Jennifer Bassuk is a hands-on advisor and investor for startups focused on urban farming, sustainability, and tech, and an evangelist for agricultural innovation. She turned her side hustle into her profession and recently joined Fluence by OSRAM (Fluence) spearheading business development initiatives.
Bassuk was newly out of university and working as a litigator when “the internet happened.” She’s always had a keen eye for opportunity and a fascination with emerging markets, so it was a no-brainer when she got involved in the business side of digital startups. This took her on a path to Amazon, where she spent over 11 years leading high-profile ventures at Audible, as well as pioneering Amazon Publishing’s global rights business. She then expanded her expertise beyond print and audio to video by joining Storyful, a division of News Corp, where, as Global VP of Strategic Partnerships, she led the company's expansion into original programming and global distribution.
While she loved her work and found it challenging and enjoyable, she often found herself thinking about global challenges related to sustainability and food safety, and what steps she could begin taking to participate in finding innovative solutions. Before she’d gotten her J.D., Bassuk had studied Environmental Policy at the University of Michigan and she remained passionate about issues impacting the environment and agriculture on a global scale.
The first Aha! moment came during a dinner at Outstanding in the Field. Bassuk was inspired by the conversations she had there with the local farmers—their aspirations and challenges—and left with a conviction that it was time to get back to her early roots. She knew there had to be a way to combine her longstanding interest in urban agriculture with her professional skills and expertise to make a career pivot– but how?