GROW (Green Mountain Organic Waste) Compost was founded by Lisa Ransom and Scott Baughman on a small farm in Moretown, Vermont as an organics resource management company. Their products and services include compost and soil, farm items (e.g. eggs), organic hauling services and tipping operations.  With the signing of ACT 148 (Vermont ‘s universal recycling law) in 2012, Grow began to see opportunity to leverage their expertise in organics diversion and hauling to support businesses and food scrap generators in meeting their obligations under the new law.   Grow’s continued expansion comes from procured contracts with partners in Vermont who share a common mission to diver material from landfills and find the highest and best use for organic resources (e.g. food rescue, food scraps for animals, composting, food scraps for energy).

The Flex Fund provided $250,000 in permanent working capital to help Grow secure their place in the rise of the organics diversion market in Vermont through:  additional staff, capital improvements, website development and operational support.  Grow was tapped out on the collateral side with their existing lenders, and they weren’t ready to dilute ownership in the business, Lisa and Scott liked the structure the Flex Fund ‘s subordinated debt with royalty and the flexibility it provided without giving up equity.