FOUNDER OF THE MONTH
JOHN PURCELL
UNFOLD
BY Russell Nichols
The future of vertical farming begins on the genetic level . That ’ s the philosophy of Unfold , a Sacramento-based startup focused on innovating fruit and vegetable seeds to better serve indoor growing facilities .
Vertical farms use artificial light and take up less space than traditional farms . They are automated to control factors such as light , temperature and humidity . With a biochemistry background , John Purcell , president and CEO of Unfold , recognized a gap between open fields and controlled environments . He heard from many vertical farmers that seeds intended for outdoor use didn ’ t work as well indoors .
“ They ’ ve made so many investments on lighting and mechanics , but they were trying to get by with seed varieties that were developed for other production systems ,” says
Purcell , who previously worked as senior vice president at Bayer and head of vegetables research and development for its Crop Science division . He also spent nearly 30 years at Monsanto Company , acquired by Bayer in 2018 .
Unfold aims to fill that gap using seed genetics ( germplasm ) from vegetable crops to create new varieties best suited for vertical farms . The startup ’ s bimodal strategy begins with a screening phase , analyzing which germplasm yields optimal results , followed by a breeding phase to develop the varieties . Unfold launched with $ 30 million in initial funding and an agreement for certain rights to germplasm from Bayer ’ s vegetable portfolio .
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN PURCELL park ranger at Yellowstone If I could have any other job , I ’ d be a .............................................................
National Park . ..................................................................................................................... amazing people . A startup can ’ t be successful without ..............................................................
“ Charlie The book that best represents my approach to business would be .................... and the Chocolate Factory ” by Roald Dahl ( because of Willy ...................................................................................................................... Wonka ’ s amazing spirit of innovation ). ..................................................................................................................... that a competitor would My biggest fear about launching was ...........................................................
announce a similar company just before we did . ................................................................................................................... to enjoy If I could give my younger self some advice , it would be ...............................
each day more . ...................................................................................................................
HOW WILL $ 30 MILLION BENEFIT THE COMPANY ? “ It ’ s a nice combination of having adequate resources from a financial perspective and the advantage of a license agreement to tap into Bayer Crop Science to hit the ground running , providing solutions .”
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SACRAMENTO AS YOUR HEADQUARTERS ? “ You think of the greater Sacramento region as a great hub for seed companies , a center of ag innovation . … Not a whole lot of better places , especially for horticulture and produce . There ’ s such a robust ecosystem .”
For more on Unfold , read Russell Nichols ’ Startup of the Month column at comstocksmag . com .
118 comstocksmag . com | December 2020