S3E39: Austin Webb - Transforming Modern Agriculture

Episode SummaryJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show, CEO and co-founder of Fifth Season, Austin Webb. Fifth Season is a consumer tech company and indoor farming pioneer with Carnegie Mellon University roots that is creating a new era of fresh foods. Its commercial-scale indoor vertical farms use proprietary robotics, AI, and smart operations technology to grow leafy greens and herbs at affordable prices year-round. Today, Harry and Austin talk about the origin story of Fifth Season, the relationship he has with the city of Braddock and how Austin initially got involved in vertical farming. Austin expounds on the concepts of smart manufacturing and pest pressure and speaks to the learning curve he’s experienced as a first-time CEO. Finally, Austin speaks to the mission of Fifth Season and what excites him most about his future endeavors.Episode SponsorCULTIVATDKey Takeaways03:14 – Harry welcomes to the show Austin Webb, who trends he’s noticed post-pandemic, his relationship with Carnegie Mellon University and the origin story of Fifth Season08:53 – Austin speaks to when he first got involved in vertical farming11:50 – How Fifth Season is applying robotics to the vertical farming industry16:27 – Austin reflects on some of the memorable challenges and obstacles Fifth Season overcame throughout its journey20:18 – Austin talks about Fifth Season’s accomplishment of achieving a 100% Food Safety Audit ranking25:32 – Austin explains what ‘pest pressure’ means28:21 – Austin talks about the relationship Fifth Season has with the city of Braddock and the impact they have had on the community34:44 – Austin speaks to the learning curve he’s experienced as a first-time CEO37:41 – A tough question Austin has had to ask himself recently38:07 – Harry thanks Austin for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can learn more about Fifth Season and connect with AustinTweetable Quotes“We wanted to create this whole new platform to really change the way we think about vertical farming, to therefore make it an economic reality today instead of just a pipe dream for the future.” (08:43) (Austin)“We don’t really consider ourselves a vertical farming company. We’re a new food system pioneer that’s creating a whole new era of fresh foods and we started that journey with vertical farming.” (19:18) (Austin)“The first Carnegie Library was in Braddock. So when you think of how we’re changing the way that we think about growing food and then creating this whole new consumer experience around changing the definition of what fresh food should taste like and making it fun again. And then creating this joy and delight around eating healthy because again you’re just creating this whole new category of fresh food and making it more ubiquitous and making it easier to eat healthier.” (29:37) (Austin)“It [the CEO role] is just a very hard job. And, you just...