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DIY_Creative t1_iugdxx5 wrote

Holy fuck! I called this about...3ish years ago. Literally said to my partner they'll be closed within 5 years. I interviewed for a fairly high up position when they were still, ummmm crap I can't remember the name before they rebranded to Fifth Season and started the farm in Braddock. I got an offer but declined bc it just wasn't a good fit for me personally and I could see the "overworked, underpaid, work long hours, long days, etc., etc." vibes written all over it (as any VC tech startup has I suppose). It just wasn't for me.

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Naritai t1_iuhugbe wrote

Any observations about their business practices? I am seeing a few posts here implying they weren’t a very well run company

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DIY_Creative t1_iuhvh22 wrote

Not particularly, unfortunately. It was in their infancy stage before they were even bringing a cpg to market. They were still developing tech but were actively growing microgreens. This is before they rebranded as Fifth Season or even moved to Braddock. It seem like a group of young, very smart kids who were being given lots of vc money but didn't have really good sense of what it meant to run a company, hr practices, hiring and retaining people. The one kicker for me was part of offer, in lieu of actual money, was an investment in the company. I said, nah pay me market value for the position, but their offer had a % of that salary as investment. Mixed with long hours, overworked, etc. I said thanks but no thanks. In my dealings they seemed a little in over their heads. They did say their long range idea WAS to sell the tech, but perhaps that changed as they moved on.

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Naritai t1_iuhwouj wrote

I see, thanks. I always have a certain fascination with failed start ups, but sadly the answer is usually as simple as “ not enough people were willing to buy what they were selling“.

Here, I’m a little shocked that they thought salad kits was ever going to bring in enough money to cover major investments. Like, a Mexican farm plus a freezer truck is always going to be cheaper than you. That’s just the way it is

And yeah, if they got 75 million in funding they could’ve paid you the market rate.

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Naritai t1_iui1dap wrote

Reflecting on this, I bet it’s the USD-Peso exchange rate that did them in. Their competitors’ lettuce got 30% cheaper while their own lettuce got (via wage / input cost inflation) more expensive.

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