{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F0f2ac930-b545-4731-81d3-57cc5deb7923","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S3E31: Niko Kivioja - High-Tech for Small Vertical Farms","description":"Episode Summary\r\n\r\nJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show Niko Kivioja. Niko is the CEO of Netled, an organization that designs and builds the high-tech platform for the world's smartest vertical farms. Niko spent the first part of his career in controlled-environment-agriculture as a grower and has spent the last decade in high-tech closed-environment and vertical farming technology development. In this episode, Harry and Niko discuss the Niko\u2019s familial history of entrepreneurship and the inspiration to start Netled. Niko speaks to the proprietary Vera vertical farming platform development that he\u2019s recently been managing, how the global pandemic impacted the food supply chain and what excites him the most about the future of Netled and the vertical farming industry as a whole.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCULTIVATD\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n05:49 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show Niko Kivioja, CEO of Netled, who talks about his educational background and the work he\u2019s doing at Netled\r\n12:59 \u2013 Niko speaks to his family\u2019s history of entrepreneurship\r\n16:30 \u2013 The inspiration to launch Netled and how vertical farming changed the traditional idea of greenhouses\r\n21:28 \u2013 Niko expounds on Vera Instore solutions\r\n24:23 \u2013 Companies that expressed early interest in Netled\r\n26:03 \u2013 Niko talks about expanding and building their first vertical farm in North America and how the pandemic has impacted his business\r\n30:40 \u2013 Netled\u2019s partnership with Vertigo Farms\r\n35:59 \u2013 Shifting trends in demand that Niko has noticed\r\n38:04 \u2013 Niko speaks to Netled\u2019s growth and his own personal growth as a leader\r\n40:58 \u2013 Niko discusses challenges and opportunities for growing his team\r\n44:32 \u2013 A difficult question Niko has had to ask himself recently\r\n47:26 \u2013 What excites Niko the most about the future of vertical farming\r\n48:54 \u2013 Harry thanks Niko for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can learn more about Netled and connect with Niko\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cThe climate conditions are, of course, quite challenging part is what\u2019s challenging. If you look at the map of where Finland is located, we are the northern-most agricultural country in the world. That means that even though he have mild weather thanks to the gulf stream, still the light conditions are challenging during the winter.\u201d(09:09)\r\n\r\n\u201cIf you come from an entrepreneurial family, it\u2019s really difficult not to go there yourself as well.\u201d(15:17)\r\n\r\n\u201cI think that the best advantage of closed environment growing and vertical farming is the fact that you can actually control the conditions perfectly.\u201d(20:55)\r\n\r\n\u201cIt has been quite rewarding to actually see that our solutions have pulled through. We\u2019ve learned a lot along the way and we\u2019ve seen how the technology environment has developed, which has allowed us to offer better products.\u201d(38:50)\r\n\r\n\u201cThat leads into this dilemma that there are a lot of companies who start as farmers but then they find out that they have to become technology companies as well in order to get financed.\u201d(45:43)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nNiko\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\nNetled Website\r\n\r\nNetled Twitter\r\n\r\nNetled YouTube Channel\r\n\r\nNetled Facebook\r\n\r\nVertigo Farms Website\r\n\r\nSponsor Info:\r\n\r\nCultivatd Website\r\n\r\nCultivatd Instagram\r\n\r\nCultivatd\u2019s Twitter\r\n\r\nCultivatd\u2019s Facebook\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/00aaaab8-faeb-4dbb-838a-d863efb44f4f/image.jpg"}