Founder and CEO of CityCrop, Christos Raftogiannis, joins the show to share his passion for agriculture, how the Indoor AgTech industry has evolved in Greece, and the challenge of assembling a team to take on the complexities of vertical farming. Today, Harry and Christos engage in a discussion on what inspired Christos to launch CityCrop, how Christos has grown as a founder and the work CityCrop is doing to modernize and democratize farming as key to a healthier and greener living.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

07:13 – Harry welcomes to the show, Christos Raftogiannis, who talks about his passion for agriculture and how he got involved in hydroponics and vertical farming

14:09 – The inspiration to launch CityCrop and customer feedback on early prototypes

18:52 – How Christos approaches building a team to tackle a myriad of problems

20:22 – How Christos has grown as a founder and leader and how he decides what products CityCrop offers

24:29 – Challenges of growing tobacco indoors

25:50 – Christos reflects on his experience with The Hellenic Initiative and The Venture Impact Awards

27:28 – The evolution of indoor farming in Greece

29:57 – Christos’ plans for expansion

33:20 – The importance of educating younger generations on the possibilities of vertical farming

37:26 – What motivates and drives Christos

39:28 – A specific ask Christos has for the audience

41:39 – Harry thanks Christos for joining the show and lets listeners know wher they can connect with him and learn more about CityCrop

“In Greece, the universities don’t encourage the entrepreneurial mindset in their students. To study something and then go out alone to work on something is not viewed as a good thing.” (11:46) (Christos)

“I think I’ve grown through my mistakes because it was my first venture where I didn’t know a lot about manufacturing, software, field work, how you can combine everything. I think I learned a lot [as a new founder].” (20:42) (Christos)

“In every competition with a lot of different companies in different sectors...you start realizing that you’re creating something that has value and that you’ve done something right this time.” (26:53) (Christos)

“When you are young you learn and you accept things easier than an older person.” (33:55) (Christos)

“One of the biggest things [that keeps me motivated] is the climate crisis. We need to keep growing and grow closer to our cities. I strongly believe that our technology can help people to start growing closer to their homes. This is the main thing that pushes us to work harder and harder every day.” (37:52) (Christos)

Christos’ Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisraftogiannis/?originalSubdomain=gr

CityCrop – https://www.citycrop.io/

CityCrop Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/citycrop

CityCrop Twitter – https://twitter.com/citycrop

CityCrop Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/citycrop/

CityCrop LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/citycrop/

CityCrop YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_wECFeSwvQRhxTeag2ndbA

The Hellenic Initiative – https://www.thehellenicinitiative.org/

The Venture Impact Awards – https://ventureimpactaward.com/

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Founder and Chief Content Director of From Farms to Incubators, Amy Wu joins the show today to share her mission of highlighting women in food, farming, and farmtech, especially women of color. Amy is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and award-winning writer for the women’s ag and agtech movement. Today, Amy speaks to the work she’s doing to tell the stories of women innovators and leaders in agrifoodtech. Amy reflects on her time as an investigative journalist, breaks down current issues such as food security, inflation and supply chain, and speaks to the power of representation.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

07:13 – Harry welcomes to the show, Amy Wu, who shares the story of her journey and what led her to a path of writing about women innovators in AgTech

12:29 – Reflecting on her time as an investigative journalist and how Amy got involved in AgTech

18:32 – Covid, food security, inflation and supply chain

20:11 – A passion for making a difference and the inspiration to make a documentary

24:22 – Why there aren’t more women in AgTech

29:43 – Harry and Amy speak to what they learned during Indoor AgTech NYC

33:24 – The power of representation and telling untold stories

38:59 – What goes into creating a documentary

41:54 – Amy expounds on the work she’s doing at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub

43:54 – Making food and farming sexy

48:19 – Three asks Amy has for the audience and where listeners can learn more about Farms to Incubators

“I felt strongly about giving voice to communities and to stories that just were not told. And the reason they’re not told, I find often, is because maybe the mass media isn’t interested in them immediately or it’s just too esoteric.” (13:28) (Amy)

“A lot of them were in their twenties and early thirties at the time and these smart women were from science, technology, engineering and math and were passionate about tackling issues related to climate and sustainability. And also, some of them were frustrated with working at companies where their ideas were just not being allowed to get out there, so they just thought, ‘Why don’t I hang my own shingle?’ So, I just thought it was a really good time to introduce this. I didn’t know what it would become.” (22:06) (Amy)

“The thirty women in my book are a community of their own, and each one of them has said, ‘I want to connect with the other women.’ And from there, it kind of snowballs, right? So, I strongly believe that networking and community is critical.” (26:08) (Amy)

“I think it’s so critical - what you said about that love and joy and passion - to be connected to the land. And also just seeing something that you produced. People put a lot of hard work into their gardens.” (33:03) (Amy)

“The work at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub truly aligns with my mission and vision to use agriculture as a platform to make a positive difference in society.” (42:16) (Amy)

“Absolutely that’s the message that I’m trying to get across that food and farming can be sexy.” (44:45) (Amy)

Amy’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amywu128/

Amy’s Email – [email protected]

From Farms to Incubators – https://www.farmstoincubators.com/

From Farms to Incubators Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/farmstoincubators/

From Farms to Incubators Twitter – https://twitter.com/FarmToIncubator

From Farms to Incubators Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FarmstoIncubators/

From Farms to Incubators Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/user86133226

Books Mentioned:

From Farms to Incubators – From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food Is Grown

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Co-Founder at Ekonoke, Inés Sagrario, joins the show to share her eclectic background, including her time at The Cluster Competitiveness Group, and the work she’s currently doing at Ekonoke, a sustainable indoor farming start-up. Ekonoke develops knowledge and technology to produce great quality hops year-round with significantly lower water and carbon footprint. Today, Harry and Inés talk about their shared experience as startup entrepreneurs, the power of strategic analysis, and how the indoor AgTech industry is evolving. Inés shares the growth cycle of hops, her passion for sustainability, and her special relationship with her co-founder, Ana.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

07:13 – Harry welcomes to the show, Inés Sagrario, who talks about the Rioja wine region of Spain and her experience living in ten different countries

15:54 – A passion for sustainability

17:33 – Inés reflects on her time working at The Cluster Competitiveness Group, and the power of strategic analysis

20:26 – The accidental entrepreneur and the genesis of Ekonoke

27:06 – The impact the global pandemic had on Ekonoke

30:59 – Inés speaks to her relationship with her co-founder (and cousin) Ana

33:00 – One final pivot to growing hops indoors

42:44 – The growth cycle of hops

44:08 – A touch question Inés has had to ask herself recently

48:23 – Future endeavors for Ekonoke

52:01 – Harry thanks Inés for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can connect with Ines and learn more about Ekonoke

“Competitiveness, for me, was the school of my life. I had brilliant bosses. The Founder and the other founder partner at that time were amazing in terms of strategic analysis. Everything I know about strategic analysis I learned from them.” (18:33) (Inés)

“So, when we started with the vertical gardens at the restaurants, we were growing in a greenhouse with the ZipGrow Towers. We’d grow the leafy greens or the herbs to be ready for harvest and then we would take them in the ZipGrow Tower and set them up at the in-store or in-restaurant garden. The truth is, I think we were a bit too advanced for the market in Spain at that time, and they weren’t ready to pay a premium for that. So, they used it more as a Marketing thing for decoration.” (22:54) (Inés)

“From March 2020 onwards, over the next three months, we managed to secure different business angels that we’d been talking to. Everything we’d been explaining about how it’s important to redefine the food system, and stop having all this food travel thousands of kilometers, but rather have the knowledge and the technology travel instead, it just made sense.” (27:52) (Inés)

“Our plan right now is to grow globally. We want to handle a really large market. And, even though right now we’re a local startup in Madrid, we want to make sure that we establish all the controls, procedures, and processes from the beginning that will allow us to grow quickly and to scale at the level that we aim at scaling.” (32:37) (Inés)

“Basically what we want to bring is climate resiliency to a crop [hops] that will eventually disappear if we don’t do anything about it.” (41:56) (Inés)

Inés’ Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/inessagrario/?originalSubdomain=es

Rioja Wine Region of Spain – https://winetourismspain.com/wine-regions/rioja/

Ekonoke – https://www.ekonoke.com/

Ekonoke LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/ekonoke/

Ekonoke Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ekonoke_/

Ekonoke Twitter – https://twitter.com/ekonoke_

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Founder and CEO of VegBed, Albert Lin joins the show today to share the work he’s doing to create a better and easier way to use growing medium for the hydroponic community. Albert speaks to his experience as an early stage startup operations expert, the entrepreneurial mindset he has cultivated and the biggest piece of advice he would give to founders.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

07:13 – Harry welcomes back Founder of Vegbed, Albert Lin, to share his vertical farming origin story

14:40 – A values-based founder and why Agriculture is such a passion for Albert

18:38 – Going All-In: Albert’s entrepreneurial mindset

23:17 – The biggest piece of advice Albert would give to founders

26:37 – The origin story of VegBed, the connection to rockwool, and what consumers VegBed targets

33:32 – Other areas of vertical farming Albert is looking to expand VegBed and the biggest opportunity Albert sees

38:34 – Mentors who have been critical to Albert’s success

39:57 – A tough question Albert has had to ask himself recently

43:13 – An ask Albert has for the audience

43:56 – Harry thanks Albert for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can follow VegBed

“A lot of the issues I think we’re having with health in the U.S. and society and global warming can be addressed in a multifaceted way through Agriculture.” (15:03) (Albert)

“For me, I felt like it would be a disservice to [my parents], who came to this country for a better life for my sister and myself, just to do a nine-to-five job.” (19:27) (Albert)

“One of the failures that happens I think with most entrepreneurs is they think if they build it people will come. And that’s the number one mistake. They spend all this time and money. They build this thing; they create this product. And then nobody wants it, or downloads it, or buys it.” (23:41) (Albert)

“So bamboo itself, when you look at the growth chart, it grows exponentially faster as time grows on. I think within the first month it grows six to twelve inches a day and then after one month it starts growing more than a foot a day.” (32:27) (Albert)

“Ninety-eight percent of the lettuce that’s grown in the U.S. is grown in California or Arizona. And, when you think of it, does it really have to be that way?” (42:28) (Albert)

Albert’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertlin17/

Albert’s Email – [email protected]

Vegbed – https://www.vegbed.com/

Vegbed Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vegbed/

Vegbed YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUntJYZh_PPof2csWmqXEdw/featured

Vegbed Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/vegbed

Green Tech – https://www.greentech.nl/

Link Tree – https://linktr.ee/

Books Mentioned:

The Mom Test – https://www.momtestbook.com/

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Founder and CEO of HRVSTS, Ali Daniali joins the show today to share his engineering background, the origin story of HRVSTS and the importance of supporting and promoting small farming both domestically and abroad. Today, Harry and Ali discuss decentralizing the food distribution network, some big wins HRVSTS was able to achieve recently and advice Ali would give to first-time farmers.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

07:13 – Harry welcomes back Founder and CEO of HRVSTS, Ali Daniali, to discuss what he got out of the latest Indoor AgTech Conference in NYC 

12:27 – Ali’s background prior to HRVSTS and taking an engineering approach to AgTech 

21:37 – The idea behind the ‘Sold Before You Sell It’ mantra

23:02 – Decentralizing food distribution and challenges Ali faced 

29:46 – Indoor farming as a service and the variety of services available 

35:21 – Ali recalls latest wins from HRVSTS 

40:30 – Advice Ali would give to first-time farmers 

43:26 – A tough question Ali has had to ask himself recently 

46:19 – Harry thanks Ali for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can follow HRVSTS 

47:02 – An ask Ali has for the audience 

“Scale becomes this thing where everybody needs to scale up. And, because of that, we leave behind a lot of conversations about small and medium-sized growers. We leave behind conversations about food service and other ways of distribution of food.” (10:40) (Ali)

“What I had learned from those interviews was that the grower who had a relationship with a buyer and could pre-sell their crop - two crops ahead of time, all their crops ahead of time - they were the ones who were being successful in their process.” (16:31) (Ali) 

“That model is very susceptible to breaking and it’s not very resilient. We have created these very efficient distribution models that can even come over to the next one when there’s a problem. You have to bury food because you can’t move it from one distribution network to the other. And, with crypto and all these other types of technologies and the conversation about decentralization, the question was,’Can we decentralize our food distribution as well?’” (23:02) (Ali) 

“I think this is the time right now to bring small farming back to the U.S. and across the world. We lost them because of WWII. Big Ag became this monster to be able to feed and commoditize agriculture. I think we need to fix that. And the way you do that is with indoor growing.” (38:02) (Ali) 

“There’s so much produce being eaten in the U.S. and abroad that the pie is huge. We just gotta get in the door with these buyers and tell them, ‘You can have a bespoked order, exactly to your specifications using this indoor farm as a service and have the highest quality, locally grown, with no pesticides.” (42:36) (Ali) 

HRVSTS – https://hrvsts.com/ 

HRVSTS Twitter – https://twitter.com/hrvsts 

Ali’s Email – [email protected] 

Ali’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alidaniali/ 

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Founder and CEO of Contain and recurring guest, Nicola Kerslake joins the show today to discuss three exciting and innovative areas of AgTech she and her team at Contain are focusing on currently. Nicola touches on a new microlearning platform they’ve launched, the importance of diversifying revenue streams and what trends she’s noticing in the overall AgTech industry.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Indoor AgTech NYC

07:13 – Harry welcomes back Founder and CEO of Contain, Nicola Kerslake, to discuss innovative and exciting new areas of focus for Contain

13:02 – Rooted, a microlearning platform

18:46 – Trends Nicola has observed about the AgTech industry recently

21:50 – Crop diversity and shifting demands

23:45 – Contain’s growth, growth trajectory and future challenges Nicola anticipates

28:13 – The importance of diversifying revenue streams

31:48 – Solar energy, cryptocurrency and speculating on the future of capital

37:57 – Nicola’s involvement in Venture Capital and lessons she’s learned

40:40 – An ask Nicola has for the audience

42:07 – Harry thanks Nicola for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can follow Nicola, Contain, Equipped and Rooted

“So, our expectation was that we would do a lot of container farms. What we found is that anything that helps to offset labor is really popular. So any kind of seeding or automatic harvesting equipment, anything along those lines goes very quickly.” (10:50) (Nicola)

“We’ll never be satisfied with where we’re at. We’re always looking three steps down the road.” (12:18) (Nicola)

“One big trend on the vendor side is European vendors wanting to do more in the U.S. The other is we do, and always have had inquiries from all over the world and so we do, on occasion, look at European deals and some parts of Asia as well. The challenge is how do we make sure that we can give them the same level of service that we could to a U.S. farmer.” (21:25) (Nicola)

“The interesting thing that we’re seeing though is that, even though the economy is obviously not doing great, AgTech and agriculture as a whole has never been hotter. Arguably, this is a really good time to actually start something because you have a shot at getting contracts that you probably wouldn’t have gotten three or four years ago.” (27:34) (Nicola)

“Any successful industry has an ecosystem around it. Our guiding principle is always, ‘How are we of service to the industry?’” (31:03) (Nicola)

“That’s something that we think about. Do you have to be the largest company to be successful?” (37:19) (Nicola)

Contain – https://contain.ag/

Contain Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/containag/

Contain Twitter – https://twitter.com/containag

Contain LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/contain/

Contain’s Email – [email protected]

Equipped – https://equipped.farm/

Rooted – https://rooted.global/

Nicola’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolakerslake/

Nicola’s Website – https://www.agshowcase.com/

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Founder and CEO of Vertical Future, Jamie Burrows is a passionate leader with extensive knowledge of the indoor AgTech space. Vertical Future is the world’s leading vertical farming technology and research company, providing revolutionary products and services that enable people and nature to thrive. Today, Harry and Jamie talk about Jamie’s passion for health, life sciences, and addressing critical issues like climate change, food inequalities and population health. Jamie expounds on his leadership style, the focus and mission of Vertical Future, and key milestones he’s reached along the journey.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Indoor AgTech NYC

07:14 – Harry welcomes Founder and CEO of Vertical Future, Jamie Burrows, to discuss culture shock, his eclectic background, and his experience serving in the Air Force

14:17 – Jamie’s passion for health and life sciences and how he got involved in vertical farming

16:57 – Leadership styles and building an effective team as a first time CEO

24:45 – Key milestones of Jamie’s vertical farming journey

30:57 – The importance of developing in-house tech stack

37:31 – Jamie’s specific focus on the UK

47:19 – A tough question Jamie has had to ask himself recently and

50:53 – What keeps Jamie motivated and excited about the future

53:31 – Harry thanks Jamie for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can follow Jamie and Vertical Future

“Looking back seven to ten years, I’d had a tremendous amount of exposure to what a good leader is and what a bad leader is at the Air Force Academy. I saw many examples and was mentored personally by Colonels.” (17:31) (Jamie)

“The unit economics of vertical farming demand that it’s all about space and scale. And, if you want to compete then you need big farms and you need a lot of capital.” (20:37) (Jamie)

“I think that on our side of the equation, you’ve got the growers over here and the tech providers over here. You have a lot of companies that are building street components. So it might just be lights and great lighting companies. But then you’ve got what I would call systems integrators, where they’ll piecemeal tech from different people, position it as a system of their own, and sell it.” (31:12) (Jamie)

“I think people underappreciate that, even in the UK, we still need to spend a helluva lot of money on building out vertical farming.” (40:06) (Jamie)

“From a personal standpoint, I do really believe in the fact that what we are doing is addressing very important topics and will continue to.” (51:16) (Jamie)

Vertical Future – https://verticalfuture.com/

Jamie’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-burrows-12890817/?originalSubdomain=uk

Vertical Future Email – [email protected]

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

Founder and CEO of KETOS, Meena Sankaran joins the show to discuss her passion for leveraging disruptive technologies to make an impact as a social entrepreneur. KETOS is a vertically integrated water intelligence platform that is on a mission to transform how water operators measure, manage, and forecast water quality.

Today, Harry and Meena talk about Meena’s inspirational immigration story, launching W.IN.S (Women INner Strength), and her passion for doing good and solving existential problems.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Indoor AgTech NYC

07:14 – Harry welcomes Founder and CEO of KETOS, Meena Sankaran, to discuss where she calls home, her experience with culture shock, and her hunger and fire to do better

17:19 – Meena reflects on her background in electrical engineering and the culture of entrepreneurism

25:26 – The concept of ‘Help and Let Help Live’

30:18 – The inspiration to launch Women INner Strength (W.IN.S)

33:49 – The origin story of KETOS and understanding water intelligence

48:26 – Challenges and wins for Meena and KETOS

57:14 – How Meena has grown as a leader and entrepreneur

59:02 – Harry thanks Meena for joining the show and Meena makes a specific ask of the audience

“I think for me [what called me to the States was] the drive to make my parents’ lives better, the hunger within me to collectively make the world a better place for India.” (11:32) (Meena)

“I would say the ideation process, to me, is the most intriguing part, because people have millions of ideas. An idea isn’t worth a penny unless you can execute on it.” (21:12) (Meena)

“I truly believe that women are such strong souls and you have so much inner strength that is untapped. And, if we are able to uplift each other, we would be unstoppable.” (32:19) (Meena)

“What I was doing was really thinking through my mind of what is it that I want to do? Which area do I really want to dive in? And that was getting narrower and narrower. And, it actually came back to my childhood because I looked at what areas are going to make an impact and I thought it had to be in the space of water, air or food. It had to be that important of a challenge in terms of serving the community and solving a real challenge that’s affecting the planet.” (34:25) (Meena)

“I believe that regardless of the outcome of where your startup ends up, it doesn’t matter, because what your experience and what your journey has been is so unique to you that no other job could have ever given you that experience.” (38:34) (Meena)

“It’s a humbling experience every step of the way, what you think you know versus what you think you don’t know. You don’t even know what you don’t know. That has been a humbling experience.” (57:26) (Meena)

KETOS – https://ketos.co/

Meena’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenas/

Meena’s Twitter – https://twitter.com/Meena_Sankaran

W.IN.S (Women INner Strength) Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1580822015497755/

Visalur, India – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visalur

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

CEO of Indoor Ag-Con, Brian Sullivan joins the show to share his years of experience in event management and what led him to acquire Indoor Ag-Con, the premier trade show & conference for indoor vertical farming & controlled environment agriculture. Today, Harry and Brian discuss the highs and lows of the events industry, the resilience Brian showed throughout the course of the pandemic, and the importance Brian places on problem-solving and fostering a familial-type culture among his team.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Indoor AgTech NYC

07:14 – Harry welcomes CEO of Indoor Ag-Con, Brian Sullivan, to discuss their shared love of New York City, how Brian got into the events industry and his path to entrepreneurship

18:11 – Brian reflects on two major snags he’s experienced while putting on trade shows

21:44 – Acquiring Indoor Ag-Con and Brian’s vertical farming origin story

25:17 – What Brian looks for in an event before deciding to acquire it

33:34 – Gathering input on how to grow, change, and make it better

36:44 – Brian speaks to some of his favorite moments from event management

43:36 – Brian shares what he learned about resilience and leadership throughout Covid

48:29 – Where Brian learned his resilience and why fostering familial support is so important

52:33 – Harry thanks Brian for joining the show and Brian makes a specific ask of the audience

“I fell in love with the [events] industry. It really is Lights, Camera, Action. It’s buildup and it’s creating something again and again. There’s always a twist. There’s always excitement. And business is transacted there.” (12:49) (Brian)

“Connors Exhibition Group was the company I worked for. And the show I was brought onto was the National Hardware Show. It was actually the third-largest trade show in North America. I got a lot of experience but then I left honestly because it was very corporate. My wife was working in the same industry which is how we met. And we saw an opportunity to try to start a little company, and it worked.” (13:55) (Brian)

“For me, it’s fun. I can’t see myself ever doing anything else. It gets in your blood and it’s a lot of fun producing events.” (21:03) (Brian)

“If you’re building a farm, in my mind, where do you start? Do you start at building it or do you start on who your customer is going to be? Are you selling it to a restaurant? Are you going direct-to-consumer? Are you going to grocers?” (32:53) (Brian)

“There are two things I say to our teams at times. ‘If we run into a problem, it’s not the problem. It’s how you resolve it.’ And I also tell them, ‘The road to success is not a superhighway. It’s a goat path.’” (45:22) (Brian)

“I believe the best learning moments are when things go wrong.” (47:57) (Brian)

Indoor Ag-Con – https://indoor.ag/

Brian’s Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-sullivan-13b3651a/

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com

CEO and Founder of VoltServer, Stephen Eaves joins the show to share over twenty years of experience in the energy industry and his passion for doing things that have never been done before. Stephen is an expert in battery management, power electronics and energy infrastructure and has fifteen patents issued or pending related to energy storage and power conversion. Today, Harry and Stephen talk about the origin story of VoltServer and the technology behind digital electricity. Stephen shares his thoughts on areas where digital electricity can benefit vertical farming, what the future holds for both industries and what the future holds for high-tech power distribution.

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Indoor AgTech NYC

07:14 – Harry welcomes CEO and Founder of VoltServer, Stephen Eaves, to talk about his entrepreneurial background and his passion for doing things that have never been done before

14:40 – Edison, Tesla, and Eaves

19:40 – Mentors who inspired and helped Stephen along his journey

20:48 – Digital electricity and the origin story of VoltServer

25:05 – Consumer and industry response

30:04 – How Stephen got involved in vertical farming

33:58 – Other areas of vertical farming that VoltServer can benefit

38:20 – The reaction of the electricians’ community and what’s on the horizon for VoltServer and digital electricity technology

43:48 – Opportunities Stephen sees in the vertical farming and indoor AgTech space

48:06 – A tough question Stephen has had to ask himself recently and an ask Stephen has for the audience

51:26 – What has Stephen excited about the future of VoltServer

52:23 – Harry thanks Stephen for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can learn more about VoltServer

“I’ve always had a passion or an obsession to do things that have never been done before - things that are uniquely different.” (12:54) (Stephen)

“For me it’s just a lot of hard work. I wouldn’t say I’m in the category of what they call the flash of genius or flash of inspiration. It’s mainly about looking at problems and finding an un-thought of way to solve a problem that hasn’t been thought of before.” (17:26) (Stephen)

“There’s nothing like digital electricity. There’s nothing out there where you can touch wires and it knows the difference between you and a vacuum cleaner or something like that.” (21:37) (Stephen)

“We see this type of electricity being the next thing in electricity that will displace full AC infrastructure in buildings and probably cities. But it will take a while before it goes to long- distance transmission and things like that.” (29:48) (Stephen)

“The sort of the black eye in vertical farming is the electricity use. And, if electricity is created using carbon-based sources, that’s not good. I think the big movement is going to be as we move towards carbon-free energy sources.” (45:06) (Stephen)

VoltServer – https://voltserver.com/

VoltServer YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzpGyIlBXwD3l8PNRjFj4sw/featured

VoltServer Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/voltserver_indoor_ag/

VoltServer LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/voltserver-inc-/

Stephen’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-eaves-47869a33/

Cultivatd’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/

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Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast

Mentioned in this episode:

AgTech Companies

https://agtechcompanies.com