We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. Every year, he gives a lecture to students enrolled in a post-graduate shipping LLM program. Tomatoes will be the first fruit rolling out of AppHarvest's soon-to-launch facility in Morehead, Kentucky. People at large tech companies question what theyre actually building. Webb: Well, thank you and thank you for having me, and we've got a lot of work to do here, but I can assure you we're head down building and look forward to continuing the conversation another time. Terms & Conditions. In addition to his numerous social media fans, Jonathan Webb has also embraced a low-key approach to his career. You may opt-out by. He is an ex-rugby player who represented England from 1987 to 1993, reaching the World Cup Final and winning two Five Nations grand slam titles. I would not want to be one of those large operators and food today when you see the consumer trends changing as quickly as they are, and we feel very optimistic again about where our growth trajectory is. You mentioned your children. ESG should be at the core of profitability and it should be at the core of building a resilient company. Jonathan Webb is an actor with a large following on Twitter. Jonathan Webb is a specialist knee surgeon and a former English rugby union fullback. Webb: Regulators are pounding on them, consumers are pounding on them. Offers may be subject to change without notice. I hope you enjoy our conversation. That lowers transportation costs by 75%, allowing AppHarvest's fresher produce to better compete against low-cost foreign imports. WebFounder & CEO, AppHarvest Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate Jonathan Webb is turning his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest. "And we don't think we could do that if we weren't in the public markets.". Other AppHarvest investors include TV cook Martha Stewart, VC veteran Peter Thiel, We are about to plant our first crop in a 60-acre, controlled environment, chemical-free farm. We have one farm right now thats 2.8 million square feet. Even with the help of AI, farm work at AppHarvest is still hard, manual labor. Fresh Take: A Make-Or-Break Food Trade Show, Inside The Food Labor Movement: An Update From Starbucks Front Lines, Its The Gourmet Toast Driving Expansion At Toastique, Fungi-Based Protein Company Meati Launches Scientific Advisory Board To Support Scale-Up, Nutrition Research, City Saucery Takes Pride In Its Ugly Tomato Sauces, By Helping The Ukrainian Community In Manhattan, Veselka Earns A James Beard Nomination For Outstanding Restaurant, French Wine Region Bourgogne Should No Longer Be Translated To Burgundy. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your bedroom should be a serene place for you to feel rested and rejuvenated. We're building large facilities to grow fruit and vegetables running completely on recycled rainwater using LED lights, software, and sensors. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. It feels like this is something that really is just getting some traction here. But one thing we'd like to talk about is competitive advantage, what makes a company special? Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told AFN. CEOs can get lazy and only worry about the last 90 days; thats easy. Jonathan Webb, a specialist in knee surgery, was once a prominent player on the English rugby team. "For us, being transparent with not only the consumer, but having that transparency of a public company as we build a large global food company, we think the long-term benefits are great.". Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Our team is built to scale and you look at where we're at today, we've launched our first facility. His vision of the future of farming and much, much more. We're building these facilities here where we can access markets and get to about three-quarters of the U.S. on a day drive. That's our headquarters. He was born into a medical family. These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. A Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate, Jonathan Webb is turning his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest. We can get to 70% of the U.S. in a one-day drive. 10 stocks we like better thanWalmartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have an investing tip, it can pay to listen. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. Eventually, he found the right problem to solve. Jason Moser: It's Wednesday, May 26th, I'm your host, Jason Moser, and we've got a terrific interview to share with you on this week's Wildcard Wednesday show. The other thing is scale. You can also follow him on Instagram. Its first crop will be non-GMO tomatoes, which will be provided to a number of US grocers. Were building important stuff with long-standing value, so the Great Resignation has actually helped us acquire talent.. Yes, we're using nature for what it's good. Thanks as always to Tim Sparks for putting the show together for us. AppHarvest is recovering from a challenging third quarter, in which it reported a net loss of over $17 million; Webb attributes it to hyper-growth. The Great Resignation has not affected AppHarvest, because people who were leaving companies were leaving worthless companies that added no value to society, or were destroying society, Webb said. I think they certainly will be. This will result in a $1.7 billion return of investment for the company. Jonathan Webb's Appharvest shares are currently valued at $20.96M. We're going to be headquartered in Central Appalachia, execution at scale here in the U.S. but this is a global problem that we've gotten phone calls from around the world about how and when we can take our solution and go elsewhere. No, weve made some mistakes. AppHarvest is a unique and compelling investment opportunity that is redefining American agriculture by improving access for all to fresh non-GMO produce, growing more with fewer resources, and creating an agtech hub from within Appalachia, Novus chairman Bob Laikin said in a statement. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. He completed a fellowship in Australia at North Sydney Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre and has worked in many high-profile clinics in the area. But the journey hasnt been without pitfalls. We're going to be based in Central Appalachia. Jonathan Webb, a Maryland attorney, has experience in criminal defense and DUI/DWI defense. Australian National University Alumni Founded Companies, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University Alumni Founded Companies, Seattle Pacific University Alumni Founded Companies, Regis University Alumni Founded Companies, Emory University Alumni Founded Companies, New Mexico State University Alumni Founded Companies, Oakland University Alumni Founded Companies, Oklahoma State University Alumni Founded Companies, Number of Organizations that the person founded, Algorithmic rank assigned to the top 100,000 most active People, The organization associated to the person's primary job, Where the person is located (e.g. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. Jonathan was named one the Top 30 Most Influential Lawyers in Washingtonians 2018 list upon graduation. We're in our first decade and we're going to try to look at judging the company on decade one, decade two, and decade three. My answer to that is always; sustainability is profitability. Well, you need water you need food, and you need energy. Despite the off quarter, Webb has much to celebrate. I pay attention to my kids. The companys first greenhouse will span 60 acres and open in 2020 in Morehead, Ky.The greenhouse will operate entirely on rainwater using a 10-acre retention pond, reducing water usage by 80% compared to a typical farm. There's going to be a lot of companies hopefully working to solve our food and agriculture problems. The business combination values AppHarvest at a $1.0 billion pro forma equity value, at the $10.00 per share PIPE price and assuming minimal redemptions by Novus Capital shareholders. The Art of Self Meditation: What Are the Benefits? AppHarvest is an indoor farming company, so has massive greenhouses $157M Today's Change (-7.84%) -$0.08 Current Price $0.94 Price as of March 1, 2023, 1:16 p.m. He practices at Mayo Clinic Hospital Eau Claire. We're building infrastructure in an area of the country where we're having record amounts of rainfall, and if you look at the climate maps, we continue to get wetter. You start to do the math, and realize you might need two planet earths to have enough land and water to grow that food.. We want to be selling to 90% of America. He has many impressive accomplishments. Even though you entered at such a young stage of your business, You essentially were pre-revenue coming into the public markets, and now, you're just getting that started. Putting a retention pond, we filter it with no chemicals and we're able to run our facility. How excited are you to bring that Root AI company in their leadership into your family? But I wonder, is there something to your mind? I graduated from the University of Kentucky. *Average returns of all recommendations since inception. We'll talk a little bit about that in just a second. I was hoping maybe we could talk a little bit about that idea that you're farmers and futurists. Moving forward, AppHarvest is focused on bringing its beefsteak and on-the-vine tomatoes to market. According to AppHarvest's earnings report released Feb. 24, the company had net sales of $9.1 million and net loss of of $166.2 million in 2021. Jonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia. Webb is a consistent presence at the companys flagship greenhouse in Morehead. You can also compare Dr. Webb with other orthopedic surgeons in Eau Claire to find the one that best suits your needs. What's that Harvest's secret sauce? The Kentucky-based agriculture tech company, which was founded in 2017, began trading on the Nasdaq in late February 2021 after completing a SPAC merger with Novus Capital Corporation. Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. I fundamentally do not think its a tradeoff. In the 1992 Five Nations, England won the title back-to-back for the first time since 1924, thanks to Webbs brace. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Jonathan about the growing opportunity in the AgTech space. I could be in a penthouse in New York City, managing AppHarvest from the 32nd floor of some high-rise. could be sentient says Microsofts chatbot feels like watching the Shark Tank investor Kevin OLeary says a new generation of employee has never worked in an officeand its totally I cant afford to sell because I dont want to lose that rate: 3% mortgage rates will loom large over the U.S. CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. AppHarvest raised $500 million on its balance sheet this year, went public on the Nasdaq, hired 400 people to work in its first facility, and brought its first product, beefsteak tomatoes, to grocery stores including Kroger, Walmart, and Publix. You have food safety concerns. Jonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing We can also do it by returning investors to our shareholders. What's the technology that you are looking toward to help you change this space? That might sound straight from science fiction, but AppHarvests CTO Josh Lessing, who designed many of these universal harvesting systems says we only think that because farming has been so slow to innovate. Good CEOs do both., Given the rapidly worsening climate outlook, all founders should focus on building a business that will be more powerful in 30 years than it will in 30 days, he said. Talk a little bit about what ESG means to you and some of the things that you've done, because corporately you set your business up to be able to account for some of that transparency and whatnot. Its easier than ever to find a trustworthy doctor. AppHarvest reaffirms guidance on full-year 2021 net revenue of $21 million and Adjusted EBITDA of ($41) million provided during its Analyst Day presentation on December 15, 2020. But the futuristic pieces, we've combined a technology team with a great plant science group. We're selling to Kroger, we're selling in fast food chains like Wendy's. Moser: Yeah, I'd tell you, I think you're right. In the same year, he scored his second try after just 23 seconds. Moser: Yeah. Follow him on Twitter to get more updates. He noted that in traditional agriculture, most everything happens incrementally, But now is not a time for incrementalism the thing that needs to be added to that recipe is folks [like Webb] that want to be aggressive in getting us ready for a world where its hard to grow crops.. Its the single largest LED installation in the United States despite using constant passive solar, waters its plants using recycled rainwater, employs an integrated pest management system to avoid any pesticides, has a 30x higher production yield than traditional open field agriculture, and has the ever so modest goal of transforming the future of agriculture. I'm sure it was an exciting time. There's a lot of different ways to go public and at the time and we did it, and I think it was definitely the best decision for us at the time. We'll talk a little bit about your quarterly results here in a minute because I want to get into that, but one of the things that stood out to me in the earnings call. We believe controlled environment agriculture is the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. My background was a part of building some of the largest solar projects in the U.S. David Lee, who joined us from Impossible Foods, joined impossible foods five years ago as their CFO and COO raised them nearly over $1 billion in the last five years and turned them into what was a boutique idea, into a mass-market product on store shelves. AppHarvest. It means transparency. No. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. It's the workforce that we're going to use to grow the organization. Moser: Yeah, absolutely. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. They have 10% of the world's freshwater. Not only picking, pruning, harvesting, being able to actually get the tomato off the vine, and ultimately, shipped out, but also the predictive analytics that we can use. There's a level of rigor that comes with that, and so for us, the SPAC was just a vehicle. Again, for their CEO, for their team to say to them not just about money, we can have more impact at scale with AppHarvest and achieve our mission and achieve our goals by working together. The actor regularly posts photos and videos of himself, as well as engaging with his fans. "It's hard to be the one that's looking two decades down the road while thinking of the here and now.". We're really in the business of packaging up water and then shipping that out to major markets and then beyond that execution at scale. Moser: Yeah. Public asset : 44,698,475 USD. With a 19% stake, CEO Jonathan Webb is the largest shareholder. Webb started his professional career in 1989 as a Durban maritime lawyer firm. That's not the conversation at all. The fired Google engineer who thought its A.I. But then there's the other side, and introducing robotics that's operating on AI, that's collecting data in our facility and making data-driven decisions. We have to figure out how to grow a lot more food with a lot less resources and we can use that by utilizing technology and infrastructure to grow fruit and vegetables with 90% less water and get about 30 times yield per acre. He often sleeps in an RV outside the construction site of its second facility. Jonathan Webb poses with celebrity investor Martha Stewart and some of his signature tomatoes. A specialist in knee surgery, Jonathan Webb was a rugby union fullback for the English national team from 1987 to 1993. monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically. Running AppHarvest this way definitely creates extra workthe company even has facilitators who help employees navigate unexpected life events that might prevent them from coming to workbut its work Webb considers essential.

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