mushroom-cultivation
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Eliah Thanhauser and the education of a mushroom business
Before North Spore had a Portland laboratory, Eliah Thanhauser and two college friends had oyster mushrooms, reused buckets, and a lot to learn. Their next crop was a business that helped other people become growers.
Benjamin Chesler
Benjamin Chesler is the CEO of North Spore, a Portland, Maine company that sells mushroom grow kits, spawn, sterile substrates and fungi wellness products to home and commercial growers. Before mushrooms, he co-founded Imperfect Foods, the grocery delivery startup that rescued cosmetically imperfect produce and recovered more than 250 million pounds of food. A Brown graduate and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, he is a self-described systems thinker who got his start co-founding the Food Recovery Network as a college student and later helped build startup programs at Northeastern's Roux Institute.
North Spore
North Spore is a Portland, Maine company that makes growing mushrooms at home approachable for everyone. Founded in 2014 by three college friends - a mycologist, an organic farmer, and a photojournalist - it sells grow kits, spawn, substrates, lab supplies, and mushroom wellness products direct to consumers. With more than 350,000 growers served and a 25,000-square-foot production facility, North Spore has grown from a tiny mushroom farm into one of the most recognized mushroom-cultivation brands in the United States.