#055: Changing the way we think of food - Geert Hendrix of Farmwall
Summary: To check out our full list of episode show notes head to neuralle.com/podcast Geert Hendrix ( @farm_wall ) is the founder CEO of Farmwall. Farmwall is a socially responsible, high-tech, urban agriculture company that aims to transform cities into food producing ecosystems. Their subscription-based, urban aquaponic-inspired farm supplies naturally-grown, fresh and delicious greens to award-winning cafes restaurants such as well-renowned Top Paddock. Geert is an incredibly humble and intelligent guy, building one of the more interesting local startups that I’ve come across. The trajectory for an infrastructure-based startup in the agriculture space is not as rapid as your typical software startup, but I have a strong belief that Geert is laying down the groundwork for a paradigm shift in agriculture. Many thanks to our previous guest, Seb Lindner (Ep 41) for the introduction. Key topics we covered include: Geerts first experience of Vipassana Travel, and how he got to Australia Transitioning from craft beer to agricultural tech Aus market compared to globally Aquaponics and Farmwall How his business model works Advantages and impacts of an aquaponics style system The future of Farmwall The future of for-profit food production Agricultural tech leaders Enjoy the episode! Show notes 01:43 - Introduction 04:28 - Geerts first experience of Vipassana 12:12 - Meditation 13:46 - Travel, and how he got to Australia 20:28 - Earliest childhood memories 23:08 - Why he stayed in Australia 25:17 - Transitioning from craft beer to agritech 26:50 - Aus market compared to globally 31:10 - Aquaponics and Farmwall 37:59 - How his business model works 41:35 - Advantages and impacts of aquaponics style system 45:48 - The future of Farmwall 55:21 - Farmwall’s leverage and momentum 58:48 - Farmwall’s new location 01:04:09 - The future of for-profit food production 01:06:53 - Agricultural tech leaders 01:08:40 - Books and resources 01:10:39 - Other careers of interest 01:12:17 - Morning and evening routines 01:14:33 - Most influential book 01:16:47 - Types of fish he has 01:18:11 - What he’s been listening to 01:19:15 - Who he thinks of in terms of success 01:20:37 - If he could have a billboard anywhere Links Geert on Instagram, LinkedIn Farmwall Vipassana Vipassana Centre Queensland Kiwi Experience Palm Breweries Pirate Life Brewing 4 Pints Beer Balter Brewing Aquaponics Finding Your Element, by Ken Robinson Rene Redzepi Attica Jeff Bezos Kimbal Musk The Vertical Farm, by Dickson Despommier Intelligent Gardener, by Steve Solomon The Urban Farmer, by Curtis Allen Stone Similar episode: Ep #041 - Seb Lindner Similar episode: Ep #019 - Jordy Kay
