The Jet Fresh Guys: How Their Business Took Flight, Building Great Work Culture, & Creating Loyal Employees
When Lori and Ellie met the Jet Fresh Flowers crew at SAF's Next Gen conference in Miami, it was — in Lori's words — an immediate, non-weird attraction: "these might be my people." This week the whole gang joins the podcast: Mike Black, founder and president; Fern Ortega, GM and "sales captain"; and Ryan Black, marketing and media director. Jet Fresh is a Miami-based wholesaler, importer, distributor, and grower with an office and farm in Ecuador, hosts of the podcast 2 Fat Guys Talking Flowers — and, as this conversation makes clear, a masterclass in company culture.
From union flower market kid to "land of the misfits"
Mike's story starts as a teenager working full-time in his family's wholesale house in the New York City flower market. Decades later, after another business failed and a nine-year Miami job didn't work out, he swore he'd never start his own company again — until encouragement from industry friends changed his mind. He began by buying a few boxes from people he knew and selling a few boxes to people he knew, and built from there. What surprised him most was the support: in an industry where "they either love you or they hate you," Mike says it felt like standing in the middle of an arena with everyone cheering for him. His edge was empathy — he'd been a wholesaler and a bouquet maker, so he could relate to flower buyers better than anyone in town. Fifteen years in, he calls his team "the land of the misfits" — and Fern says the pieces fit together like Voltron.
Culture starts at the top — and it isn't run by the numbers
Ask Fern where the culture comes from and he doesn't hesitate: it starts with Mike, who is nearly impossible to beat into the office or out of it. "Hard work beats talent, hard work is gonna beat pricing." But the other half is what Mike refuses to do: run a perishable business purely by the numbers. Flowers face weather, supply swings, and honest overbuying mistakes — pressure-cooker quotas demotivate people. His team sees all the numbers, celebrates the wins with a party, and talks honestly about the misses. Loyalty flows both directions, and nobody has to fit a corporate mold: "You come and be yourself."
And yes, about those Nerf guns. Every new employee is gifted one at onboarding — partly stress relief, partly a Toy Story-style initiation ("like when Andy writes his name on the bottom of the toy"). Things escalated so much that the office now plays the horn sound from The Purge as a warning to put on goggles, the quiet accounting sniper Amy is feared by all, and Fern had to order an acorn picker-upper from Amazon to vacuum up thousands of Nerf balls after battles.
Hiring for talent, not resumes
What does Mike look for in a hire? Raw, undiscovered, moldable talent — the gift of gab, a mellow, laid-back creative streak, honesty, and personality. If you can sell him, you're probably good. This is a relationship business, and buyers trust salespeople they can genuinely talk to. He trusts his gut, and reckons he's been right nine times out of ten.
Respect is earned, not given — especially for the boss's kids
For every legacy flower shop wondering how to bring the next generation in, Mike's answer is hard-won. As the boss's son in a unionized flower market, he had to out-work everyone for years — he was the kid who volunteered to jump in the garbage dumpster daily to stomp it down. Handing a family member a title breeds resentment; earning a spot builds a leader. As Fern puts it, Mike raised his kids — and lieutenants like Fern himself — to be leaders, not bosses. Lori sums up the leadership test the hosts return to often: look behind you and see who's following. Mike also cautions established businesses against flipping their culture overnight like changing a TV channel — do it in subtle increments, the way Jet Fresh has patiently built its promote-from-within culture at its 100-plus-employee farm operation in Ecuador.
Key takeaways
- Culture starts at the top: model the work ethic and loyalty you want, and your team will mirror it.
- Don't manage a perishable business by quotas alone — transparency plus celebration beats pressure.
- Hire for talent, personality, and honesty over polished resumes; trust your gut.
- Family members and future leaders should start at the bottom and earn respect — titles given away breed resentment.
- Build fun into the workday on purpose; a Nerf gun at onboarding says "you're one of us."
Find Jet Fresh at JetFreshFlowers.com, on Instagram, and on their podcast 2 Fat Guys Talking Flowers.