

Promoting Sustainable, Regenerative Farming Through Hospitality - David Rust, Sagra
David Rust is the founder and CEO of Sagra, a hospitality business whose mission is to bring awareness to regenerative agriculture and support the farms that practice it.
In this episode, you'll learn about David's journey to founding Sagra and what he learned about sustainability and hospitality along the way:
00:50 - David talks about his influences growing up
03:12 - Joining Lyft as an early employee and launching in cities like LA, Seattle, and Chicago
05:11 - How he got to know a place quickly
08:49 - Transitioning from tech growth guru to hospitality founder
15:20 - The role of customer experience in business success
19:12 - From watching Chef’s Table on Netflix to taking action and reaching out to participate
21:45 - Regenerative farming
26:37 - Weeks building tech companies, weekends on farms
31:06 - Prototype development (solving problems for both the guest and the farmer)
33:53 - Why food builds such a strong connection with us
37:15 - Solving problems for farmers
40:49 - How Sagra is structured and operates
45:27 - Sagra’s impact on guests
49:01 - What’s most exciting for David now
If you liked this episode, listen to our other episodes on sustainability.
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Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands