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. Moser: Yeah. 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. Jonathan was named one the Top 30 Most Influential Lawyers in Washingtonians 2018 list upon graduation. AppHarvest is an indoor farming company, so has massive greenhouses How excited are you to bring that Root AI company in their leadership into your family? We're a public benefit corporation, and we're B Corp certified. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Project Access offers ESL/ESL classes, after school programs, and computer literacy. We want to make sure you get the most out of our platform. Everybody has full healthcare. 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. "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. Jonathan Webb was born on 24 August 1963, in London, England. You mentioned your children. No, weve made some mistakes. 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. You said that we're a technology company working to disrupt agriculture. Its flagship facility is a 60-acre indoor farm in Morehead, a town of 8,000 in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and it solely uses rainwater for its irrigation. WebThe combined company will be led by Jonathan Webb, AppHarvests Founder & Chief Executive Officer. 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. The fired Google engineer who thought its A.I. 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. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Jonathan Webb is the largest individual Appharvest shareholder, owning 20.54M shares representing 19.04% of the company. Look at how many times in the last few years you've had leafy greens yanked off store shelves. You came public a lot sooner or probably that you would have had the opportunity to even 10 years ago. ET More on the future of agriculture and vertical farming innovator 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. That's how quickly the energy industry shifted. We can have all the technological tools in the world, but at the end of the day we have to put people at the center of the equation.. Follow him on Twitter to get more updates. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. 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. He represented his country in 33 Test matches and played for Bristol and Bath. We're investing in our workforce. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*. 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. 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. He also received his medical license from Minnesota. Webb: Well, the last great technological revolution in American farming is really when the tractor was introduced. 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. 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. Learn More. Later, in 1993, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he completed his LLM. WebJonathan Webb, AppHarvest Inc: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Leaders with Lacqua:Mark Read WPP CEO Bloomberg Radio Meet the 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. $157M Today's Change (-7.84%) -$0.08 Current Price $0.94 Price as of March 1, 2023, 1:16 p.m. Sustainable investor Equilibrium Maintaining that inclusive work culture, especially since he works in agriculture, is incredibly important to Webb, who aims to do everything from a place of empathy and considers his employees to be his first customers. Webb: The industry is at an inflection point. 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. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising around $36.2 billion as of last month. Youre reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fools Premium Investing Services. He has over 100 civil and criminal jury trials and has represented clients in counties across Georgia. Were building important stuff with long-standing value, so the Great Resignation has actually helped us acquire talent.. 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. PIPE deals effectively allow institutional investors to buy larger quantities of public company stock, typically at a discount to public market prices. Eventually, he found the right problem to solve. 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. Webb is a consistent presence at the companys flagship greenhouse in Morehead. WebInside is a tightly controlled environment that uses 90% less water than open-field agriculture and only rainwater to produce crop yields up to 30 times that of traditional Did we help them reach their goals? Moser: Well, you said it on the call. He is also becoming more involved with green shipping and is a council member of the London Shipping Law Centre. What's your competitive advantages or something you feel differentiates you from your competition? But the journey hasnt been without pitfalls. We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. It is a non-profit organization that provides education and social services to low-income residents living in low-income apartments. For example, we use integrated pest management, good pest to kill bad pest. David and Tom just revealed what they believe are theten best stocks for investors to buy right now and Walmart wasn't one of them! We can better understand what product we are going to have available? Almost every company in the coal industry has gone bankrupt over the last 10 years. That narrow focus on societal good is what has kept AppHarvest fully staffed throughout the pandemic. The agriculture-tech startup raised $250,000 in its first round of seed capital in February 2018, AppHarvest CEO and founder Jonathan Webb told Insider. 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. 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. Yes, maybe we're paying marginally more in the short-term, but that workforce is the one that's beating production targets daily. Karrie, on the other hand, has not disclosed her salary or income. What's that Harvest's secret sauce? Moser: I guess you're saying, and a lot of us would agree, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Founder & CEO at AppHarvest. According to Webb, going public has helped the company focus on the big picture. We had 22 meetings and had almost 20 yeses. Very few passed on this deal and we eventually had to cancel meetings.. This is a BETA experience. We'll head down here and then I would start or I would end with what I started with. 20years ago it was renewable energy. I was hoping maybe we could talk a little bit about that idea that you're farmers and futurists. I fundamentally do not think its a tradeoff. 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. You start to do the math, and realize you might need two planet earths to have enough land and water to grow that food.. Use our online form to book an appointment with Dr. Webb. Webb made a second appearance for England, and reached the final. But if you look at the world, China and India account for 40% of the world's population. "For us, at AppHarvest, this isn't just about a company. Then we'll be able to give that data over to the grocer in more real-time. By us running on completely recycled rainwater, we have no water cost. We're laser-focused on getting this right here. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Are we perfect? By the end of next year, well quadruple that. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. Moser: Yeah, I'd tell you, I think you're right. The same way there won't be one energy company powering the world. "Tech for good the consumer wants it. In light of the challenges AppHarvest has faced in its early stages, Webb expressed hope that younger generations like Gen Z and millennials would continue to innovate and "fight through" any obstacles in their way. Webb: We could not be more excited. We have a phenomenal team of sustainability experts. You've had fast-food chains, that is one of the biggest risk to a grocer is the paranoia and being terrified of where that product is being grown. We've had record amounts of rainfall. Director recently sold US$216k worth of stock Nov 24 AppHarvest, Inc. 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 For us, we're looking at metrics, how can we be more sustainable? Our team is built to scale and you look at where we're at today, we've launched our first facility. 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. It means being a little bit more upfront with your investors. 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. I feel like with AppHarvest, at least, my takeaway, I found a lot of things that make you all special. 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. This is becoming really a hot-button topic for a lot of investors, rightly so. Your email address will not be published. Look at the open fields in Mexico. You have labor concerns. In the same year, he scored his second try after just 23 seconds. That lowers transportation costs by 75%, allowing AppHarvest's fresher produce to better compete against low-cost foreign imports. Remember, you can always reach out to us on Twitter at @MFIndustryFocus, or drop us an email at [emailprotected] As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. 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." Webb was also the first LPGA player to win $1 million in a single season, finishing first on the year-end money list. Required fields are marked *. They have 10% of the world's freshwater. AppHarvest. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. 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. The Motley Fool recommends AppHarvest, Inc. It's the workforce that we're going to use to grow the organization. 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. AppHarvest raised over $475 million in a public IPO, but it is not over. Linked companies : AppHarvest, Inc. Summary. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services. Appharvest has I have a 16 and then going on 15-year-old daughters. I asked on a call earlier today, well, have you had issues hiring people? Webb: Well, we built the company from day one. We always talk about investing for the future because that's really what investing is all about. 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. 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There are many sources of information on Jonathan Webbs networth. 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. No. "The public market needs to have a robust category of companies that are building stuff that matters," he stressed. I mean I'm glad you keyed on the fact this is a global situation, it's a global issue. But really its water and food first. Age : 37. One of AppHarvest's mobile units ready to fight the food fight, outside of AppHarvest's offices in [+] Lexington, Kentucky, If we cant treat people with dignity and respect who put food on our table, where do we think humanity is going to end up? All rights reserved. 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. What is AppHarvest to you? Also referred to as blank check companies, the mechanism has existed for several years but has received increased attention of late. Going down, scanning the plant, pest, is there a disease, brightness? He is a senior partner in the shipping litigation practice group, focusing on hull insurance claims, charter party disputes, and dry shipping issues. We have one farm right now thats 2.8 million square feet. 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.). We're one of four companies that are publicly traded that have both of those as a company. I pay attention to my kids. more. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. I've tried to say, we have a team that looks at this as this is our 30-year journey here at AppHarvest. But for us, it's not a back-and-forth, it's not OK, well, I'm going to invest in an ESG company and I'm going to sacrifice profitability. Offers may be subject to change without notice. But being true to our ESG values, we think it is a competitive advantage and going to make us more competitive in the years to come.