Sky Kurtz

Co-Founder & CEO of Pure Harvest Smart Farms

1 episode · Startup Spotlights (Series)

Sky Kurtz is a Stanford-educated agritech trailblazer and the Co-Founder and CEO of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, one of the Middle East's leading controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) companies. Transitioning from a successful career in global private equity, Sky has redefined sustainable farming in some of the harshest climates on Earth. Under his leadership, Pure Harvest pioneered the region's first hybrid, semi-automated greenhouse system and successfully raised nearly $300 million in capital to scale its operations. Sky joins host Erika Welch from Lucidity Insights to unpack the realities of scaling CEA technology in the UAE desert. Beyond the agronomy, Sky shares his hard-won playbook for founders, offering candid advice on navigating macroeconomic shifts, managing investor expectations, and successfully fundraising for complex, capital-intensive startups.