Growing a Business and Team Empowerment with John Harris скачать в хорошем качестве

Growing a Business and Team Empowerment with John Harris

In this episode of Rooted: Stories of Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness, Lauren Chenarides and student co-hosts Dani and Firdavs talk with John Harris, founder of Paradigm Fresh and Colorado Cold Connect. John shares how he bootstrapped his first produce business starting with a small bank line of credit and learned early lessons about working with lenders. He describes the “say yes” mindset that pushed the company to take calculated risks, move fast, and build infrastructure only once the opportunity was real. The conversation covers how cold storage became an unexpected growth path, and why speed, communication, and relationships matter in perishable supply chains. John also explains how his leadership approach evolved as the business scaled, including empowering managers, building a strong culture, and using SOPs to ensure consistent service. The episode closes with what it took to expand in Fort Morgan, including the financing and long timelines behind building a 150,000-square-foot cold storage facility. Chapters: Intro: John Harris, Paradigm Fresh, Colorado Cold Connect Funding: early credit, bank lines, and building credibility Bootstrapping and the “say yes” core value First warehouse: leasing, scaling fast, and a tomato contract Accidental entry into cold storage and early customer relationships Relationship-driven business and customer responsiveness Culture and people: empowerment and the “self-cleaning oven” method Leadership: delegation, trust, and getting the right roles Putting out fires vs. strategic planning (real examples) Expansion decisions: Denver to Fort Morgan and hiring constraints Multi-building inefficiency and the tipping point for expansion Financing and private equity: negotiating, legal review, and timelines Standardization: SOPs and the “McDonald’s” consistency model Role models and mentors Advice to students: persistence, reality checks, and what it takes Closing advice