You start to do the math, and realize you might need two planet earths to have enough land and water to grow that food.. As investors were looking for the biggest market opportunities we can find, market opportunities that are growing. 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. Thanks as always to Tim Sparks for putting the show together for us. I don't know that we're going to have enough time, but let's just start first and foremost this is one of our most recent recommendations in our service. 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. If I can sell you a grocer, a product at around the same price, what are we solving for? Again, the private markets get a very bad rap socially. WebThe combined company will be led by Jonathan Webb, AppHarvests Founder & Chief Executive Officer. It's nearly impossible to have full transparency. Tomatoes will be the first fruit rolling out of AppHarvest's soon-to-launch facility in Morehead, Kentucky. Eventually, he found the right problem to solve. My answer to that is always; sustainability is profitability. With a 19% stake, CEO Jonathan Webb is the largest shareholder. Webb is an expert in reconstructive and arthroscopic surgery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Are we perfect? He has a particular interest in knee surgery and sports medicine. All of our water is captured on our roof. It means being a little bit more upfront with your investors. 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." We need to all collectively have a much more longer-term viewpoint on how we're building companies that are going to be good for communities, good for employees, and return a good return to our investors and shareholders. 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. The first harvest at its Morehead facility is slated for early 2021. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. WebAppharvest (: ) is owned by 29.32% institutional shareholders, 30.67% Appharvest 40.01% retail investors. 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. Webb: Well, the last great technological revolution in American farming is really when the tractor was introduced. When he says sustainable, he doesnt just mean that in an environmental sense. This company has plans to open two additional indoor farms in Kentucky and has already announced partnerships with the Dutch government and multiple universities to make Appalachia a hub for the agtech industry. Why locate in Appalachia? They're not going to be solved in a month or a year or a quarter and we just want to build an organization that's going to be able to go toe-to-toe with the larger incumbents out there, and the best way to do that is to have that rigor of being a publicly traded company. The mission-driven approach Webb has prioritized is the companys main selling point both for investors and potential employees, whom he works to lure away from billion-dollar conglomerates. They can be competitive. Despite IPOs last year having the worst returns in a decade, Webb said he believed 2021 was an important time for the company to go public and stood by the decision to take the company's mission "directly to the Street" and to receive the "rigor of Wall Street early," which he claimed will only make the company "stronger in the long run.". I know you're busy. This is becoming really a hot-button topic for a lot of investors, rightly so. He acknowledges that scaling up so quickly in the middle of a pandemic is, almost unheard of in the current world. We use bees to pollinate our plans. But if you look at all the problems in the agriculture system, this industry really solves most of those problems. We take that long term approach, we don't view things by quarter. People at large tech companies question what theyre actually building. He represented his country in 33 Test matches and played for Bristol and Bath. Invest better with The Motley Fool. A SPAC is formed with the sole purpose of raising capital through an IPO in order to acquire an existing privately-held company and take it public. Very excited about the Root AI transaction. Visualize our facility in Murray, Kentucky, it's 2.8 million square feet, nearly 50 football fields under-glass. Moser: That's exciting. He has become a prominent social media star. It sounds like there's a lot of potential there. Then Jeff Obin, who is on our board and has been an early investor. I made the point at one point in regard to AppHarvest. Clearly, the younger generation is coming up, sustainability matters, better food matters. I hope you enjoy our conversation. We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. The other thing is scale. I cant say this was the exact plan but what accelerated all of this was Covid-19, AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb told AFN. Webb: We could not be more excited. This is the direction in which the world is going, so companies better get on board [laughs] or get out of the way. Executive Vice President and Head of Enterprise Development, Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry, Contract Support (U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives), Intelligent Assistance and Bots Ecosystem. I mean, all of the stuff that you just talked about really does matter. But to our investors the question and I got this on the roadshow, I'm in this to make money, great. WebAppHarvest salary income and net worth data provided by People Ai provides an estimation for any internet celebrity's real salary income and net worth like AppHarvest based on real If I'm a grocer and I'm saying U.S.-grown in a controlled environment we solve for all that. As founder and CEO of AppHarvest, Ive been listening to a podcast called The Future of Farming and Investing, where Jonathan Webb discusses how AppHarvest has built a three-million-square-foot indoor farm, twice as large as Amazons largest distribution center. Webbs England career totaled 67 points, breaking Hodgkinsons 60-point record. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. I think that's going to be something that just continues to get into the public's mind. AppHarvest CEO envisions 'couple-decade journey' after going public You have to get permitting, communities [buy-in], state and federal support, infrastructure, inspections. According to Webb, going public has helped the company focus on the big picture. Jonathan Webb poses with celebrity investor Martha Stewart and some of his signature tomatoes. 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. 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. 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. We could've raised capital privately on the balance sheet and kept building. Then by the end of the year in 2022, we'll have five facilities operating. We'll head down here and then I would start or I would end with what I started with. "In less than In addition to his numerous social media fans, Jonathan Webb has also embraced a low-key approach to his career. The president and CEO, Paul Mastronardi said, "We want every AppHarvest tomato they can grow. I watch them, I watch their friends, the things that they care about. How excited are you to bring that Root AI company in their leadership into your family? What is AppHarvest to you? Are you going to have drought? But I wanted to ask you before we do, the Root AI acquisition. Non-planned trade are trades that But if you look at the world, China and India account for 40% of the world's population. He has published numerous papers on the topic of knee ligament injuries, arthroscopic surgery, and other techniques. I want to figure out what I can do, as CEO, to ensure everyone has the resources to succeed. 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. Were building robotics and software that will ultimately be able to service the entire global agriculture industry. That's because of our inefficient systems in the supply chain. Webb: Regulators are pounding on them, consumers are pounding on them. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. 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 mean I'm glad you keyed on the fact this is a global situation, it's a global issue. AppHarvest, which went public in February in an IPO that brought it $475 million in gross proceeds, is an ambitious venture. Webb: Well, I'll start by saying, anyone that is growing good, clean produce, without harsh chemical pesticides, I try to call them my colleagues, not competitors. Webb, a former rugby player, has a wealth experience and is now helping players return to the sport they love. I don't think anybody thinks of farming from this perspective. Webb: The industry is at an inflection point. Of course, the future is what really matters. He holds a legal degree from the University of Natal as well as the University of Cape Town. But the production we've left in the US is being grown in areas that are running out of water. He has successfully completed over 200 operations using the Mako machine. I asked on a call earlier today, well, have you had issues hiring people? Were investing heavily I was very fortunate. Founder of AppHarvest, Inc., AppHarvest Morehead Farm LLC and You look at California and the Southwest of the U.S., drying up, drought-stricken, flagged by wildfires. 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. 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. Appharvest has 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. Same platform but with new and improved features. What's the technology that you are looking toward to help you change this space? We're going to be based in Central Appalachia. Jonathan, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to see just more about AppHarvest to talk about all the stuff that you're trying to accomplish there. Then we'll be able to give that data over to the grocer in more real-time. What's your competitive advantages or something you feel differentiates you from your competition? I pay attention to my kids. Jonathan Webb: AppHarvest, we're based here in Central Appalachia and we're building some of the world's largest controlled environment agricultural facilities. Since then, AppHarvest shares have plunged 70%. No, weve made some mistakes. WebGet Chad Hill's email address (c*****@appharvest.com) and phone number at RocketReach. 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.). more. 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. We use completely recycled rainwater. 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. My competition in Mexico, you have people getting paid $5 a day.
