Follow your own path

In September, I traveled to Virginia to attend the CEA Summit East, an event put on by Indoor Ag-Con as an East Coast alternative to Indoor Ag-Con.

While on that trip, I went to Northern Virginia, near Richmond, to visit John McMahon at the site of his new venture, Better Future Farms. With secured funding through Generate Capital, Better Future Farms will grow greens to be sold under the Taylor Farms brand. The facility is currently under construction and set to come online in 2024. You can read more about CEA Summit East and takeaways from the event on page 16.

Let’s, though, stick with John McMahon. In talking to him during my tour, I learned more about his background and how he got into farming in the first place. As it so happens, McMahon took an unorthodox path to CEA and is now launching his second business. He started out getting an English degree from the University of Virginia before getting his MBA in Finance from Fordham. He then worked in finance for a time, living in both New York City and Washington D.C. But after five years, he found himself burnt out and pivoted to agriculture. He had roots in agriculture, so it wasn’t a totally radical shift. Growing up, he and his siblings tended the family farm while their father (a doctor and gentleman farmer) was on call. The passion he cultivated as a kid never really went away — he just didn’t tend to it for a time.

What I took away from talking to McMahon and learning more about him is that careers are not linear. Just because we train to do one thing and expect that to be our life’s work doesn’t mean that will be the case. It’s more important to follow our passions as best we can to build the life and career that fulfills us.

I find that to be true about many growers and entrepreneurs in the CEA space. So many people in the industry are in it because they love it. They see the potential to feed the world better than we’ve done so far and bring healthier, locally grown food to people’s homes. They, by and large, are doing it by following their passion and doing what brings them a sense of fulfillment. I know in my own life, I’m going to aim to follow my passions more and find a way to create the world I want to live in. Perhaps you’ll join me.