# Mike Harden

> Mike Harden is the founder and CEO of Big Rock Partners, a San Francisco investment and advisory business connecting cannabis, food, and hospitality. A former ARTIS Ventures founder and partner who helped lead investments including YouTube and Modern Meadow, he also leads Sonoma Hills Farm in the Petaluma Gap. His work links culinary expertise, agricultural production, and company building.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Big Rock Partners
- **Organizations:** Big Rock Partners, Sonoma Hills Farm, ARTIS Ventures, ChefsFeed, Credit Suisse First Boston, Lucent Technologies / Bell Labs
- **Education:** BA, Washington and Lee University, MS, Babson College, F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Helped lead ARTIS Ventures investments including YouTube, Palantir, Modern Meadow, Astra, and ChefsFeed., Co-founded and chaired ChefsFeed., Leads Big Rock Partners and Sonoma Hills Farm.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Completed the Lucent Technologies / Bell Labs Leadership Program and worked in its mobile division.
- **—** — Worked as a mobile internet and device analyst in the CSFB Technology Group.
- **—** — Became a founder and partner of ARTIS Ventures.
- **2010** — Began a co-founder and chairman role at ChefsFeed, according to Crunchbase.
- **2016** — Settled SEC supervisory charges without admitting or denying the findings; agreed to a $130,000 penalty and 12-month securities-industry suspension.
- **2017** — Sonoma Hills Farm acquired the former Collings family farm.
- **2019** — Recruited culinary gardener Aaron Keefer to Sonoma Hills Farm.
- **2020** — Joined Big Rock full time.
- **2021** — Sonoma Hills Farm was among the first two operations certified by CCOF under OCal.
- **2026** — Reported the launch of the farm’s 15,000-square-foot Dutch Venlo greenhouse.

## Achievements

- Helped lead ARTIS Ventures investments including YouTube, Palantir, Modern Meadow, Astra, and ChefsFeed.
- Co-founded and chaired ChefsFeed.
- Leads Big Rock Partners and Sonoma Hills Farm.
- Spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference and New West Summit.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Discussed the newly operational greenhouse with Adam Tschorn; described a 15,000-square-foot Dutch Venlo system with about 600 lights and a theoretical crop interval of 60 days.

## Links

- Website: https://big-rock.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardenmike
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/hardwiremike

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mike-harden
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27