{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F8b444293-3d44-4101-bcae-a249f48c34c6","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S4E44: Aja Atwood - Plant-Training Robotics","description":"Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show Aja Atwood. Aja is the co-founder and CEO of Trella Technologies, an organization that provides technical, innovative solutions to make indoor and urban farming a sustainable, long-lasting industry.\r\n\r\nToday, Harry and Aja talk about the amazing technologies they\u2019re developing at Trella, including automated plant-training robotics. Aja shares her entrepreneurial origin story which started with her natural curiosity and analytical mind and led her to building a company that aiming to change the vertical farming industry. She discusses the incredible work they\u2019re doing with Trella\u2019s partnership with Jean Charles Academy and speaks to the importance of fostering diversity in the workplace. Finally, Aja talks about what\u2019s next for Trella and what excites her about the future of AgTech.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCULTIVATD\r\nFreight Farms\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n03:41 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show Aja Atwood, who joins the show to discuss her company, Trella, and her vertical farming origin story\r\n11:00 \u2013 A curious and analytical mind\r\n13:15 \u2013 Aja\u2019s podcast origin story\r\n18:39 \u2013 Partnering with Jean Charles Academy\r\n25:33 \u2013 The Trella Story and the idea to grow plants horizontally\r\n32:22 \u2013 No More Mondays: the decision to pursue entrepreneurship\r\n35:35 \u2013 Biggest lessons Aja learned throughout her career\r\n38:57 \u2013 Aja speaks to the market response to Trella\r\n41:38 \u2013 What excites Aja most about the future of Trella and vertical farming\r\n43:42 \u2013 Aja talks about some of the successful partnerships they\u2019ve developed at Trella and some of the AgTech conferences she\u2019s attended\r\n46:55 \u2013 Aja comments on the lack of diversity in the AgTech industry\r\n50:48 \u2013 A tough question Aja has had to ask herself recently\r\n52:38 \u2013 Harry thanks Aja for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can learn more about Trella and connect with Aja\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cThis is the time if you\u2019re curious or you like to try new things. The world is open for you right now.\u201d(13:07) (Aja)\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat\u2019s interesting is there are some youths and some children that already know the importance of growing their own food.\u201d(21:10) (Aja)\r\n\r\n\u201cSo, we got into what\u2019s called \u2018low-stress\u2019 plant-training. We were trying to figure out how to do that with robotics and not having to rely on that manual operation so much. What we came up with is a system that will automatically train a plant to grow horizontally. Essentially what it does is trick the top of the plant by light with no chemical violation of the plant.\u201d(26:18) (Aja)\r\n\r\n\u201cI want to be a good leader. I want to create a company where people are thrilled and excited to come to work; they feel like they\u2019re a part of something. I\u2019m trying to create something that I never had. And, that\u2019s what fuels me today.\u201d(34:43) (Aja)\r\n\r\n\u201cI feel like my entire adult life has been working with people who don\u2019t look like me, and the vertical farming indoor farming industry is no different.\u201d(47:23) (Aja)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nAja\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\nTrella Website\r\n\r\nAja\u2019s Podcast\r\n\r\nAja\u2019s Website\r\n\r\nTrella\u2019s YouTube\r\n\r\nTrella\u2019s Instagram\r\n\r\nLink to Jean Charles Academy\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\nFreight Farms Website\r\n\r\nFreight Farms Facebook\r\n\r\nFreight Farms Twitter\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/5c019e85-2fa3-48cc-81ac-c78111d44199/image.jpg"}