Mass Technology Leadership Council (MTLC) names Atlas Urban Farms Startup of the Year

“The ability to have fresh food all year round in a place like Boston is much more salient than in a place like California.”

“The gardens have been excellent additions to our Clubs,” explains BGCB’s Director of Healthy Lifestyles Gabrielle Witham. “They are adding a new level of depth to our healthy development programs, and I’m hearing from youth and staff in Clubs about how cool they are to look at.”

“In August 2022, we deployed our first vertical farming system to a restaurant near Boston, and we’ve been growing ever since…from day 1, the panel did what it was designed to do.”

📍Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Connor Harbison is the founder of Atlas Urban Farms. Using his product, you can eat fresh Basil grown from a vertical farm that sits on your kitchen wall. Today, he shares his journey as a student founder and environmental innovator.

“This is going to help chefs grow exactly the herbs and garnishes they need in house,” Harbison said during his pitch. “It’s going to be much cheaper per ounce, it’s going to save them time and effort, it’s going to look beautiful on the wall, and, by the way, it’s going to be way better for the environment.”

Sean Freedman interviews Atlas Urban Farms founder Connor Harbison about farming, learning, failure, and entrepreneurship.

“The big idea: even in a city, you can grow your own.”

“My thinking was, if we use vertical farming, where you can have a very small footprint but grow a tonne of food, why don't we just build one of those in every single neighbourhood, and then we won't have food deserts and we won't have to emit a ton of carbon to get food from A to B.”

“If you’re going to be a plant person, you’re going to kill plants. Anyone can be a gardener, and I often tell people who protest that I’ve killed way more plants than most people, but I’ve learned along the way.”

“If vertical farming is a thing, why do food deserts still exist? It sort of got me started on this journey.”