Founder, CEO | Chairman | Board Member | VC & PE Advisor
Mike Zelkind is an entrepreneur and longtime food industry executive who co-founded Cincinnati-based 80 Acres Farms in 2015. Prior to launching 80 Acres, Mike spent more than 25 years in the food industry, holding leadership roles with companies including General Mills, Del Monte, Bumble Bee Foods and ConAgra.
At 80 Acres, Mike helped pioneer new approaches to indoor agriculture, combining technology, automation and food production to rethink how fresh food could be grown closer to consumers. Over the course of a decade, the company grew from an early Cincinnati startup into a nationally recognized name in vertical farming.
Mike remains a recognized voice at the intersection of food, technology, entrepreneurship and innovation, with deep roots in Cincinnati’s business and startup community.
Entrepreneur Mike Zelkind left a successful career as a food industry executive to launch what would become one of Cincinnati’s first unicorns—80 Acres Farms. In his first public appearance since 80 Acres ceased operations, CEO and co-founder Mike Zelkind will tell the inside story of an extraordinary entrepreneurial journey—from launching the startup with co-founder Tisha Livingston at Union Hall, to building a Cincinnati unicorn that became a global leader during the explosive rise of vertical farming, to ultimately confronting the decision every founder hopes never to face.
