These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. Almost every company in the coal industry has gone bankrupt over the last 10 years. Appharvest has 95% of a fruit and vegetable is water. "Tech for good the consumer wants it. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. [laughs] This is something I'm very passionate about. WebJonathan Webb, CEO, AppHarvest: AgTech Farming for Our Planets Future. Moser: Yeah. AppHarvest is an indoor farming company, so has massive greenhouses Many of our early investors have been very helpful with the company, and we knew that we are not just building one facility, we're building an organization that's going to go toe-to-toe with agriculture and food, globally. I'd tell you, we go through tomatoes, handover, [] in my house alone, I'm sure. 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. We love DC, but we don't want to just be selling to the high-end restaurants in DC. Well, I mean speaking of a publicly traded company, you just released your first-quarter results, and I think this was your first full quarter as a publicly traded company. We look forward to providing you with even more cutting-edge market research, as Topio Networks. Jonathan Webb, a specialist in knee surgery, was once a prominent player on the English rugby team. 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. WebJonathan Webb. We hit our Q1 guidance, $2.3 million in revenue. In the 1992 Five Nations, England won the title back-to-back for the first time since 1924, thanks to Webbs brace. Just wondering if you could share some of the highlights, some of the things you're proud of in regard to this earnings release, and your excitement here for the year to come. Putting a retention pond, we filter it with no chemicals and we're able to run our facility. Let's force that rigor early. Were building important stuff with long-standing value, so the Great Resignation has actually helped us acquire talent.. I'm sure it was an exciting time. Moving forward, AppHarvest is focused on bringing its beefsteak and on-the-vine tomatoes to market. Then Jeff Obin, who is on our board and has been an early investor. Is that drought going to impact yield and you don't end up being able to get product to the grocery store? But in its entirety not only do we have a problem we want to solve, we have a place in the world that wants to solve it with us., A crop care specialist carries boxes of tomatoes through a column of crops, pruning as she goes, I got to visit AppHarvest in November, and the sheer enthusiasm Webb has built in his staff is phenomenal. Earlier this year we did get listed on the Nasdaq. Age : 37. We're selling to Kroger, we're selling in fast food chains like Wendy's. No. Making the world smarter, happier, and richer. Dr. Webb graduated at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. It means being a little bit more upfront with your investors. There won't be one automotive company transporting the world. Webb supported a large-scale solar project in Virginia while he was employed by the U.S. Department of Defense. Very excited about the Root AI transaction. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising around $36.2 billion as of last month. We're one of four companies that are publicly traded that have both of those as a company. St John Greek Orthodox Church Easter Schedule, 7 Residential Solar Maintenance Errors and How to Avoid Them, 4 Errors with Kitchen Renovations and How to Avoid Them, An Informative Guide to Livestock Transportation, A Tool That You Need If You are Into Live Stream. WebThe combined company will be led by Jonathan Webb, AppHarvests Founder & Chief Executive Officer. A former England international, he reached the World Cup Final in 1991 and was a two-time grand slam champion in the Five Nations. Public asset : 44,698,475 USD. To do that and look out for the long term is true sustainability, or resilience., Webb, who began his career developing renewable energy projects for the U.S. Army, believes any company is either part of destroying the planet or part of rebuilding its industry to align with the planet: I think its our obligation as CEOs to build companies that create long-standing values.. By the end of next year, well quadruple that. I'm Jason Moser, thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week. No one else in America is doing something at that scale. You have climate disruption. While living in Washington D.C. developing sustainable energy farms, Jonathan researched another type of farming the Netherlands and its high-tech greenhouses that in a single acre yield as much as 10 outdoor acres and virtually eliminate the use of chemicals. If I can sell you a grocer, a product at around the same price, what are we solving for? Those are always famous last words as we move into some disruptive phase. Jonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia. We take that long term approach, we don't view things by quarter. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. I've tried to say, we have a team that looks at this as this is our 30-year journey here at AppHarvest. What's that Harvest's secret sauce? My answer to that is always; sustainability is profitability. We could've raised capital privately on the balance sheet and kept building. He is a senior partner in the shipping litigation practice group, focusing on hull insurance claims, charter party disputes, and dry shipping issues. Most people every day are just concerned about can they put food on the table? The deal is slated to bring in $475 million in gross proceeds for Kentucky-based AppHarvest, including a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction worth $375 million from existing and new investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Inclusive Capital, and Novus. Now, we want to turn this region into an area of the country that's known for sustainable food production, but beyond just loving the place, I'm from Kentucky, beyond just loving this area, we can get to three quarters of the U.S. on a day drive. For us, this year, it's less about the dollars and more about hitting our targets and we were able to hit our Q1 guidance and ramp up our facility to, later on, this year by Q4, we'll be at full capacity in Q3 and Q4, selling tomatoes out of this facility in more Kentucky. Instead of just being able to tell a grocer 24-hours in advance here's the quality of product and here's when it will be shipped, with robotics going down the rows scanning the plants, we'll be able to get to days out and weeks out of being able to predict the yield, predict the quality, give more information to the grocer on when that product is going to be coming. 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. 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. Thanks as always to Tim Sparks for putting the show together for us. 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. Jonathan was named one the Top 30 Most Influential Lawyers in Washingtonians 2018 list upon graduation. I think they certainly will be. 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. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. We don't want to be selling just to the high-end. We dont talk about this at all in the US. His military experience allows him to leverage private capital for his projects. When people and robots work together, its actually more productive than robots alone or people alone. On a traditional farm, there are a seemingly infinite number of tasks to do at any given moment, so adding some computers to make it more efficient doesnt mean that human farmers will be anywhere near obsolete any time soon. We've had 8,000 people apply to work at the company and we've hired 500 people in the middle of a global pandemic. Are you going to have drought? Copyright 2023 Surperformance. I love that passion. ", "It's easy to be a CEO that's looking for the next three months," Webb stated. If you look at the largest grocers in the U.S., we're selling to Kroger, Walmart, Publix, and we're selling to Wendy's. The show also discusses the benefits of Martha Stewart being on their board and how they plan get their products onto shelves. Going down, scanning the plant, pest, is there a disease, brightness? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. Webb founded it in 2017 in his native Kentucky; it became a certified B Corp two years later. We have a phenomenal team of sustainability experts. Jonathan Webb was born on 24 August 1963, in London, England. Part of it is we're building companies not just for today and not just for the quarterly earnings call today, we're building this company for the next generation. "And we don't think we could do that if we weren't in the public markets.". Jonathan Webb is the largest individual Appharvest shareholder, owning 20.54M shares representing 19.04% of the company. By the end of next year, we'll have five operating facilities. 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. Thank you for accessing our content on the Topio Networks Market Intelligence Center. CEOs can get lazy and only worry about the last 90 days; thats easy. That's, for us, again, there's a piece where we need to be very close to the product and that's we're optimizing for the plant. You have to judge yourself internally. We always talk about investing for the future because that's really what investing is all about. Webb: To put this in perspective, this was our first facility under operations, our flagship facility. All of our water is captured on our roof. People, planet, wonderful, but I'm trying to make money. They ask themselves, Did we help five people today? After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*. That world will look pretty different from the one we live in now, but Lessing assured me that even as AI gets firmly integrated into agriculture, AppHarvests robots are, fundamentally collaborative. In its Nov. 7 filing, AppHarvest reported net losses of $83 million for the first nine months of the year and net sales of $10 million, with an accumulated deficit of $270 million. Again, the private markets get a very bad rap socially. The greenhouse will cost $97 million and span 60 acres. The nonprofit organization he founded is still in operation today, and he continues to serve as Board Chair. We can get to 70% of the U.S. in a one-day drive. If I were an investor, Id want my CEO on the ground with the team, not just in an office tower, he said. Dr. Jonathan Webb, a specialist knee surgeon at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, is the doctor. 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. Webb is a highly-respected knee surgeon in the United States. There's a level of rigor that comes with that, and so for us, the SPAC was just a vehicle. Again to some of your viewers that aren't aware of Root AI just look them up and take a look at some of those videos. And because of the work they are doing, those companies will be able to hire the brightest people, despite resignation trends. The other thing is scale. Most of those employees were hired in the midst of 2020, something that Webb considers a testament to the trust his community has placed in AppHarvest. What's the technology that you are looking toward to help you change this space? I mean, that is right in line. The private markets can be a part of every solution we have that we're seeing today. 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. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising. His grandmother grew up in Whitley County, where a coal mining accident killed his great-grandfather. I was really excited to be able to recommend it after all of the work I had done on the business, learning more about it, listening to you in your passion regarding this company, I think it would be beneficial for our members, for our listeners to hear it from your own words as the founder, as the CEO of AppHarvest. Announces Separation of Julie Nelson as Chief Operating Officer Nov 16 Price target decreased to US$5.33 Nov 16 See more updates Shareholder Returns See full shareholder returns Return vs Industry: APPH underperformed the US Food industry which returned It means transparency. What makes AppHarvest so unique? No. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. I like thinking about a future where AppHarvest and companies like you all are helping make our food supply not only here domestically, but really around the world better, more reliable, more transparent. It made good logistical sense since Kentucky is within a days drive of 70% of the United States, plus there was an untapped labor force there ready and waiting to be hired. He often sleeps in an RV outside the construction site of its second facility. Yes, today, we met our quarterly earnings projection, we hit our guidance, but we're making the hard investments and spending the hard time to set an organization up that's going to thrive 10 and 20 years from now. CSC Leasing: Non-dilutive Funding for AgTech Startups, Americas Cultivation Corridor: We Grow AgTech Innovation, As demand for protein grows Sustainable Planet bets on water lentils as a viable alternative to soya, How not to fail in vertical farming: Be on guard for hubris, say Indoor Ag-Con speakers, International Fresh Produce Association launches 2023 Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator program, BREAKING: Perfect Day animal-free dairy patent in US challenged, What is the role of biotech in an ethical food system? They can be competitive. In our first month or two, we're already at all those outlets. 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. It feels like this is something that really is just getting some traction here. Moser: Well, you said it on the call. Now, his company AppHarvest (the name is a play on both Appalachia and the high-tech nature of what they do), operates a sixty acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky that grows hydroponic tomatoes up to the ceiling. His extensive experience and knowledge in the field have led to his reputation as a leading knee surgeon in the UK. I go directly into the facility and talk to entry-level employees and people sweeping the floors. 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. In order to do that, you have to have rigor. 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. Project Access offers ESL/ESL classes, after school programs, and computer literacy. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. As part of that, in order to bring trust and transparency to agriculture, you have to be a public company. Jeff Ubben, Inclusive Capital Partners founder and AppHarvest investor, and Jonathan Webb, AppHarvest CEO, join 'Closing Bell' to discuss what makes AppHarvest Webb is an expert in reconstructive and arthroscopic surgery. We believe controlled environment agriculture is the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. We want to make sure you get the most out of our platform. PIPE deals effectively allow institutional investors to buy larger quantities of public company stock, typically at a discount to public market prices. Consumers are pushing back. Her estimated net worth is more than $15 million. Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told AFN. Again, if we look at agriculture, there's a lot of trouble in our current agriculture system and we can use ESG metrics to clean up our food supply and create better food systems. 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. Theyre looking at a company and even though its pre-revenue it has all the necessary ingredients to succeed.. We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. This will result in a $1.7 billion return of investment for the company. We've been able, very fortunate, a very talented team, MIT team out of Boston that has a proven track record and great products that we've integrated them fully into the AppHarvest team. The Art of Self Meditation: What Are the Benefits? But then it's pulling technology in to drive nature from behind. A specialist in knee surgery, Jonathan Webb was a rugby union fullback for the English national team from 1987 to 1993. We'll head down here and then I would start or I would end with what I started with. You have illegal chemical pesticides where the EPA cannot track the chemicals being used on these farms in Mexico. But I wonder, is there something to your mind? To me, at least, it feels like we are at the [] of a disruptive phase here, and a lot of that is thanks to technology. By being able to have robotics and AI they can have more real-time information. We have a phenomenal growing team. I was very fortunate. Jonathan strives to work alongside the hard-working men and women of Eastern Kentucky and build an inclusive economy for the future. Thank you for your continued support. When he says sustainable, he doesnt just mean that in an environmental sense. Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. A universal harvester robot at AppHarvest's Morehead, Kentucky greenhouse, AppHarvests crops are monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically, a labor-saving advancement that lets the staff treat farming almost like a manufacturing process. We've moved most of our fruit and vegetable production down to Mexico and we're importing and shipping in 2,000 miles. Before founding AppHarvest, Jonathan worked with the U.S. Department of Defense on the largest solar project in the Southeastern United States. I asked on a call earlier today, well, have you had issues hiring people? Yes, we're using nature for what it's good. There has been nothing more impactful on farming since that time, and now, it's AI robotics and using data to make decisions. "In less than Is there a benefit? Everybody has full healthcare. Jason Moser has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. He has many impressive accomplishments. Two years into production, AppHarvest already provides 500 living wage jobs, is a second chance employer, and aims to hire a team as diverse as our nation and then empower them as individuals. Plus, the company is a B corp, a public benefit corporation, and its publicly traded. Webb: Well, the last great technological revolution in American farming is really when the tractor was introduced. "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.". "For us, at AppHarvest, this isn't just about a company. Eventually, he found the right problem to solve. Let's let the consumer of our product also be the buyer in our company. We're investing in our workforce. We just want to be one of those and we're cognizant that there's going to be plenty of large players. We had 22 meetings and had almost 20 yeses. Very few passed on this deal and we eventually had to cancel meetings., Webb describes the SPAC transaction and PIPE financing experience as absolutely phenomenal.. With significant tailwinds from heightened investor focus on ESG initiatives and the secular shift to plant-based foods, we believe AppHarvest is well-positioned to execute on its strategy for rapid growth and value creation, he continued. Founder of AppHarvest, Inc., AppHarvest Morehead Farm LLC and AppHarvest Operations, Inc., Jonathan Webb is an entrepreneur who is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of AppHarvest, Inc. and Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of AppHarvest Operations, Inc. (a subsidiary of AppHarvest, Inc.). "It's hard to be the one that's looking two decades down the road while thinking of the here and now.". He practices at Mayo Clinic Hospital Eau Claire. There are many sources of information on Jonathan Webbs networth. Growing up in Appalachia, Jonathan Webb watched the slow decline of the coal industry firsthand. For us, we're looking at metrics, how can we be more sustainable? ", As a CEO, Webb admitted that this focus on the long-term outlook has not been easy to prove to Wall Street, especially when compared to those who are "selling a worthless product that's not good for people and not good for planet and arguably questionable for shareholders. Those robots have collected the worlds largest data set of tomato images, and each one is equipped with cameras and a laser that creates a 3D scan of the crops in front of it to determine what needs to be done at any given moment. We'll talk a little bit about that in just a second. Other AppHarvest investors include TV cook Martha Stewart, VC veteran Peter Thiel, ValueAct Capitals Spring Fund, Revolutions Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Equilibrium Capital, and Narya the new VC firm co-founded by JD Vance, author of best-selling Appalachian memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Theyre looking for purpose in their life; theyre looking for companies like us.. Webb was named a World Rugby Council RFU representative in 2016. www.vbprofiles.com is now www.topionetworks.com. He acknowledges that scaling up so quickly in the middle of a pandemic is, almost unheard of in the current world. AppHarvest has invested in a 2.76million-square-foot greenhouse in Morehead (Ky.) to help meet this goal. That to me, was in a nutshell what it's all about. The High Stakes of the Roundup Cancer Lawsuit: Why Billions of Dollars are on the Line, 5 Ways to Get Money for Investment Property. Webb started his professional career in 1989 as a Durban maritime lawyer firm. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. It hopes to expand into leafy greens, berries, cucumbers, and bell peppers in the future. Look at the open fields in Mexico. AppHarvest. But one thing we'd like to talk about is competitive advantage, what makes a company special? I mean, all of the stuff that you just talked about really does matter. He is also becoming more involved with green shipping and is a council member of the London Shipping Law Centre. Offers may be subject to change without notice. We need to change the profits versus purpose narrative; purpose drives profit and, ultimately, is what makes an organization durable and resilient for decades to come, Webb told Fortune. Kentucky has been experiencing record amounts of rainfall in recent years, so for Webb, the location was obvious. But then what have we done with Root AI? In the same year, he scored his second try after just 23 seconds. You can also compare Dr. Webb with other orthopedic surgeons in Eau Claire to find the one that best suits your needs. This is the direction in which the world is going, so companies better get on board [laughs] or get out of the way. We're focused on bringing that production back from Mexico that has been shifted outside of the U.S. and bring that back into the U.S. in a controlled environment. Webb left for college, eventually pursuing a career in renewables at the DOE, a space where he felt he could be part of the solution. But the economic devastation in his home state still bothered him. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. This is becoming really a hot-button topic for a lot of investors, rightly so.
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