Co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, Viraj Puri is on a mission to transform the way we approach our food system by growing greener foods in better ways. Through his work at Gotham Greens, Viraj and his team help to build and operate sustainable greenhouses in cities across America. Today, Viraj and Harry dive deep into the urban farming industry and why it is critical to educate a future workforce of engineers, scientists and farmers to ensure its continued success. They touch on Viraj’s inspiration for launching Gotham Greens, revitalizing communities and innovating for a sustainable future.
Thanks to Our SponsorsBio520
AgTech Weekly Review
Key Takeaways04:27 – Harry welcomes Co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, Viraj Puri, to discuss his circuitous path to vertical farming, clean technology, and the origin story of Gotham Greens
18:46 – Early lessons Viraj learned and where he gleaned inspiration along the way
22:01 – What Viraj would have done differently if given the chance
24:55 – Educating talented new engineers and farmers in the vertical farming industry
28:57 – A mission-driven organization
32:43 – Viraj reflects on his personal growth as a CEO and mentors who have helped him grow along the way
36:01 – What the future holds for Gotham Greens
40:24 – A tough question Viraj has asked himself recently and what excites him most about the future of vertical and urban farming
45:03 – Harry thanks Viraj for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can learn more about Gotham Greens
Tweetable Quotes“One can obviously deploy technology. But then one has to also ensure that there’s a captive marketplace for those goods and services.” (11:17) (Viraj)
“That’s what’s really cool about urban farming, broadly speaking, is that it touches on so many different socioeconomic themes such as public health, environmental education, urban planning. And then, of course, you can do it the way we do it. It’s much more commercial scale and a meaningful amount of food production and supply chain transformation.” (13:20) (Viraj)
“We were and continue to be a mission-driven organization that’s deeply rooted in this ethos of trying to make the world a better place and to use fewer resources to produce healthier food.” (24:30) (Viraj)
“I think that curiosity is a really important attribute or characteristic for strong leaders. And I think the fact that we built the business from the ground up has necessitated that sense of curiosity.” (34:00) (Viraj)
Resources MentionedGotham Greens Website – https://www.gothamgreens.com/
Gotham Greens Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/GothamGreens/
Gotham Greens LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/gotham-greens-farms/
Gotham Greens Twitter – https://twitter.com/gothamgreens/
Gotham Greens Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GothamGreens/
Viraj’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-puri/
Sponsor InfoCultivatd’s Website – https://cultivatd.com/
Cultivatd’s Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cultivatdco/
Cultivatd’s Twitter – https://twitter.com/cultivatd
Cultivatd’s Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/cultivatd/
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast
Virginia Goes All-In on Indoor Farming with Secretary of Agriculture Matt Lohr
S10E132 Shlomy Raziel / Growth Tech - From Kibbutz Fields to Vertical Farming Success
S10E131 Kaylee South / Virginia Tech - Sharing a Passion for CEA and Inspiring the Next Generation of Plant Scientists
S10E130 David Flynn / AmplifiedAg - Pioneering Vertical Farming and Tackling Food Deserts
S10E129 Whit Allen / SpectraGrow - From Turntables to Vertical Farms: The Rhythms of Innovation and Sustainability in Agriculture
S10E128 Katherine Soll / Teens for Food Justice - Building a Resilient Food Future & Growing Young Minds
S10E127 Rick Vanzura / Freight Farms - Buliding a Resilient Food Future & Collaborative Partners
S10E126 Alex Babich / Nuravine - Cultivating the Future: From Startup Entrepreneur to AI-Driven CEA Innovator
S10E125 Daniel Plant / Plant Dynamics - The Unconventional Path From the Armed Forces to AgTech Strategist
S10E124 Joe Swartz / AmHydro - The Evolution of Farming Through a Hydroponic Lens
S10E123 Viktor Kulcsar / Veles Farming - Growing Saffron in the Cradle of Civilization
S10E122 Felipe Hernandez / Hexagro - The Rise of Urban Aeroponics
S9E121 REPLAY Tristan Fischer / Fischer Farms - A Looming Food Crisis, Sustainability, & Building a Culture of Kindness
S9E120 Karla Garcia / Hort Americas - From Microgreens in Mexico to Educating New Indoor Farmers
S9E119 Jonah Krochmalnek / Microgreens Consulting - Turning Green: A Finance Graduate's Venture into Microgreens Farming
S9E118 Christopher Thomasen / Seasony - From Engineer to Entrepreneur: The Transformational Journey and The Vision for The Future of Vertical Farming
S9E117 Jessica Gómez de la Rosa / Origeen Greener Cities - Exploring the Rise of Vertical Farming in Mexico
S9E116 Cody Journell / Vegg, Inc. - Revolutionizing Vertical Farming & Supporting Local Farmers
S9E115: Neda Vaseghi / Microclimates - What Gets Measured Gets Managed in Vertical Farming
S9E114: Chris Rawley / Harvest Returns - Sustainability, Risk Management, & Investor Education in Vertical Farming
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Strange by Nature Podcast
Blurry Creatures
Bigfoot Eyewitness Radio
Bigfoot Society
My Bigfoot Sighting