March 19, 2026
Yesterday I visited a farm called Fallen Oak Mycology. I don't know the first thing about mushrooms but came across their website browsing local farms in the Austin area and it piqued my interest. I reached out and Josh Googins, their founder and CEO, was kind enough to give me a tour. I want to capture my first impressions here because I will probably re-visit the place and learn more about it all; so I want to log that starting from zero. My vague thought is that I want to create a physical product with them I can sell.
The whole operation was very impressive and way bigger than I had imagined. There were dozens of climate-controlled rooms, modern industrial machines akin to those at oil refineries, and sanitation was top-of-mind throughout. Josh started the company in 2014 and hearing more about his founder journey was great. Some things that stood out to me were that he said the first few years constantly felt like fight-or-flight, that he had been originally farming mushrooms since he was 17 in his apartment, and that he wants to support others bootstrap their farms or brands and what not.
I should have probably clicked some pictures, maybe next time. Check them out:
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