In this episode of Founders in Full, I talk with Chris Borek, co-founder of Spira Farms, a Chicago-area vertical farm growing nutrient-dense microgreens for restaurants, grocery stores, and health-conscious consumers.
Chris’s journey started in a condo during grad school, growing greens for his family while researching sustainability and nutrition. After his mother’s cancer diagnosis, what began as a personal health project quickly turned into a purpose-driven business rooted in freshness, local food systems, and the power of microgreens like broccoli, arugula, and mustard.
Today, Spira Farms has scaled from basement racks to a climate-controlled warehouse, supplying chefs, distributors, and stores with living trays of microgreens and experimenting with in-house tech solutions to run a modern farm efficiently.
We talk about:
✅ Why microgreens are nutritional powerhouses
✅ The hard lessons learned from direct-to-consumer delivery, and why Spira pivoted
✅ What it takes to build custom farm management software (as a non-technical founder)
✅ The difference between selling to chefs vs. grocery stores—and how to adapt your pitch
✅ How his family background shaped his scrappy, figure-it-out approach to entrepreneurship
If you're building a purpose-driven product—or just trying to get smarter about sustainability, local food, or farm-to-table business models—this episode is for you.
About Spira Farms:
Spira Farms is a vertical farming company based in the Chicago area that grows fresh, local microgreens year-round. With a focus on nutrition, sustainability, and freshness, they supply high-quality microgreens to restaurants, retailers, distributors, and local customers.
👉 Learn more at: https://www.spirafarms.com
Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.
👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com
👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke
Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:
👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast
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