PurBlu · Jordan, Minnesota
PurBlu in the press
PurBlu raises Pacific white shrimp indoors in Jordan, Minnesota, for local customers. The business was developed to help fund Morning Glory Valley’s mentoring and community work with young adults. Jean Spencer brings more than 30 years of business and technology leadership experience to the venture. Tim Gregory helped design and build the facility and leads daily operations.
Press releases
Company background
PurBlu operates at Morning Glory Valley in Jordan, southwest of the Twin Cities. The business began when Jean Spencer and Mike Spencer explored ways to generate income for the farm and its mission. Mike identified shrimp farming through his research, and Jean joined him in developing the venture.
Jean established Morning Glory Valley as a community for young adults and worked with Mike and Deb Spencer as it developed. People gather at the farm for meals, mentoring, and regular activities. Some have lived on the property, and former residents continue to visit and participate. Work on the farm gives young adults experience with business operations and opportunities to take on responsibility.
PurBlu was developed to help fund this work through sales of locally raised shrimp. The farm raises shrimp in a patented, algae-based, Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) and participates in the Midland Co. network of growers in Iowa and Minnesota.
Jean Spencer
Jean Spencer is a business and technology leader, executive coach, and mentor with more than 30 years of experience. Her career began in neurology nursing and has included roles as chief technology officer, business unit president, head of engineering, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer. She also served as a senior managing director at Accenture.
After retiring from her corporate career, Jean focused on executive coaching, mentoring young adults, and ministry work, including work in India. She established Morning Glory Valley in Jordan and helped develop PurBlu as a business that could support the farm’s mission.
Tim Gregory
Tim Gregory leads PurBlu’s daily operations, including monitoring growing systems, tracking production data, and raising shrimp. A Bloomington native, he first worked for Jean Spencer doing landscaping at Morning Glory Valley. He later became PurBlu’s first employee and helped design and build the shrimp-growing facility.
Tim’s experience includes restaurant work, ski instruction, and a pallet liquidation business he built with Jean. That business gave him experience with systems and spreadsheets that he now uses at PurBlu. His work with Jean began before the shrimp venture and continues through his role managing the farm’s daily operations.
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