Prior to founding AppHarvest, Jonathan supported the Executive Director of the Army Office of Energy Initiatives to help meet the White House goal of supplying 20% of the Department of Defenses electricity usage from renewable sources by leveraging private sector capital for the projects. The show also discusses the benefits of Martha Stewart being on their board and how they plan get their products onto shelves. Jonathan Webb, CEO of agricultural technology and indoor farming startup AppHarvest, wants investors and founders alike to know that he doesnt struggle to balance purpose and profit; if a company loses track of the former, its only a matter of time until it loses the latter. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Webb: We've been very fortunate that some of our investors and board members, Fidelity was the largest investor in our pipe during the public process, Jeff Ubben of Inclusive Capital, our Chief Sustainability Officer, Jackie Roberts came to us from the Carlyle Group, we're all very serious about this. To access all the content for free, please sign up by entering your email. You are speaking our language here at The Fool. You have climate disruption. Everybody has full healthcare. AppHarvest I know you're in the DC area. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The same way there won't be one energy company powering the world. Tomatoes will be the first fruit rolling out of AppHarvest's soon-to-launch facility in Morehead, Kentucky. Get 5 free searches. I did want to know here because I saw this in the earnings release and I just thought it was one of those quotes that stood out to me from Mastronardi, your distributor. We use completely recycled rainwater. I was hoping maybe we could talk a little bit about that idea that you're farmers and futurists. WebJonathan Webb. But the futuristic pieces, we've combined a technology team with a great plant science group. Moser: That's exciting. We hit our Q1 guidance, $2.3 million in revenue. But in order to prove to our investors and prove to our shareholders and broader stakeholders, for us, it's about meeting our targets, and I've tried to say AppHarvest, we're in the business of delivering on our promises. Kentucky has been experiencing record amounts of rainfall in recent years, so for Webb, the location was obvious. I'm really excited to have you all as a recommendation in our service and hopefully, our members are too after talking with you today. There are many sources of information on Jonathan Webbs networth. It was clear that their work culture is infused with a pioneering mentality, and that Webb feels strongly about keeping that culture consistent as the company expands. Almost every company in the coal industry has gone bankrupt over the last 10 years. AppHarvest You have illegal chemical pesticides where the EPA cannot track the chemicals being used on these farms in Mexico. WebJonathan Webb, the CEO of AppHarvest, says water scarcity is a growing national security concern as a heatwave continues to wreak havoc on the West Coast. Moser: Well, you said it on the call. By locating within Appalachia, the company is also less than a days drive to more than two-thirds of the U.S. population. To learn more about AppHarvest, you can visit appharvest.com. I was very fortunate. I know you're busy. Moser: It's impressive to think about the scope of what you are taking on because agriculture, farming, that's been something for so long, people just think, well, it's just what it's always been and we do it this way because that's the way we've always done it. Webb: Well, the last great technological revolution in American farming is really when the tractor was introduced. How do they plan on achieving that goal? In February 2018, encouraged by investors, advisors including Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Below, we look at some of his most popular tweets. I mean, I think that kind of speaks for itself. "You look at renewable energy 20 years ago, electric vehicles 10 years ago, if we want to get CEA to be institutional at scale, not only in households with consumers, you really need that rigor of the public markets and that attention of the public markets to help institutionalize an industry," he said. We have high demand for U.S.-grown and pesticide-free produce already, and when you combine that with the taste, color, and freshness of the AppHarvest model, on top of their social mission, it's driving our customers to ask for more." 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. It's so cool to think about what you guys are doing there. He holds a legal degree from the University of Natal as well as the University of Cape Town. Required fields are marked *. Terms & Conditions. It doesn't need to be one or the other, it needs to be both, and we're happy to be a bit of a public benefit corporation and B Corp certified. 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. I watch them, I watch their friends, the things that they care about. 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. Its easier than ever to find a trustworthy doctor. Again, if you look at the U.S. right now, this is a USDA statistic, nearly 40% of fresh fruit and vegetables end up in a landfill. We're ramping up this first facility in the middle of a global pandemic, we had an ice storm. Webb founded it in 2017 in his native Kentucky; it became a certified B Corp two years later. We're building large facilities to grow fruit and vegetables running completely on recycled rainwater using LED lights, software, and sensors. I know that you're not the only one focused on controlled environment agriculture. He is also becoming more involved with green shipping and is a council member of the London Shipping Law Centre. Theyre designed to be safe around people. Originally from Kentucky, Webb is dedicated to sustainable projects in Central Appalachia. AppHarvest raised over $475 million in a public IPO, but it is not over. His extensive experience and knowledge in the field have led to his reputation as a leading knee surgeon in the UK. I mean, all of the stuff that you just talked about really does matter. I could be in a penthouse in New York City, managing AppHarvest from the 32nd floor of some high-rise. Then we'll be able to give that data over to the grocer in more real-time. We have a phenomenal growing team. His Twitter account is one of the most popular on the social network. Webb, a former rugby player, has a wealth experience and is now helping players return to the sport they love. We are about to plant our first crop in a 60-acre, controlled environment, chemical-free farm. 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. AppHarvest knows its far from being the only player in the CEA game. We use bees to pollinate our plans. WebThe combined company will be led by Jonathan Webb, AppHarvests Founder & Chief Executive Officer. If I can sell you a grocer, a product at around the same price, what are we solving for? Webb: The industry is at an inflection point. It means transparency. We've just been selling product for a matter of months. We're investing in our workforce. I go directly into the facility and talk to entry-level employees and people sweeping the floors. AppHarvest to go public, seeks $475m at $1bn valuation - AFN Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. Jonathan Webb is the Founder and CEO of AppHarvest, a company that combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology to address Making the world smarter, happier, and richer. That lowers transportation costs by 75%, allowing AppHarvest's fresher produce to better compete against low-cost foreign imports. 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. Again, for us, it's about keeping our head down, growing good fruit and vegetables. Jonathan Webb is a dual-qualified lawyer. What's that Harvest's secret sauce? Webb, a Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate, says he remains committed to his goal of employing large numbers of people at high-tech farms around the eastern half of the state. Learn More. 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. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. Jonathan Webb Net Worth - Bologny WebThe following charts show the stock performance of securities subsequent to each open-market, non-planned trade made by Jonathan Webb. Webb: We could not be more excited. There's a level of rigor that comes with that, and so for us, the SPAC was just a vehicle. 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. That's because of our inefficient systems in the supply chain. But with that said, what we have at AppHarvest is fairly unique. That's our headquarters. Webb: Well, we built the company from day one. In the back of his mind, he wondered what he could do to help. www.vbprofiles.com is now www.topionetworks.com. But the journey hasnt been without pitfalls. Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Putin casts war as battle for nation's survival, India FM Jaishankar says Soros dangerous, debate needed on democracy, Buffett's Berkshire profit falls on investments, currencies, Bill Gates buys Heineken stake, despite saying he's 'not a big beer drinker', Elon Musk recruits team to develop OpenAI rival - The Information, Hedge fund manager Chris Hohn demands Airbus drop Atos deal - letter, Elon Musk's challenge: Stay ahead of the competition, ISS urges Apple shareholders to vote for CEO Tim Cook, other execs' pay packages, Elon Musk accuses media of racism after newspapers drop 'Dilbert' cartoon, French media billionaire Niel fails with bid for TNT television frequence - Arcom. 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. We're in that classic scenario of demand exceeding supply. 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. It's nearly impossible to have full transparency. I'm one of those people growing up I went to public schools here in Kentucky. There won't be one automotive company transporting the world. In the latter, Webb was the only English player to score in the game. Non-planned trade are trades that 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. We're selling to Kroger, we're selling in fast food chains like Wendy's. He has also held roles in movies and television series. We thought in order to build an organization that's going to be selling to the top grocers. Theyre looking for purpose in their life; theyre looking for companies like us.. Moser: Yeah, I'd tell you, I think you're right. Jonathan Webb - Insider Trading Tracker - Fintel This article will briefly review the most important information. AppHarvest is known for its approach to CEA, which Webb called the "third wave of sustainable infrastructure." Since then, AppHarvest shares have plunged 70%. Founder of AppHarvest, Inc., AppHarvest Morehead Farm LLC and ", "It's easy to be a CEO that's looking for the next three months," Webb stated. I have no doubt that we will. 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. With that difficult work that in mind, Webb has designed his company to grow as much produce as possible as sustainably as possible. For example, we use integrated pest management, good pest to kill bad pest. Jonathan Webb Jonathan Webb - Biography - MarketScreener.com more. You said that we're a technology company working to disrupt agriculture. Webb started his professional career in 1989 as a Durban maritime lawyer firm. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Jonathan about the growing opportunity in the AgTech space. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. No, weve made some mistakes. 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. I think you really keyed in on something important there, a 30-year journey. How do you feel about coming public a lot earlier than you probably would've normally?