rob for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can connect with him\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s so much creativity around food in New York City.\u201d (13:38)\r\n\r\n\u201cDesign is often about defining the problem that you want to solve rather than rushing ahead and doing the perfect sketch. Discovering what are we really trying to do here and trying to think through in a thoughtful way is something that designers do really well. And I really enjoy that part of the practice.\u201d(16:25)\r\n\r\n\u201cI really couldn\u2019t really see how you could make this business work if you\u2019re just growing leafy greens and selling them in a supermarket.\u201d (21:21)\r\n\r\n\u201cThe idea was to just test things out really small. Can we grow stuff that tastes good? Can we get people excited about that flavor? Can we sell it for a price that might possibly mean we make money? Can we deliver it? That sort of stuff.\u201d(24:49)\r\n\r\n\u201cAll chefs have different tastes. But, the people who are operating with the highest standards are desperate for good, reliable ingredients. It\u2019s their Holy Grail.\u201d(26:49)\r\n\r\n\u201cI do some work with Google on a sustainability-focused angle. And what that led me to was to learn more about plastics and plastics in the environment.\u201d (37:31)\r\n\r\n\u201cWe try to support businesses of color. We try to support underrepresented groups. And we try to support good social impact causes.\u201d(46:26)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nFarm.One Website\r\n\r\nFarm.One Instagram\r\n\r\nRob\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\n\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\r\n\r\nPodcast Production and Marketing by FullCast: https://bit.ly/3sxZ34y\r\n\r\nSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/918edaf0-6711-4994-8a86-08f2b130a671/image.jpg"}