Why we started Cultivene.

One of the places I have always felt most at home was my grandparents' farm in Sonoma County.

They had a vineyard and a hobby farm: hens laying eggs, a vegetable garden overflowing with ripe tomatoes, and an orchard full of apples, citrus, figs, walnuts, and pomegranates. My grandparents had an avid green thumb and loved to share their place with others.

They were gatherers in more than one sense: of people and of produce.

My love for cooking comes from my grandpa, who refused to ever directly follow a recipe. He would pick whatever was ripe in the garden that day and let it decide what was for dinner.

My eye for the table comes from my grandma. She cut flowers from the garden, built the tablescapes, and made every gathering feel beautiful and inviting. She understood that people feel welcome before the first plate is ever served.

For generations, my family has been known for throwing a good party. Every year, more than forty people gather around our Thanksgiving table. It's mostly family, both sides of my grandparents' families coming together, but anyone is welcome to bring a friend or someone without a place to go.

What people don't see is the month of preparation it takes to make that one day feel effortless.

That Thanksgiving table represents who I am: hospitality that makes people feel welcome and known, built on a deep appreciation for the land and the food it grows.

My grandpa understood something else, too. As a hobby vineyard grower, he hosted wine club events right at the house. Gathering people on the property wasn't just generosity. It was how people came to know his grapes, and to want them. Long before I had words for it, I watched a farm use hospitality to grow a community, and a business.

I inherited the hosting gene. In college I led event planning for our student body, matching each gathering, large or small, to its people, its purpose, and the season. I helped plan my sister's wedding. These days it's wine nights and dinner parties at my place. The occasion changes, but the goal never does: bring people together and make them feel at home.

That's why I'm building Cultivene.

Cultivene is a farm experience platform that helps farmers host on-farm events: farm dinners, tours, and gatherings that connect a community to the land and the food it grows. Farmers already have what my grandparents had. The land, the food, and the love for sharing it. Cultivene helps them turn that into experiences people will pay for, so they can earn in new ways and take back some ownership of their time.

A farm stand can be more than a farm stand. It can be a place where people feel welcome and known, where they taste exactly where their food comes from. My grandparents' table taught me that. Cultivene exists to help more farms set one.