Episode 56

S5E56: Transforming Local Produce, One Rooftop Greenhouse at a Time with Gotham Greens’ Viraj Puri

Episode Summary

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.

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Key Takeaways

04:27 – 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)