You have climate disruption. Is that drought going to impact yield and you don't end up being able to get product to the grocery store? If I can sell you a grocer, a product at around the same price, what are we solving for? We could've raised capital privately on the balance sheet and kept building. We can get to 70% of the U.S. in a one-day drive. He has also held roles in movies and television series. Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told AFN. Location: Pikeville, KY. Add to My Lists. Its flagship facility is a 60-acre indoor farm in Morehead, a town of 8,000 in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and it solely uses rainwater for its irrigation. Growing up in Appalachia, Jonathan Webb watched the slow decline of the coal industry firsthand. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. AppHarvest reaffirms guidance on full-year 2021 net revenue of $21 million and Adjusted EBITDA of ($41) million provided during its Analyst Day presentation on December 15, 2020. After serving as an assistant public defender in Marylands Office of the Public Defender, Webb joined Ethridge Quinn for 2020. Let's prove to the world what we're doing through results and even that, our first quarterly earnings call today, there's a level of rigor that you're acquired through the public markets. Before founding AppHarvest, Jonathan worked with the U.S. Department of Defense on the largest solar project in the Southeastern United States. I graduated from the University of Kentucky. AppHarvest is an indoor farming company, so has massive greenhouses AppHarvest raised over $475 million in a public IPO, but it is not over. Again, if we look at agriculture, there's a lot of trouble in our current agriculture system and we can use ESG metrics to clean up our food supply and create better food systems. We're building infrastructure in an area of the country where we're having record amounts of rainfall, and if you look at the climate maps, we continue to get wetter. We're ramping up and scaling quickly. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. Get 5 free searches. Are you going to have drought? There's going to be a lot of companies hopefully working to solve our food and agriculture problems. We just have to keep our head down and execute and do our job every day here at AppHarvest. Webb: We could not be more excited. All Rights Reserved. You mentioned your children. Webb is from Kentucky, where 16% of residents are Follow him on Twitter to get more updates. These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. "For us, being transparent with not only the consumer, but having that transparency of a public company as we build a large global food company, we think the long-term benefits are great.". Were investing heavily Making the world smarter, happier, and richer. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. When he says sustainable, he doesnt just mean that in an environmental sense. Most countries in the Middle East import nearly all of their fruit and vegetables. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising. Jonathan was named one the Top 30 Most Influential Lawyers in Washingtonians 2018 list upon graduation. I mean, all of the stuff that you just talked about really does matter. He has many impressive accomplishments. PIPE deals effectively allow institutional investors to buy larger quantities of public company stock, typically at a discount to public market prices. Putting a retention pond, we filter it with no chemicals and we're able to run our facility. A specialist in knee surgery, Jonathan Webb was a rugby union fullback for the English national team from 1987 to 1993. We can also do it by returning investors to our shareholders. Everybody has full healthcare. Jonathan Webb, a Maryland attorney, has experience in criminal defense and DUI/DWI defense. The president and CEO, Paul Mastronardi said, "We want every AppHarvest tomato they can grow. Webb supported a large-scale solar project in Virginia while he was employed by the U.S. Department of Defense. Webb is from Kentucky, where 16% of residents are below the poverty line, and when the coal jobs dried up, nothing came in to replace them. Well, you need water you need food, and you need energy. The Art of Self Meditation: What Are the Benefits? We're going to be headquartered in Central Appalachia, execution at scale here in the U.S. but this is a global problem that we've gotten phone calls from around the world about how and when we can take our solution and go elsewhere. Look at how many times in the last few years you've had leafy greens yanked off store shelves. Webb doesnt mince words on the specifics; the most valued companies in 100 years, he said, will be the ones that allow humanity to survive. He names a few: electronic vehicle manufacturers, renewable energy companies. We need to change the profits versus purpose narrative; purpose drives profit and, ultimately, is what makes an organization durable and resilient for decades to come, Webb told Fortune. But if you look at the current food system today, it's high fructose corn syrup, it's sugary food that has low nutrient density. But if you look at the world, China and India account for 40% of the world's population. Webb: Well, thank you and thank you for having me, and we've got a lot of work to do here, but I can assure you we're head down building and look forward to continuing the conversation another time. Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. I mean, I think that kind of speaks for itself. My background was a part of building some of the largest solar projects in the U.S. David Lee, who joined us from Impossible Foods, joined impossible foods five years ago as their CFO and COO raised them nearly over $1 billion in the last five years and turned them into what was a boutique idea, into a mass-market product on store shelves. The Motley Fool recommends AppHarvest, Inc. He actively engages with his followers through his various social media accounts, including Instagram and Twitter. Let's force that rigor early. Other AppHarvest investors include TV cook Martha Stewart, VC veteran Peter Thiel, ValueAct Capitals Spring Fund, Revolutions Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Equilibrium Capital, and Narya the new VC firm co-founded by JD Vance, author of best-selling Appalachian memoir Hillbilly Elegy. We have a phenomenal team of sustainability experts. He also received his medical license from Minnesota. Our job at AppHarvest, we need to make sure that we're keeping prices at a fair, good place where we're at today. This is becoming really a hot-button topic for a lot of investors, rightly so. I'm sure it was an exciting time. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com. *Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Well, I mean speaking of a publicly traded company, you just released your first-quarter results, and I think this was your first full quarter as a publicly traded company. ", As a CEO, Webb admitted that this focus on the long-term outlook has not been easy to prove to Wall Street, especially when compared to those who are "selling a worthless product that's not good for people and not good for planet and arguably questionable for shareholders. Announces Separation of Julie Nelson as Chief Operating Officer Nov 16 Price target decreased to US$5.33 Nov 16 See more updates Shareholder Returns See full shareholder returns Return vs Industry: APPH underperformed the US Food industry which returned Tomatoes will be the first fruit rolling out of AppHarvest's soon-to-launch facility in Morehead, Kentucky. To access all the content for free, please sign up by entering your email. "You look at renewable energy 20 years ago, electric vehicles 10 years ago, if we want to get CEA to be institutional at scale, not only in households with consumers, you really need that rigor of the public markets and that attention of the public markets to help institutionalize an industry," he said. Jonathan has a Bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky in Business. He is a senior partner in the shipping litigation practice group, focusing on hull insurance claims, charter party disputes, and dry shipping issues. "The public market needs to have a robust category of companies that are building stuff that matters," he stressed. I know you're in the DC area. To me, at least, it feels like we are at the [] of a disruptive phase here, and a lot of that is thanks to technology. CEOs can get lazy and only worry about the last 90 days; thats easy. Sustainable investor Equilibrium What is AppHarvest to you? You are speaking our language here at The Fool. It's so cool to think about what you guys are doing there. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*. But for us, it's not a back-and-forth, it's not OK, well, I'm going to invest in an ESG company and I'm going to sacrifice profitability. Moser: That's going to do it for us this week, folks. A SPAC is formed with the sole purpose of raising capital through an IPO in order to acquire an existing privately-held company and take it public. I did want to know here because I saw this in the earnings release and I just thought it was one of those quotes that stood out to me from Mastronardi, your distributor. You have to judge yourself internally. He completed a fellowship in Australia at North Sydney Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre and has worked in many high-profile clinics in the area. People at large tech companies question what theyre actually building. Use our online form to book an appointment with Dr. Webb. His final international was against Ireland in March 1993. In February 2018, encouraged by investors, advisors including Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Remember, you can always reach out to us on Twitter at @MFIndustryFocus, or drop us an email at [emailprotected] As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. Many of our early investors have been very helpful with the company, and we knew that we are not just building one facility, we're building an organization that's going to go toe-to-toe with agriculture and food, globally. As investors were looking for the biggest market opportunities we can find, market opportunities that are growing. Webb: The industry is at an inflection point. The nonprofit organization he founded is still in operation today, and he continues to serve as Board Chair. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. I have no doubt that we will. But with that said, what we have at AppHarvest is fairly unique. I love that passion. There's not going to be one food company feeding the world. The regulators are pushing that direction. A universal harvester robot at AppHarvest's Morehead, Kentucky greenhouse, AppHarvests crops are monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically, a labor-saving advancement that lets the staff treat farming almost like a manufacturing process. Sometimes, it can even get us a few steps closer to saving he world. But being true to our ESG values, we think it is a competitive advantage and going to make us more competitive in the years to come. Dr. Webb graduated at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. "And we don't think we could do that if we weren't in the public markets.". My competition in Mexico, you have people getting paid $5 a day. Jonathan Webb poses with celebrity investor Martha Stewart and some of his signature tomatoes. But if we do the work to center the people who benefit from that technology in the middle of the conversation, then progress doesnt have to be a bad thing. We're one of four companies that are publicly traded that have both of those as a company. AppHarvest. This is a BETA experience. Jason Moser has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. This article will briefly review the most important information. On this week's episode of Industry Focus: Wildcard, host Jason Moser chats with AppHarvest (APPH) founder and CEO Jonathan Webb about the growing opportunity in the agtech space, what makes AppHarvest unique, his vision of the future of farming, and much more. If I'm a grocer and I'm saying U.S.-grown in a controlled environment we solve for all that. Theyre looking for purpose in their life; theyre looking for companies like us.. All rights reserved. WebJonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia. Because our services are focused on technology, 5G connectivity, and all of the different benefits we're going to get from that. To me, this feels like just that, a growing market opportunity that is global in nature, and really the opportunity, just getting started. 20years ago it was renewable energy. "For us, at AppHarvest, this isn't just about a company. They can be competitive. Moving forward, AppHarvest is focused on bringing its beefsteak and on-the-vine tomatoes to market. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. We don't want to be selling just to the high-end. We want to be selling to 90% of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. It sounds like there's a lot of potential there. Which is important, because AppHarvest employs well over 300 people in its Morehead facility alone. We're selling to Kroger, we're selling in fast food chains like Wendy's. In light of the challenges AppHarvest has faced in its early stages, Webb expressed hope that younger generations like Gen Z and millennials would continue to innovate and "fight through" any obstacles in their way. You have to get permitting, communities [buy-in], state and federal support, infrastructure, inspections. We had 22 meetings and had almost 20 yeses. Very few passed on this deal and we eventually had to cancel meetings.. Now, our job is to make sure it's at around the same price. WebGet Givens McNeill's email address (g*****@windstream.net) and phone number (972988.) at RocketReach. David and Tom just revealed what they believe are theten best stocks for investors to buy right now and Walmart wasn't one of them! Public asset : 44,698,475 USD. It means being a little bit more upfront with your investors. Karrie, on the other hand, has not disclosed her salary or income. Moser: Well, you said it on the call. WebThe following charts show the stock performance of securities subsequent to each open-market, non-planned trade made by Jonathan Webb. The estimated value when the deal closes will be about a billion dollars for the company. Jonathan Webb is a specialist knee surgeon and a former English rugby union fullback. When youre building tech for techs sake, you start to question what youre doing. "We see this as a couple-decade journey, and really, we're in our first decade," Webb told Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman at the 2022 SXSW Conference (video above). In 1985, he joined Bristol Rugby and won the John Player Cup. With significant tailwinds from heightened investor focus on ESG initiatives and the secular shift to plant-based foods, we believe AppHarvest is well-positioned to execute on its strategy for rapid growth and value creation, he continued. Since then, AppHarvest shares have plunged 70%. How do you feel about coming public a lot earlier than you probably would've normally? If we're going to be working with the largest players in the world, then we need to be in the big leagues, and the only way to do that is to be a publicly traded company. Jonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing We'll talk a little bit about that in just a second. No one else in America is doing something at that scale. Jonathan strives to work alongside the hard-working men and women of Eastern Kentucky and build an inclusive economy for the future. AppHarvest has invested in a 2.76million-square-foot greenhouse in Morehead (Ky.) to help meet this goal. According to Webb, going public has helped the company focus on the big picture. Do the hard work to create shareholder value now while also looking out for shareholders two decades from now, Webb said is his credo. I'm looking forward to being able to find more and more of these AppHarvest products in our grocery stores as we move forward. Is there any one thing or is it a collection of many things? Thank you for your continued support. The greenhouse will cost $97 million and span 60 acres. Again, tomatoes are our first crop, but by next year, strawberries and leafy greens.