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Rob Laing
CEO & Founder at Farm.One
Robert Laing is an entrepreneur and innovator in the vertical farming industry. He founded Farm.One in 2016, a vertical farm based in New York City that specializes in growing specialty herbs, edible flowers, and microgreens for high-end restaurants and consumers.13 Farm.One gained recognition for its innovative approach to urban agriculture, using hydroponic technology to grow crops year-round in Manhattan.2
Prior to Farm.One, Laing founded Gengo.com, a translation tech start-up, in Tokyo in 2008.24 He has also worked as a strategic and creative consultant for Google, developing "moonshot" projects for their largest brand customers.4
Throughout his career, Laing has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and innovation in agriculture. Farm.One uses advanced climate control technology and hydroponics to reduce water usage by 95% compared to traditional farming methods, while eliminating the need for pesticides and herbicides.2
In February 2024, Laing announced his departure from Farm.One after nearly eight years of leading the company.15 During his tenure, Farm.One successfully pivoted through the COVID-19 pandemic, transitioning from primarily serving restaurants to offering a direct-to-consumer model.3
Laing's experience spans multiple industries and countries, including the UK, Japan, and the US, giving him a unique global perspective on sustainability challenges.1 He is also an author, having written a book on hydroponics.1
Highlights
🩸 If you fly long distance frequently, then you've probably heard about Deep Vein Thrombosis. Well, it happened to me last week.🩸 Stay safe out there, kids!
I talk to a LOT of startup CEOs. Many raised money in 2020/2021, are reaching the end of their runway, and are now forced to try to stay alive in the toughest fundraising environment for more than a decade.
They are doing the right stuff - acting EARLY, cutting DEEP, focusing on FEWER things, COMMUNICATING with their investors and teams, ADAPTING their business to the desert environment. But it is TOUGH. I encountered this sickness early on at Gengo, and caught a severe case of it at Farm.One in 2022.
❓ So I put together some UNCONVENTIONAL questions to help leaders navigate difficult times, based on my experience.❓
Loved catching up with new and old friends this week, from Advait Karande, Onyedikachi Achilike, Marcia Halle .T Manzengele, Jeff Mills, Rebekka Boekhout, Paige Carter and Kimmie David and many others unnamed ;)
