In Episode #122, we explore growing the world’s best mushrooms in high-tech mini-farms. We’re joined by Andrew Carter, Smallhold’s Co-Founder & CEO. We cover the science and complexities of mushrooms, distributed farming, and how Smallhold is aiming to revamp the food industry.

“Smallhold wants people to eat more mushrooms. We are mainly just trying to get mushrooms on people's plates in any sort of way possible. We want them to be grown locally, so they're fresh and enjoyable.” – Andrew Carter

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/smallhold-andrew-carter  

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/smallhold-andrew-carter-transcript  

This episode is our definitive guide to growing the world’s best mushrooms in high-tech mini-farms. In it we cover:

• (00:00:00) – Introduction
• (00:02:51) – The move from hydroponics to mycology
• (00:13:34) – How Smallhold is getting people to eat more mushrooms
• (00:19:02) – The science and complexities of growing mushrooms
• (00:24:02) – The decomposition cycle and mushroom growth technology
• (00:32:13) – Revamping the food industry
• (00:37:47) – The concept of distributed farming
• (00:41:56) – How branding fresh produce is different from other products
• (00:45:19) – Smallhold’s presence in local restaurants
• (00:51:52) – Fantastic Fungi has increased interest in mycology
• (00:54:33) – The importance of letting go

ABOUT SMALLHOLD

Andrew Carter is co-founder and CEO of Smallhold, which is upending the food industry by growing their mushrooms in Michelin-star rated restaurants, grocery stores, and through their network of onsite and macro farms. Today, 68% of all mushrooms consumed in the United States come from a single town in Pennsylvania called Kenneth Square. 400 million pounds worth of mushrooms per year, to be exact.

This means that most mushrooms are transported across a vast distribution network to reach stores all around the United States. Smallhold knew there was a better way, so they spent years creating a proprietary set of technologies that allows them to grow mushrooms in an incredibly small footprint, about the size of a small standing cabinet.

Andrew covers why the modern food industry is broken, from why most apples you eat are nearly a year old, and why most fish sold in the United States, even if it's caught in the States, is sent to China to be processed, and then back to the US to be sold. We cover the technology behind Smallhold and all of the lessons Andrew has learned along the way.

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Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

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ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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