70 - Business Lessons from Simplot

J.R. Simplot started as an eighth grade dropout and hit his first entrepreneurial home run with hogs in the 1920s. Mr. Simplot went on to build an empire, mostly with potatoes (If you’ve eaten a McDonald's French fry, you’ve had their spuds!). Today Simplot employs 12,000 people worldwide, and is still family owned. The company’s Agribusiness division has 93 Ag retail facilities, cattle feeding operations, fertilizer production, a turf business, and potatoes, of course. While speaking at the company’s leadership forum, I pulled aside a V.P. and Director for their perspective on all things Ag. Where are the opportunities, where are there threats? How do you avoid stagnation as a successful company and continue innovating? This episode has some great ideas that anyone in the Business of Agriculture can benefit from. Be sure to listen to the end for closing nuggets and entrepreneurial advice to “fail fast!”