If you haven’t heard already, we just turned four 🥳🥳🥳!
For us at Just Vertical, this is not just a business anniversary, it's the anniversary of a family that has grown together. Looking back at the memories over the past 4 years is a humbling experience. We’ve achieved so much, and plan to achieve so much more in helping the world be a greener, more food secure place.
Your trust and support has been vital in our continuous success. We can’t wait to continue on our mission to help save the planet and provide a sustainable solution to growing food insecurity!
Read on to hear about some of our amazing milestones over the last four years...
Year 1
January – April 2017: As part of their final capstone project, Master of Science in Sustainability Management (MScSM) students, Conner Tidd and Kevin Jakiela partnered with Modular Farms Co., a startup company that specializes in vertical farming systems, to create distribution channels and service packages for their product.
The AEVA was born out of crossing their interests in sustainability and professional experience in industrial agriculture and indoor urban agriculture.
May 2017: Just Vertical receives their first-ever ‘investment’ or generous gift from a Professor that wholeheartedly believed in Just Vertical’s mission to help save the planet and provide a sustainable solution to the growing food insecurity.
June 2017: Out of 13 teams, Just Vertical earned the most audience votes for best venture idea and won their first-ever pitch competition at ICUBE that included a $5,000 prize.
August 2017: Just Vertical lands their first big customer and builds their first commercial farm at the University of Toronto - Mississauga.
2017: 963,200 food miles (the distance that food travels from the manufacturing point to the end consumer) saved, 11,830 liters of water saved and 48.53 kg of local produce grown.
Year 2
January 2018: Just Vertical lands their first official investor and begins prototyping the AEVA.
April 2018: The first prototype of the AEVA is launched at the Green Living Show exhibit.
May 2018: Just Vertical became a semi-finalist at the Sustainable Brands Announces 2018 Innovation Open, where world-changing entrepreneurs brought unique ideas of solving some of the world’s pressing environmental and social concerns.
October 2018: Just Vertical lands their first major Angel investor.
2018: 13,870,080 food miles (the distance that food travels from the manufacturing point to the end consumer) saved, 170,352 liters of water saved and 698.88 kg of local produce grown.
Year 3
May 2019: Conner and Kevin begin delivering AEVA units locally by hand.
August 2019: Just Vertical ships the first AEVA units across Canada.
August 2019: Just Vertical receives their 100th order!
2019: 19,456,640 food miles (the distance that food travels from the manufacturing point to the end consumer) saved, 238,965 liters of water saved and 980.37 kg of local produce grown.
Year 4
January 2020: Just Vertical receives the 200th order!
June 2020: Just Vertical signs their first retailer Phil Zen.
July 2020: Just Vertical launches the smaller unit EVE.
November 2020: Just Vertical receives the 1000th order!
2020: 200,152,960 food miles (the distance that food travels from the manufacturing point to the end consumer) saved, 2,458,267 liters of water saved and 10,085.20 kg of local produce grown.