Inspiration struck at home for Jacob Pechenik. In 2015, the former film producer was expecting his first child with his then wife, the actress and musician Zooey Deschanel. They were focused on her diet--after all, what she ate their unborn baby ate.
Pechenik and Deschanel were convinced that families could benefit from growing fresh veggies at home--even families living in tiny urban apartments. The couple's eventual idea, Lettuce Grow, would launch four years later with plastic towers featuring three to six vertical levels that can each hold pods for seedlings, including ironman kale, purple snow peas, dill, and edible violets.
Pechenik's entrepreneurial approach to home gardening was complemented, of course, by Deschanel's star power and social media presence that gave her access to seven million Instagram followers.
But while the L.A.-based company's self-watering, self-fertilizing farmstands, priced from $474 to $699, were taking off--landing it at No. 183 on the 2022 Inc. 5000--it wasn't without difficulty on the home front. Within months of Lettuce Grow's debut, the couple separated.
Editor's Note: This article is part of a series delving into the back-of-the-napkin calculations behind starting companies with celebrities.
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