Former Blue Apron COO At AgTech Hackathon | CEO of Chobani Talks About Purpose

Plus: Meet The HBCU Alums On The Biden-Harris Campaign

As a guest commentator this week for the Under 30 newsletter during the 2020 Forbes AgTech+ Under 30 weekend Hackathons, I am reminded of my time as cofounder of Ube Kitchen, a plant-based startup—now closed due to the pandemic—inside a 10x10 tent along with dozens of other food makers at the outdoor Smorgasburg food markets in New York City. Running the business also meant building relationships with farmers for the best ingredients. I'd witness their drive to innovate, especially at Farm.One for the shocking tastes from microgreens, herbs and flowers grown vertically and hydropincally. The network of farmers became like family when I would call a Miami dragon fruit supplier who shared her stories for protecting her fruits during hurricanes and then speaking to her mother, who owned a distribution center in Manhattan, about distributing fresh produce quickly to me and others in New York City.

Six years ago, Forbes began convening founders for its AgTech Summits trying to tackle some of agriculture’s biggest problems: irrigation hardware engineered to beat drought, biotechnology startups cultivating future cash crops, and apps harnessing big data and AI to predict bad weather. 

Fast forward to last weekend where a small team of Forbes 30 Under 30 list members gathered and took the first steps towards creating a new kind of investment vehicle, powered by blockchain, which will help many independent micro-farms not resort to using state lenders and expensive farm banks or agriculture lenders. Other break-out teams also sought to develop new ways to improve the future of food and agriculture in Indiana.

This week, Chloe Sorvino, will be interviewing former Blue Apron COO and cofounder Matt Wadiak’s new business that is the only vertically integrated chicken producer in the country without ties to the two globally consolidated companies responsible for 99% of America’s chicken. Next week will feature Rachel Drori, Founder and CEO Daily Harvest about how the coronavirus pandemic has given millions of Americans a reason to love their freezer again. That’s good news for this five-year-old startup that’s looking to reinvent the frozen food aisle.

Do you want more Forbes coverage about AgTech? Click here to instantly become an early subscriber of our future newsletter covering food and farming.

Must Read Stories For Young Innovators

In 2018, Grammy award-winning singer The Weeknd, Forbes 2017 30 Under 30 honoree La Mar Taylor and Influencers PR founder Ahmed Ismail launched Hxouse, a Toronto-based incubator for young creatives. Now the trio is setting its sights on elevating Canada’s underrepresented talent with the launch of an entrepreneurial development and mentorship initiative called Black Hxouse. 

The Pursuit

This week's collection of expert tips from Forbes contributors around the world for those building and running a business. Click to sign up instantly for The Pursuit, a biweekly essential briefing by Senior Entrepreneurs Editor Maneet Ahuja.

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