Happy Planet: Recent Episodes
Abigail Carroll
Can innovation, entrepreneurship and investment make the planet happier and healthier? Abigail Carroll thinks so. Known as Maine's Oyster Lady, Abigail sold her aquaculture and tourism business NONESUCH MAINE in 2021 and has since been advising and investing in high-growth start-ups in the US and Europe that seek to help solve some of the world's most pressing problems, all while turning a profit. Through conversations with founders, investors, and thought leaders, Abigail shares this thought-provoking and hope-promoting world with her audience. And always with a little humour.
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There's nothing we like more than a comeback kid.
While 98% of total farm seaweed in the world comes from Asia, over the past decade, entrepreneurs in the US, Europe and Africa have been trying to change that by producing locally-grown, high-quality seaweed for their domestic markets.
I've met a number of these entrepreneurs and it's not easy. Once you master aquaculture, you have to find a market, and that is proving to be a challenge. Some of these companies have gone bottom up.
A few months ago, we thought Maine-based, Atlantic Sea Farms, commonly referred to as ASF, was going to live a similar fate. Right out of the gate, it seemed like nothing could hold it back. ASF raised millions of dollars and made an incredible splash in the national media, but they just couldn't become profitable.
ASF shareholders, however, refused to shutter the company. They opted to restructure and brought in turnaround specialist Barrett Wood.
Barrett joins us today to tell us how he is breathing new life into the company and paving a way to profitability.
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
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Every day we see more devastating news coming out of on the wars in Gaza and the Ukraine. We see photos of cities and towns turned into piles of rubble and people who have lost their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods.
But there are other insidious ramifications of these wars that we seldom discuss. And those are the effects on the environment. To discuss this, ellie Kinney joins us this week from the UK based organization, conflict and Environment Observatory. This organization was launched in 2018 with the primary goal of increasing awareness and understanding of the environmental and derived humanitarian consequences of conflicts and military activities.
https://ceobs.org/
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
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Our guest today is Alison Cove, founder of USEFULL, a circular reuse solution that partners with college campuses to make student takeout meals a zero-waste and microplastic-free experience.
With a business focused on domestic health and circularity, Alison never thought she’d be so affected by global affairs. She has navigated her burgeoning business through disruptions caused by a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the constantly changing tariff schedules. Alison has shown resilience at every impact....
Alison Cove
Usefull
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
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Today's guest is Paul Holthus. Paul is a blue economy visionary. He is the founding president and CEO Emirati of the World Ocean Council, affectionately called the WOC. Founded in 2008, long before anyone was talking about the blue economy, WOC's aim is to unite ocean industries in order to support cooperative corporate ocean responsibility.
Paul discusses his path to founding the WOC, the organization's role and priorities, where are the big ocean opportunities, and the new challenges presented by a challenging political landscape.
https://worldoceancouncil.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-holthus-81b10b8/
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Happy planet Wednesday!
We are kicking off a new season, and today I'm just delighted to welcome Jason Dodier, a recognized global authority on the circular economy, biochar and decarbonization. His company, Grain Ecosystem, is an AI and data-driven solution that revolutionizes waste to energy products. They position biochar, which we'll be hearing a lot about today, as the cornerstone of carbon sequestration, community development and project financing. As though that weren't enough, Jason also co-founded Fountainhead Rhode Island, a community fostering environmental startups and leadership in Rhode Island and beyond.
I am also giving a shout out to fellow Maine angel Bobbie Lamont for supporting the podcast. She's a tremendous force in the main startup ecosystem, and I'm honored that she's listening to and supporting the podcast. Bobbie will receive a beautiful Happy Planet baseball cap in return for her support.
If you'd like to support the podcast, please visit our website, happyplanetpodcast.com. There, you can purchase a hat and/or receive a shout out on the podcast as well.
Jason Dodier
GRAIN Ecosystem
Fountainhead RI
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
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Happy Planet Wednesday! Today we travel to Rhode Island, the ocean state, where, fittingly, the blue economy is thriving.
Ian Estaphan Owen, Co-Founder of JAIA Robotics didn't grow up in Rhode Island but rather coastal Wales where he became passionate about the ocean. On his road to entrepreneurship, he even did a stint with the British Royal Navy.
Now a denizen of Bristol, Ian is co-founder of Jaia Robotics, a company innovating in the field of ocean surveillance and monitoring. While the sector is getting populated, JAIA Robotics seems to have a competitive edge thanks to their small, low-cost, modular torpedo-shaped, aquatic drones that can travel solo, or in pods, and have multiple applications.
JAIA boasts real sales in the US and abroad. His recent Series A round was oversubscribed.
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
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I have been at this long enough by now - 61 episodes!- to see some great successes and some disappointing failures. This week's guest tells a story that's a bit of both, but he is not letting failure get in his way.
Today we are heading back to Norway to meet again with Tore Enger, Founder of TECO 2030, a company that was looking to build fuel cells for the maritime industry.
Tore came on the podcast two years ago as they were making fast tracks with a product and strategic partnerships. Despite their success, investor money soon dried up. One strategic error may have been going public too soon.
In this podcast Tore will tell us what worked and what didn’t. And we will hear how this seasoned entrepreneur refuses to back down and deftly navigates Norway’s very favorable restructuring laws to get back in the game with a new strategy and cap table within a few short months of throwing in the towel.
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Today we are traveling to Chile, the birthplace of Positive Polar, a travel startup aiming to combine luxury cruises with academic research and environmental action. Positive Polar’s sustainable expedition cruises will aim to restore the whale population, amplify oceanic food production and implement high-potential climate mitigation strategies.
I had the incredible privilege of speaking to both co-founders last week. Hugo Hinrichsen is a former Chilean Naval Commander, helicopter pilot and business entrepreneur whose personal observations of the changing ecosystem over his lifetime inspired this project. His business partner is Jenn Bonilla an American psychology PHD and biotech professional whose passion is enabling science to positively impact humanity. I love how two sucessful people from two different countries come together to transform the way people see the world.
www.positivepolar.com
Positive Polar is currently open for partnership and investment. Contact:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbonilla/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugo-hinrichsen/
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Proscovia is a Kenyan entrepreneur who wears many hats. She is founder of Samaky Hub, an organization that empowers women and youth in Africa's aquaculture sector by offering strategic planning, operational guidance, and marketing support to their ventures. Proscovia is also an African Food Fellow, the Kenyan Program Manager for the Irish aquaculture venture hub, Hatch BLUE, and a writer for the US industry rag, The Fish Site. Proscovia aims to grow the African aquaculture market to meet local demand all while boosting safety and opportunities for women and youth.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/proscoviaalando/
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Happy new year to all and welcome back to our first episode of 2025!
Our guest this week is an entrepreneur who excels at building market strategies. Heather Myers of Spark Number 9 has created her own methodology for getting the market segment answers entrepreneurs so desperately need. An important distinction is that her method relies on observable behavior, not on surveys.
Heather's own business has flourished and was even the subject of a Harvard Business School case study. Heather joins us today to discuss how nature forward companies can leapfrog endless and costly pivots by applying her methodology to their own businesses.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts! And if you love what we do, don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review!
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Happy Planet Wednesday!
This will be our last podcast until 2025 and I want to thank you for tuning in this year! It's been an exceptionally interesting journey for me and I hope you've been enjoying the podcasts. If you have feedback, please do not hesitate to share it.
This week we head to New Jersey to speak to Philipp Stratmann, CEO of Ocean Power Technologies. Followers of penny stocks may recognize the name. They are a public company listed under the ticker OPTT. Mind you, we are not making stock recommendations here! But as I do follow a few penny stocks, I was excited to have the opportunity to learn more about this power generation and monitoring technologies company that supports everything from fisheries management to offshore wind, as well as defense and surveillance.
While speaking to Philipp about OPT's applications and target clients, images of the Hunt for Red October kept coming to mind. He certainly is in an interesting business that appears to be finding its perfect product market fit in an increasingly complicated world.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Happy Planet Wednesday! And to American followers, Happy Thanksgiving!
During the US presidential debates, we heard a lot about the nearly five million unit housing shortage in the US. While this needs to be addressed urgently, it won't be good for the climate. Traditional building activity accounts for up to 40% of the world's carbon emissions.
Our guest Nick Farmer is president of Opal Build, a Maine company whose mission is reduce the carbon footprint in homebuilding. And do it at a discount. Nick's entrepreneurial story is also unique. Unlike many entrepreneurs who start from scratch, Nick took his ideas to an existing company and joined forces. And it looks like they are positioned for success.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Happy Planet Wednesday!
This week we are hopping across the Atlantic to speak to serial Dutch innovator Wietse van der Werf.
Wietse's current venture, Sea Rangers, is a social enterprise that trains youth from underprivileged backgrounds in the maritime trades. Aspiring sea rangers learn while working on ocean conservation missions that are performed from carbon-footprint free sailing research vessels. Wietse is excited to bring back the maritime trades in the Netherlands and to democratize climate activism which he says is typically the domain of the privileged.
If this sounds like a pipe dream, you'd be mistaken. Wiete's Sea Rangers is becoming something of a pan-European phenomenon.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
Happy Planet Wednesday!
I was tempted to call this week’s episode “Unhappy Planet” because in it we grapple with what happens when your startup doesn’t go as planned.
When I learned that Courtney Boyd Rey shuttered her seaweed startup AKUA, I reached out to see if she would come on the podcast. Given that over 90% of startups fail, and even 75% of those backed by venture capital do as well, I wanted to address the issue head on.
By many measures AKUA was a great success. They wer, a pioneer in their field. They achieved 600K in annual revenue. And they raised over 5$M in investment. Courtney fell from a pretty high bar.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from her on our call. What I found was a light and peaceful woman who is holding fast to her mission to help the planet.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
Thank you to our sponsors.
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Support the show
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
In this episode of the Happy Planet Podcast, host Abigail Carroll interviews Slater McLean, co-founder of Oliver Charles, a sustainable sweater company. Slater discusses the significant environmental impact of the fashion industry and how Oliver Charles is addressing these issues using natural materials like yak wool and seaweed-based fibers. The company employs an innovative 3D knitting process to eliminate waste. Oliver Charles also relies on an on-demand manufacturing model to prevent excess inventory. The discussion touches upon the challenges and opportunities within the fashion industry, pointing towards a shift away from fast fashion towards quality and sustainability. Slater highlights the potential for localized garment production in the U.S. and provides advice for new entrepreneurs. This episode underscores the growing importance of sustainable practices in fashion and the innovation driving these changes.
00:00 Introduction
01:00 The Environmental Impact of Fashion
01:57 Oliver Charles: A Sustainable Fashion Brand
03:22 Innovative Materials: Yak Wool and Seaweed Fiber
09:28 On-Demand Manufacturing and Its Benefits
15:29 Building a Brand and Finding Customers
27:46 The Future of Fashion and Sustainability
33:10 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
34:21 Conclusion
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
Thank you to our sponsors.
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to
Support the show
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include ...
Send us a text
In this podcast episode, I welcome Damien Demoor, a French engineer and ocean innovator based in France, who introduces his company, Greenov, and its groundbreaking product, the Subsea Quieter.
Demoor discusses the significant threat of underwater noise pollution caused by maritime activities, detailing its detrimental effects on marine life, including mammals, fish, and ecosystems.
He explains how their solution, developed in partnership with a leader in naval defense, leverages novel membrane technology to mitigate noise effectively.
Demoor also shares his personal journey, motivations, and achievements, including winning the Sustainable Ocean Alliance Pitch Contest.
He elaborates on future steps for the product, potential demonstrations, and the broader impact of regulatory measures on noise pollution in the oceans.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:12 Damien Demoor's Background
00:31 The Problem of Underwater Noise Pollution
03:02 Impact of Noise on Marine Life
05:09 Innovative Solutions for Noise Mitigation
07:54 Technical Details of the Subsea Quieter
10:55 Challenges and Competitors in Noise Mitigation
14:06 Personal Motivation and Career Journey
18:00 Recognition and Awards
20:20 Current Development and Future Plans
22:50 Legislation and Policy Discussion
29:25 Global Environmental Concerns
32:20 Advice for Entrepreneurs
33:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Listen on Apple , Spotify,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include
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Innovative Fish Feeds: Reducing Aquaculture's Environmental Footprint
In this episode of the Happy Planet podcast, I speak to Alessandra Romano, the entrepreneur behind Ittinsect.
Allessandro discusses his novel aquaculture feed supplements derived from insect proteins, which aim to accelerate fish growth with lower environmental impacts.
The conversation explores the inefficiencies in traditional fish feeds, the environmental benefits of insect-based alternatives, and the economic realities of transitioning to sustainable aquaculture practices.
Alessandros also shares his personal journey and insights into Italy’s role in aquaculture innovation.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Series Overview
00:35 Meet Alessandra Romano Alessandros: Innovator in Aquaculture
01:24 The Problem with Traditional Fish Feed
02:11 Innovative Solutions: Insect-Based Fish Feed
06:48 Consumer Perception and Market Testing
10:48 Alessandra's Journey and Passion for the Ocean
17:13 Business Model and Market Expansion
22:22 Challenges and Opportunities in the Aquaculture Industry
30:47 Environmental Impact and Future of Aquaculture
37:53 Closing Remarks and Future Outlook
39:55 Conclusion and Podcast Wrap-Up
Tune in at happyplanetpodcast.com or wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
Apple: https://lnkd.in/e2Y5xnta
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dnQXTnut
And thank you to our Sponors!
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9 ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include OCEANOVATION Investable Oceans and our good friends at Bright Tide.
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In this podcast episode, Abigail interviews Benjamin, founder of Azul Bio and participant in the Ocean Pitch Contest by the Sustainable Ocean Alliance.
The discussion focuses on Benjamin's startup, which aims to save coral reefs from extinction caused by ocean warming. Benjamin explains the importance of coral reefs for ocean life and human livelihoods and describes Azul Bio's innovative solution: coral microbiome boosters.
These boosters enhance the heat tolerance of coral reefs, helping them survive and recover from bleaching events.
Benjamin highlights the technical aspects of their solution, the potential impact on global coral conservation, and the importance of collaboration with other coral restoration organizations.
The conversation also covers the business aspects of Azul Bio, their funding journey, and the future prospects of their technology.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:22 The Problem: Coral Reef Extinction
00:55 Understanding Coral Bleaching
01:35 Human Impact and Coastal Protection
03:34 Azul Bio's Innovative Solution
04:13 Microbiome Boosters in Detail
09:21 Field Application and Testing
13:06 Business Model and Partnerships
16:59 Challenges and Future Plans
26:08 Funding and Competitions
30:52 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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www.happyplanetpodcast.com
Support the Show.
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Welcome to Happy Planet!
Our guest this week is William Calvert, co-Founder and CEO of the NYC based startup, Return to Vendor. William is a fashion designer and entrepreneur who has lived in Paris, and Italy and designed for the likes of Balenciaga before getting the fashion-tech bug about 10 years ago.
His first foray into the field led him to create fabric out of down for an Italian company and now he's 100% focused on 100% circularity. He and his partner are recycling abandoned nylon fishing nets (and thereby helping to clean up the ocean) and turning it into primary material that can be turned into fabric, buttons, zippers and more. The idea is to make 100% nylon garments (or suitcases or shoes) so they at the end of their life span they can be fully recycled and turned back into new products.
William shares his business ideas but also his thoughts on how we can be better consumers and what the fashion industry might look like a decade from now.
When I contacted William, I was looking to sidestep from the ocean for a moment to check in with other industries. But when I discovered William was procuring nylon from fishing nets I realized that, in the end, everything comes back to the ocean. Including every other breath.
We are going to take a break for the summer and will be back after Labor Day with interviews with the top three winners of Sustainable Ocean Alliance's 2024 Ocean Pitch Challenge.
I am so grateful for all of your support. We have a growing awareness footprint and now we are regularly solicited by people hoping to be a guest on Happy Planet. Thank you for your part.
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
The weather has been so beautiful in Maine lately that I am going to bring you all here to my home state. Today we’re going to speak to Marianne Naess, a Norwegian native living in Maine who, with her husband, has co-founded Katahdin Salmon, a soon-to-be scaled salmon aquaculture farm that intends on bringing Norwegian quality salmon to the Northeast corridor, without the carbon footprint.
As Maine is known for its seafood, Marianne and her husband assumed setting up their fish farm along the coast would be a breeze. Reality proved different and after quite a bit of well publicized pushback from wealthy coastal residents, their proposals were denied.
Fortunately salmon are anadromous, meaning they can thrive in fresh or salt water, and so Marianne and her husband were able to look for alternative locations « up country ». They eventually found a happy home in Millinocket where they have received a warm welcome from the community and the green light to finally build their operations. Along the way they have signed a joint venture with members of the Passamaquoddy tribe to manage their hatchery.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,YouTube,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include Oceanovation, Investable Oceans and Bright Tide.
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
Could eating farmed redfish be the answer to building coastal resilience in Florida? Founder Megan Sorby would like to think so.
Megan and her husband co-founded Pine Island Redfish. True to its name, they grow growing the much-loved but highly protected redfish for the commercial market on Pine Island, a Florida Island with an agricultural tradition. And they are using the waste water to grow hydroponic mangroves to restore the Florida coastline.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,YouTube,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include Oceanovation, Investable Oceans and Bright Tide.
Megan Sorby
Pine Island Redfish
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
Pack your bags, we're headed to Kenya! This week we'll be speaking to Anga Mbeyiya, a South African seaweed entrepreneur whose company, Ole Blu, is transforming seaweed into biostimulants to help rural farmers adapt to climate change.
While her company is still young, it's also already having a big impact both socially and economically. They're buying seaweed from a woman run cooperative seaweed farm, running demo farms themselves, and working with well over 400 small farmers to help improve their crop yields.
Anga has big plans and shares her insights into the blue economy in Africa, as well as what it's like to be a female entrepreneur there.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,YouTube,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include Oceanovation, Investable Oceans and Bright Tide.
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
If you live on the coast, this is a podcast you might want to pay special attention to. Matt Campbell, Founder of NatrX, is joining us today to talk about his nature-based solutions for building coastal resilience.
Thinking you need to protect your community from rising sea levels? Rather than building a wall along the coastline, Matt thinks you might have better results looking to solutions off-shore where you can harness the power of nature to build coastal resiliency.
Matt's philosophy spoke to me because as an oyster farmer, my motto was "nature works well when you let it." Tune into this podcast and Matt will change your perspective, and maybe your plans, for saving your coastal community.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,YouTube,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include Oceanovation, Investable Oceans and Bright Tide.
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
This week's guest, Elizabeth (Liz) Muller is Co-Founder of Deep Isolation. While living in France, was impressed by France's nuclear power program, which provides nearly 70% of the country's power, with zero carbon emissions. The problem was, and it still is, the waste.
Today, over 490,000 metric tons of nuclear waste is located in above ground temporary storage. And no spent nuclear fuel anywhere in the world has yet been placed in a permanent repository. We just keep producing more nuclear waste without an agreed upon long term storage solution.
When Liz returned to the United States, she wanted to see the US grow its nuclear power footprint, but not before solving the increasingly critical nuclear waste problem. So, with the help of her physicist father, that is what she set out to do.
Whether you're for or against nuclear power - or somewhere in between - I think you will find this story compelling. It certainly challenged some of my assumptions and gave me a lot to think about. And, if Deep Isolation works, they will be a Unicorn many, many times over.
Listen on Apple , Spotify,YouTube,our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include Oceanovation, Investable Oceans and Bright Tide.
Elizabeth Muller
Deep Isolation
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
With all of the good work that oysters can do for the planet, filtering water, preventing erosion, reducing acidification, mitigating storm surge and more, entrepreneur George Birch wanted to see if an oyster living in the water doing all of those good deeds could be more valuable in terms of dollars or euros than an oyster on your plate.
George's business is called Oyster Heaven and with the help of European credit programs, he is proving his thesis. The euros are starting to roll in from corporations. Oyster farmers everywhere might want to take a close look or even team up. His story is a good one.
I'd like to thank our sponsors:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPY PLANET into the coupon code field!
Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!
Promotional and program partners include Oceanovation, Investable Oceans and Bright Tide.
Listen on Apple , Spotify, YouTube, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
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We are kicking off the season with the unstoppable Brian Skerry. Brian is a world renown photojournalist and film producer specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. He has won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition no less than ELEVEN TIMES. He is a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellow and author of a dozen books.Brian’s 2021 book, Secrets of the Whales, was released by National Geographic as part of a multi-platform project that included an Emmy Award winning 4-part documentary film series directed by none other than James Cameron.
In this episode we discuss:
- Why were you drawn to the ocean as a subject?
- Tell me about your entrepreneurial journey frpm entepreneurial journey from kid wiht a camera to getting his first photo published in his 30s to the meteoric rise to become National Geographic phtographer.
- When did you pivot to focus from showing us the cool animals - to showing us the changes in their environment and becoming a voice for them.
Why is telling the story of the sea such an important mission - and why now? - How has the ocean environment changed since you started? Are these changes statistics or are they palpable and if so in what ways.
- Tell me one of the most beautiful underwater creatures you’ve seen - and how is it affected by changes.
Have you ever had a scary underwater experience?
How do the sea creatures react to you? - There are increasing numbers of people in the ocean as well as on it. How do we balance the desire for people to explore and become champions of the ocean through experience with the desire to protect the ocean? - How has technology impacted way you work?
- There are so many issues facing the ocean right now. We talk about pollution, overfishing, carbon emissions, biodiversity, warming water etc. What do you think is the most vital issue facing the ocean? What should entrepreneurs be focusing on?
- There is growing attention on the water - do you think we are focused on the right issues? How do you hope to shape that conversation?
- If you weren’t a photographer of the sea, what would you be taking photos of?
- What are you working on now that we should be looking out for.
- Are you optimistic about the future and our ability to stay ahead of climate pressures?
- Any advice for nature focused entrepreneurs or artists today?
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS and PROMOTIONAL PARTNERS:
Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.
Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20
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Happy Planet Wednesday !
Before I introduce our guest today I want to thank you for your support over the past year. Because, yes, today’s podcast concludes our first year of programming!
To celebrate we venture into Africa. We will be speaking with Klaartje (Klara) Scarde the Co-Founder of Mwani Zanzibar, a seaweed based cosmetics company based in Zanzibar, Tanzania. I would have loved to do this podcast on site!
Klaartje left her banking job in London to fully embrace the seaweed revolution. Her company seeks to have economic, environmental and social impacts in Zanzibar. Their high end product line is sourced from local seaweed and formulated by Zanzibaris - and it will soon be available online in the US and Europe.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
And a note to listeners, we are going to take a couple weeks off to regroup and prepare for Season 2!
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute and Spark No.9.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners:
Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation. As always, thank you for your support!
https://mwanizanzibar.com/
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Happy Planet Wednesday!
This week we are joined by Vincent Doumeizel, a French native from Burgundy who is Director of the Food Program for Lloyd's Register Foundation as well as an expert on everything seaweed. Vincent has spearheaded the Global Seaweed Coalition, which "is a global partnership established to support the safety and sustainability of the seaweed industry as it scales up and to unite a fragmented market through a unified vision and goals."
Most recently Vincent published the book, The Seaweed Revolution.
Vincent called in from Climate Week in New York City to chat with Happy Planet, and provide a foundation for understanding the potential impact of this sustainable sea-plant on our planet’s future.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-planet/id1652024063
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xwXGCGhtWkcUNVU5y8BCI?si=ca4ad1bdbcae4ad9
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xOTg5MDAyLnJzcw?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwic8o3AwZ38AhVGJGIAHXF9CXAQ9sEGegQIARAC
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute and Spark No. 9.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
OCEANOVATION is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
Vincent Doumeizel
The Seaweed Revolution
Safe Seaweed Coalition
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Happy Planet Wednesday !
We are headed to Iceland today to meet Thor Sigfusson the Founder of Iceland Ocean Cluster, an innovation hub he founded in 2011 to focus on marine startups. Since then Ocean Clusters have been popping up around the world, including the New England Ocean Cluster right here in Portland, Maine.
It’s a real delight to have Thor on the show as he has been at the forefront of what is now a quite sizeable ocean innovation movement. Thor is also the author of several books including one that is hot off the press: 100% Fish. His aim is to render fishing more sustainable by making sure we use every part of it.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Spark No.9, and NONESUCH a made-to-order luxury apparel brand that offers a curated array of fish leathers, wool, and other noble and sustainable fabrics for clients to select from.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
100% FISH by Thor Sigfusson
Iceland Ocean Cluster
Codland
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Happy Planet Wednesday !
We've talked quite a bit about renewable energy on this podcast and we've also looked at old technologies that are coming back, often with a modern twist. Our guest today is starting a business that checks both of those boxes.
Miles Keeney-Ritchie, founder of Aloft, aims to reduce ocean transportation carbon emissions by installing their automated fiberglass sails on ships and ferries to take some of the burden off the engine and reduce fuel consumption. Thanks to an event organized by Sea Ahead, our bluetech accelerator and investment friends in Boston, I have personally seen their demo size sail and I must say it does capture the imagination. Miles hopes it can capture market share!
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
Miles Keeney-Ritchie
Aloft
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Today, we are hopping over the Atlantic to speak with Louise Skajem and Aura Murillo, two young, UK-based women designers who are innovating in a marine area I never imagined I would discuss on this show: funerary services. These young women are full of life and will challenge everything you have ever come to believe about funeral directors.
Their company, the aptly named Resting Reefs, proposes to use human ashes, mix them with oyster shell powder, which is very high in calcium carbonate and a wonderful ocean anti-acidification agent, and transform them into what they call underwater urns. These are beautiful sculptures used to create artificial living reefs installed along coastlines.
Rather than simply spreading ashes in the ocean, as many people do, creating a resting reef gives family and friends a sense of permanence, a reef to visit where marine life will grow and prosper.
In this podcast, you will hear a reference to aquamation. This is an alternative process to cremation that is preferred by Louise and Aura since it uses five times less energy than fire and reduces a funeral's emissions of greenhouse gases by about thirty-five percent.
While neither Louise nor Aura are originally from the UK, they say it's a great place to start a business right now, and their type of business in particular may be well positioned to benefit from being in the United Kingdom as 75 percent of the UK population opts for cremation. And after two years of keeping ashes at home, people usually look for something special to do with them. These women might just be on to something....Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
Resting Reef
Aura Murillo
Louise Skajem
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You may recognize today’s guest from episode 5. We’re here with Bernard Hidier, the French expat living in Maine who co-founded Finsulate the non-toxic antifouling solution that looks like velvet and mimics a sea urchin.
Bernard is back with us because somehow he has managed to co-found and co-manage more than one company at the same time. “Kids do not try this at home!”
If you remember, Bernard is originally from Brittany France and that is where KarrGreen hails from. Karrgreen is a biofuel company transforming agricultural waste into fuel for cars. With a growing footprint of filling stations in France, KarrGreen’s success does make one wonder why we are digging up lithium for batteries when our abundant agricultural waste could be used instead.
For Bernard, the corporate structure is as important - and innovative - as the fuel itself. KarrGreen focuses on building local communities, making both its clients and suppliers vested stakeholders.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
KarrGreen
Finsulate
Bernard Hidier
New England Ocean Clusters
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We are going to kick off the fall season with a chat with Dan Watson, the UK-based founder and CEO of a fisheries startup called SafetyNet. I first met Dan through Harry Wright’s accelerator Bright Tide, where I am an advisor. Then I wound up on his mentor team for another accelerator run by Boston-based Sea Ahead. I can’t wait to see where our paths next cross!
One of Dan’s most talked about solutions is designed to prevent bycatch. Bycatch refers to unwanted fish that are inadvertently caught in commercial fishing traps. It’s estimated that $1billion of unwanted fish are thrown away each year. Not to mention disruptions to the marine ecosystems. So solving this problem could provide a great benefit to the planet.
SafetyNet’s bycatch solution is based on research Dan dug up from the 70s and involves simply shining different coloured lights into the water as you fish in order to attract and repel different species. This is just the tip of the iceberg of SafetyNet is up to.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
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Fashion and smelly seaweed may seem like an odd pair but one company in North Carolina is spinning them together - quite literally!
Our guest is Laura Hayes and she is the Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager at Keel Labs.
Keel Labs makes a natural silky yarn that is composed of about 70% kelp! While they are not the first to try to make fashion fibers out of seaweed, when it comes to seaweed usage and natural ingredients, I haven't heard of anyone coming close to their success.
The market seems pretty excited about the product as well. They are VC backed, having raised 13M in a series A and their limited production is already overbooked. Trust that I’ve tried to get my hands on some!
We are going to take a break for the rest of August but we will be back in September with an incredible fall lineup.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
As always, thank you for your support!
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Happy Planet Wednesday !
We are travelling to South America this week !
Our guest, Daniela Allerbon, is CEO of Aquit, a company specializing in natural proteins that can be used to replace antibiotics in fish farming. Aquit was founded by researchers in Chile and Daniela recently joined the team as CEO from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
We learn a lot about antibiotics and fish farming in this podcast, but we also get a fascinating window into the startup ecosystem in South America and strategies that companies outside of the US can use to gain entry into the US market.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
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Happy Planet LinkedIN
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Happy Planet Wednesday !
Our guest today is Jeremy McKane, Founder of Ocean Currency Network whose mission is to create an ocean map with real-time ocean data. The goal is to map 30% of the ocean by 2030. Sound ambitious? It is. But as Jeremy say in the podcast, if we can’t see the problems, we can’t fix them. Getting real time data will give us the information we need to find solutions.
Jeremy kicks off this interview with a reference to the Tragedy of the Commons. Commons refers to shared resources such as land or the ocean. And the tragedy of the commons is the theory that if people share a finite resource they will tend to over use it, thus ruining it for all. While that might sound depressing - and it is - my conversation with Jeremy is definitely not! So tune in!
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation.
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**Today we are going to dig into seafood with our guest Jennifer Bushman. She’s going to help us better understand how the bounty of the ocean fits into our diets as well as our national food security plan and a healthier planet.
Jennifer Bushman is a sustainable seafood expert, communicator, and strategist who has been championing ethical aquaculture for more than two decades. She has been on a mission to transform the food system, preserve the oceans, nourish the world’s ever-growing population, and offset carbon emissions.**
**Among her many initiatives, she co-founded Fed by Blue, a science-based communications initiative, designed to provide knowledge and materials to help protect and participate in a responsible blue food system.
In 2024, Fed by Blue will be launching A four-part documentary series called Hope in the Water. Keep your eyes peeled and remember, you heard it here first!*Jennifer BushmanFed By Blue*
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This podcast marks our 30th episode which seems like something to celebrate! So thank you for tuning in! If you like what we’re doing here, please spread the word.
We have traveled the world together on this podcast, but today’s guest is located right here where I am, in the great state of Maine!
Stuart Davies joins us today to speak about ORPC or the Ocean Renewable Power Company. ORPC is building modular, eco-friendly hydropower units fit for rivers and oceans. Unlike wind or sun, hydropower is not dependent on a specific set of circumstances, like sun or wind, to perform. As such it has the advantage of being able to provide a steady stream of power to its users or the grid. And the market is giving ORPC a green light.
It was a real honour to speak to Stuart and hear about this company’s growth trajectory. I think you will enjoy this podcast.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation. They made a huge splash in The Hague last week - and we are very proud to be part of their ecosystem.
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Happy Planet Wednesday !
Many of you, especially those who love the Caribbean, are aware of what is now called the sargassum belt, a 5,000 mile long belt of floating sargassum seaweed mass that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico all of the way to Africa, hitting the South East coast of the United States along the way.
In normal doses, sargassum is a healthy macro algae that provides a habitat for sea life and sequesters carbon from the atmosphere. But an overabundance began in 2011 and has escalated to an ecological crisis for the affected area. This is a massive blow to the local marine ecosystem not to mention to the human one that depends on tourism and fishing in the area.
Over the past few years I’ve met a number of entrepreneurs who are focused on solving the problem. And today we are going to speak to Edward Shao of ProjectQRSargasso who is in the early stages of building a company that seeks to harvest this seaweed in order to produce three very different products from it: fertilizer for our gardens, a substrate for coral reefs, and hydrogen to fuel our homes.
This ambitious project was born of a simple desire to save the ecosystem. Like many of the entrepreneurs we’ve heard on Happy Planet, with Edward business is mission first.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups.
Oceanovation is a hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue-tech innovation. Good luck to them in The Hague this week!
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The fashion industry is at odds with the survival of our planet.
Ten percent of total global carbon emissions derive from the fashion industry, as much as the whole European Union. The industry is polluting our rivers, streams, and oceans. Meanwhile some 80% of our discarded textiles are either incinerated or wind up in trash heaps each year, usually in places like Ghana which are fast becoming dumps for the North.
But clothes bring us protection, safety, and, well, joy. We can’t live without them and we don’t want to. So what can we do about it?
Our guest this week is Runa Ray, a Fashion Environmentalist determined to make the fashion industry more sustainable. Runa is a Paris-trained designer who cut her teeth at Dior and John Galliano. She eventually broke off on her own to forge a new path. Today Runa is a well known in the fashion industry. She uses seaweed to create more sustainable fashion designs through her own brand and works with groups like the United Nations to promote sustainable fashion practices. Runa is in high demand and we are very lucky to have her.
Just a reminder, you can listen to Happy Planet pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, or by following one of these links: Apple , Spotify, Google, or our website.
And a special thanks to Maine Technology Institute and Spark No. 9 for sponsoring our podcast.
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You may recall that in Episode 12 we spoke about hydrogen fuel cell stacks. It was a very popular episode so I wanted to dig into the theme a bit more. As such, today we’re going to dig into green hydrogen itself.
Just a reminder that GREEN hydrogen is hydrogen derived from a renewable-energy powered electrolysis process that splits water molecules, H20, into their components H2, hydrogen and O, oxygen.
One of the challenges of creating green hydrogen is the water source. Historically, for this to work, a very clean and pure source of water has been required. And this is not just expensive to procure, but it also uses our precious and increasingly scarce fresh water resources that may have a higher use case, like drinking water. This problem has garnered a lot of interest from researchers.
Our guest today is one such researcher. And he made global news when he discovered a reliable method for creating green hydrogen using a water source that covers 70% of the planet: seawater.
Nasir Mahmood is the Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University in Australia. We are incredibly lucky to have him here today.
Nasir Mahmood
RMIT University
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As I think you know by now, I believe technology can solve most things - but sometimes the right tech just can’t come fast enough, and in the meantime, the most innovative tool at our disposal may be good old fashioned dialogue.
Such is the case in Maine where a dwindling population of the large and lumbering North Atlantic Right Whale has pitted lobster fishers and environmentalists against each other. The environmentalists say gear entanglements are largely responsible for the spiralling population which they say risks extinction. The Maine lobster fishers say the numbers show they aren’t to blame for mortalities, and most are loath to adopt current "ropeless" gear citing its expense and lack of proven effectiveness. The polemic threatens Maine’s whole lobster industry which, by the way, contributes 1.5 billion dollars to Maine’s annual economy.
Both sides have now sued NOAA, the US agency that oversees fisheries management. One side says the proposed rule changes are overreaching, the other side says they aren’t broad enough.
NOAA, by law, has to convene all parties and attempt to develop consensus recommendations to save the whales. Our next guest has been mediating the difficult work of that group.
David Plumb of the Consensus Building institute grew up in Maine and in honour of the recent Mother’s Day holiday, I should add that he originally learned his mediating craft by taking a class from his mother. Since then he has worked as a professional mediator all around the world.
Today David has the unique, and perhaps unenviable, position of working as the mediator between all of these parties. For us this is an opportunity to better understand what’s at stake and what are the tools available to create both a happier fishery and whale population on the planet.
As you will hear in the podcast, the current congressional ruling pushes changes down the road for several years, while providing for upwards of 50M in annual grant opportunities to innovate solutions. For all of you innovators out there, here are some links about this opportunity:
https://www.maine.gov/dmr/news/fri-12232022-1200-message-commissioner-keliher-federal-budget-package-includes-pause-whale
David Plumb
Consensus Building Institute
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Our guest today is Benjamin Sorkin, Founder of Flux Marine, a Rhode Island-based company innovating electric outboard motors.
I was invited to visit Ben’s shop back in January following a conference organized by the Blue Venture Forum. I was impressed by what I saw.
Ben and his team have taken electric propulsion technology a long way from when I first looked for an electric outboard for my oyster farm back in 2010. Needless to say at that point, I didn’t find a solution that fit my needs.
Judging from the clients' boats I saw they have outfitted, Flux Marine seems to be - and pardon the pun - hydroplaning towards the future.
Benjamin Sorkin
Flux Marine
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Today we’re going to dive into the world of marine research.
Our guest is Deborah Bronk, President and CEO of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, a Maine-based marine research institute specializing in ocean microbes like algae, plankton, viruses, and bacteria.
Bigelow Laboratory is a relatively small institute but it's growing fast and having a global impact. Under Deborah's leadership, interdisciplinarity reigns. Deborah believes in removing silos in ocean research and encouraging the interaction and cooperation of researchers from different disciplines. Even the layout of their laboratory is designed to reflect this operating principle. And science isn't the only discipline Deborah seeks inspiration from for her researchers. Bigelow currently has an art show installed on campus to inspire her team.
This strategy seems to be paying off as they are commercializing their research and planning for expansion.
Deborah Bronk
Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences
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**A number of listeners have reached out with questions about how to get involved in angel investing. So in this episode I speak to one of the most experienced and articulate angel investors I know.
Our guest is Adam de Sola Pool, a Venture Capitalist by trade who now has over $1M in angel investments of his own. I met Adam through a blue technology angel investment group in Boston called BlueAngels, which is part of SeaAhead, Boston’s premier marine accelerator and investment platform.**
**If you are thinking about getting involved in angel investing, this podcast is a great place to start. Adam shares many pearls of wisdom.
See below for some helpful links to get started.**
Adam de Sola Pool
SeaAhead
Investable Oceans
Maine Angels
Paris Business Angels
Angel Capital Association
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When you think about GOOGLE, ocean innovation may be the last thing that comes to mind. But Google Founder Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy have been great friends to the ocean and climate, pouring millions into the sector through their Schmidt family Foundation.
Our guest today is Mark Schrope. He is the Director of Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, an offshoot of the Schmidt Family foundation. Schmidt Marine Technology Partners is dedicated to what they call “venture philanthropy” in the marine sector. In other words, without taking equity, they fill an important funding gap in marine innovation that we’ve heard about in many prior episodes. When traditional VCs and grants aren’t available, they can step in. And they do.
Mark Schrope
Schmidt Family Foundation
Schmidt Marine Technology Partners
Eric Schmidt
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This week’s podcast touches upon two themes that are close to my heart: my college town of New York City and oysters!
Our guest today is Murray Fisher. He is the man behind two fairly recent, but already iconic, NYC institutions. In 2002, Murray founded the New York Harbor School, a public high school revolving around New York City’s river. Then in 2010, he co-founded the Billion Oyster Project, a non-profit offshoot of the Harbor School, which aims to restore a billion oysters to the city’s harbor by 2035.
As a former oyster farmer, getting invited to bring my oysters to the Billion Oyster Project’s annual fundraiser was something of a rite of passage. And if bivalve-loving listeners have a chance to attend you should absolutely do so - literally tens of thousands of oysters are shucked and eaten in a matter of hours! It’s an epic party.
We also mention a book that I love in this podcast, tiled The Big Oyster by Mark Kurlansky. It tells the history of NYC through the oyster which at one time was one of the city’s economic and dietetic keystones. It’s definitely worth a read.
Murray Fisher
New York Harbor School
Billion Oyster Project
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This week we’re going to address the planet’s plastic problem. These petroleum-based materials only became mass produced after WW2 but as we heard from our very first guest Bill Curtsinger, as early as the 60s micro-plastics were already being identified as a concern in the remote waters of Antartica.
It was about that time that the 1967 movie, The Graduate came out in which a well-meaning Mr. McGuire famously offers career advice to the young, floundering Ben Braddock. “The future is in plastics,” he says. He was not wrong; the 70s and 80s brought a massive and unrelenting surge of consumer and convenience driven plastics that has only continued to grow. And today here we are with massive swaths of plastic waste forming veritable islands in the Pacific ocean.
And while recycling may make us feel better, only 5% to 6% of U.S. plastics are being recycled. According to a recent Greenpeace report, recycling is not economical, it has environmental and health implications, and most plastics are just fundamentally not recyclable.
Our guest today, Thibaut Monfort-Micheo, hopes to help solve this problem. He is co-founder of FlexSea, a UK-based company aiming to use use sustainable seaweed to make alternative bio-based and biodegradable plastics.
Thibaut Monfort-Micheo
FlexSea
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I am really excited to introduce you all to Steven Fox, a founding Partner of Propeller VC, a new early stage venture fund that invests in and builds ocean-climate companies that use science and technology to address the climate crisis. Propeller is the brainchild of Hubspot Founder Brian Hallagan and it was designed to be the venture partner for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution otherwise known as WHOI, one of the foremost ocean research institutes in the world.
While the blue economy is still a nascent segment, there are a handful of ocean focused funds popping up around Europe and the US. But with over 100M under management and a strategic partnership with WHOI, Propeller promises to be one of the major players in this industry.
Steven Fox
WHOI
Propeller VC
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There are a few things that separate winning startups from those that crash. Some of them are pretty obvious: Good leadership. A Good Market Fit. Sufficient Cash on hand to grow. But you also need a good story. And that’s not always easy for entrepreneurs to formulate, especially in an increasingly crowded field like climate or blue innovation where the big picture corporate missions are often overlapping. They all want to save the planet. Today we are going to speak with Alex Searle, a professional storyteller, about the craft of storytelling, why it matters and what are the elements of a good story.
For more about Alex and his services, check out his website: https://www.alex-searle.com
Alex is also the host of a podcast on this subject called The Humble Pie: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-humble-pie/id1551300372?l=fr
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This week we meet Edwina Tanner and Jill Storey of Whale X, an Australian company competing for Elon Musk’s X Prize, a multi-year competition resulting in the awarding of $100M to the best carbon removal project.
Whale X’s solution? Fertilize the ocean with synthetic whale poop. Before you write that off as silly, know that they are currently in 60th place out of 1,000 applicants. And frankly, who better than Elon Musk to support a seemingly outrageous idea.
Some topics covered in this podcast:
- Diminishing whale population and implications for ocean health
- The mechanics of Carbon Sequestration and why the ocean is optimal
- Backstory on research from Ocean Nourishment Corporation, Whale X’s mother organization
- The role of whales in the carbon cycle and marine ecosystem in general
- How Whale X would be rolled out
- What they need to get it off the ground
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This week we are going to speak with Rob Cobbald, COO of Beach Collective, a company that is building a digital platform that merges some of the most abstract and immaterial aspects of the web, like Cryptos and NFTs with some of the most tangible and physical activities on the planet, like community building, ocean conservation, and trash pickup.
Beach Collective is disrupting what they see as a flawed financial system and using their own low-emissions crypto called Beach Token as a tool for change for the better of the planet and its people. People around the world are litereally going to be able to earn Beach Token when they take action - like picking up beach trash - to improve our planet’s health.
Sound utopian? Well, to date, they’ve raised $150,000 in transaction fees with Beach Token and, with their partners, they have registered planet-healthy actions in 50 countries, removed 150,000+ kgs of trash from the oceans and they have restored 10 hectares of mangroves in 3 countries. So maybe this is something worth paying attention to.
To hear my conversation with Rob, tune in on Apple, Spotify, or Google. And don’t forget to subscribe on your platformto get automatic updates. If you like what we’re doing, please do spread the word.
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
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This week’s guest, Christophe Maier, Founder and CEO of Lagosta. Christophe was raised in Switzerland, on lake Geneva, but once he discovered the Mediterranean he couldn’t get enough of salty waterbodies!
Fast forward to adulthood and Christophe raises spiny lobsters, not for the European luxury food market as he originally expected, but for the pharma market which is turning out to be a very lucrative pivot. And he doesn’t even harm the lobsters. Instead, he up-cycles spiny lobster by-catch, grows them out in his onshore system and uses their “molts” or shedded shells to produce high-quality Chitosan.
Some of the subjects we will touch upon are:
- How Christophe came to Pivot
- How Climate change is affecting spiny lobsters and the Med in general
- How Christophe raises the spiny lobsters
- The particularities of the spiny lobster
- Traceability and spiny Lobster “fingerprints”
- The benefits of Chitosan
- Christophe’s growth plans and fundraise
- Christophe’s advice to entrepreneurs
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Lagosta
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We’ve spoken to a lot of entrepreneurs from around the world in the past few months and there is one thing they all have in common - a corporation. The precise structures of corporations will vary from company to company and country to country but a relatively new corporate certification is working its way around the planet and creating a global standard for how businesses should behave. It’s the B Corp Certification and it’s gaining ground.
Ben Anderson, a B Corp Leader, and former CEO and Co-Chair of Board of B Lab US & Canada joins the show today to explain how it works and why getting a B makes for good business.
A sneak preview:
- How corporate values have shifted over the years
- What is the B Corp
- The Shareholder v Stakeholder economy
- What are the qualifiers to become B Corp
- How to become B Corp
- What it costs
- How B Corp is helping companies prove ESG
- How it turns out B Corp is good for business performance
- B Corp’s influence on international corporate governance
- Why consumers may want to look for B Corp
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B Corporation
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Watch out NEMO there’s a new clownfish in town and he’s a lot smarter than you are! Today we are talking to Liane Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Aquaai (Uh-qu-why)- which merges the words aqua and the term AI together.
Liane has an incredible bio including stints in war reporting and television producing. And she knows a good thing when she sees it. She put Alan Bordain on TV. Today she has been named one of 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology and I can see why. The unabbreviated list of accolades for Liane and her team is below
Liane and her life partner Simeon Pieterkosky have brought to market a robotic, intelligent clownfish that can monitor waterways and aquaculture facilities and provide actionable data.
The inspiration came from Simeon’s young daughter who asked him one day to ‘save the seas.’ So, like any good parent, roboticist Simeon got to work building technology that can identify and track environmental changes underwater.
Aquaai’s Nemo is put to use monitoring sustainable aquaculture systems, measuring and identifying sources of pollution, and is even working to monitor carbon capture. And Nemo is only getting smarter and more talented with time.
Aquaai
Liane Thomson
Simeon Pieterkosky
Accolades for Aquaai:
50 Most Powerful Women in Technology to Follow in 2023, NEOM selected 2022, World’s Top 50 Innovators Codex 2022, Top Tier Impact Awards 2022 (finalist), GreenBiz, Atlantic Council, Verizon Climate Resilience Prize 2022 (finalist), 20 Women Driving the Future of Climate Tech in 2021, OceanPitch Fest 2021 (finalist), 30 Women to Know in Robotics in 2020, Hardware Cup CleanTech 2021 (finalist), Awarded Innovation Norway grant 2020, TEKFISH (2020 trip winner) - Australian Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), European Commission's Seal of Excellence for Impact, Quality and Efficiency 2020, CDL Graduate 2020, Winner Top Aquaculture Innovation Award Fish 2.0 Stanford Global Forum 2019, Innovative Woman in AI / Blockchain to Follow in 2019
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This week’s guest, Tore Enger, Founder and CEO of the group TECO 2030, is pioneering the fuel cell stacks designed for green hydrogen in trucking and shipping, industries traditionally reliant on diesel fuel.
After speaking with Tore, my worldview on renewables started to broaden. I’d love to know what you think after you listen to the episode. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts.
One note about this episode, I break down the basic mechanics of green hydrogen in the introduction - what it is, how it works. I’ve tried to keep the explanation short (it’s about one minute) but I wanted the episode to be accessible to all.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Mechanics of green hydrogen
- How green hydrogen is well adapted to the maritime industry
- TECO 2030’s role in the green hydrogen revolution - and who they are working with
- The future of trucking with respect to green hydrogen
- Who the big players of the renewable industry will be in the future
- Norway’s role in the impact economy
- Oslo’s green hydrogen passenger car program
- How some of the biggest players in the renewable space might surprise you
- Building a climate legacy
To hear my conversation with Tore, tune in on Apple, Spotify, or Google. And don’t forget to subscribe on your platformto get automatic updates. If you like what we’re doing, please do spread the word.
Many thanks to Maine Technology Institute, Maine Venture Fund and Spark No.9 for their sponsorship.
I’d also like to thank our promotional partners. Investable Oceans is a US-based angel platform specializing in ocean-related startups. Oceanovation is a Dutch-South African hub for entrepreneurs and investors in blue tech innovation.
I’d love your thoughts on how the podcast is going and please, if you like the show,
TECO2030
TORE ENGER
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This week I am delighted to introduce you to the entrepreneur who inspired this whole podcast, Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda, Founder and CEO of Urchinomics.
I met Brian through our last interviewee, Harry Wright. Brian was participating in one of Harry’s accelerator programs in the UK. I knew Brian was on to something when I met him. And apparently so have a lot of other people since then. Fast forward a few months and Brian was speaking at DAVOS!
Brian is growing sea urchins for the uni market. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He’s simultaneously restoring kelp forests and the biodiverse species for which they provide a habitat. His is the first company in the world to be verified for the blue carbon credit market for wild kelp. They are one of only three commercial ventures in the world to be endorsed by United Nations Ocean Decade. Given how in demand Brian is, it was a particular honour to have him on the show.
In this episode, we cover a lot including:
- The importance of Kelp Forests
- How urchin barrens form and become toxic for the ecosystem including for themselves
- Japan’s pioneering of the blue carbon credit space
- How sometimes the best entrepreneurs piece together technology rather than create it
- Farming Uni
- How uni are what they eat and what Urchinomic’s feeds them
- The global uni market
- When we’re all going to be able taste Brian’s uni
- Prioritizing speed even when it might seem too ambitious
- Leaving a climate legacy
To hear my conversation with Brian, tune in on Apple, Spotify, or Google. And don’t forget to subscribe on your platformto get automatic updates. If you like what we’re doing, please do spread the word.
Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda
Urchinomics
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Today we cross the pond and speak with Harry Wright, Founder of Bright Tide, a UK-based consultancy helping businesses achieve their milestones and sustainability goals through hackathons, accelerator programs, and advisement.
Harry is particularly interested in fostering the nascent blue carbon market where carbon sequestration can be much more impactful, but where it’s notoriously hard to measure. His current accelerator cohort is focusing on cracking that nut.
In this episodes we hear:
- Why Harry left the practice of law to focus on nature positive business
- How policy for the climate and impact business is evolving in the UK faced with BREXIT, a new Prime Minister and a new Head of State
- What is Natural Capital
- How nature can bounce back if we let it
- How Harry plans on accelerating the blue carbon agenda in the UK and beyond
In the short time since he left his law practice to focus on Bright Tide, Harry has helped dozens of startups get to the next level and advised many established corporates on how to be pro-nature and truly sustainable. His is also a story of personal drive to make the planet a happier one.
UNDP Sustainability Goals
Bright Tide
Harry Wright
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This week we meet Nanette Medved-Po, a Philippine entrepreneur who began her career as an actress and became a regional celebrity thanks to her role as the local version of Wonder Woman. Since then she has employed her education, smarts, and star power to help others and the planet.
Nanette is a board member of the WFF Asia and was named one of Forbes’ Heroes of Philanthropy. Most recently she founded The Plastic Credit Exchange, fashioned after carbon credit exchanges, in order to tackle the problem of plastic waste. It’s the first of its kind and they are going global.
I love this story because Nanette’s path is so varied and because the Plastic Credit Exchange came about in order to solve a problem she felt she had created by trying to solve another problem!
This is a meaty episode where we learn not only how the exchange came to be but we also talk UN Basel Convention, Greenpeace, incineration 2.0, Extended Producer Responsibility, and why the perfect can be the enemy of the good when it comes to impact entrepreneurship.
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As promised, Happy Planet is kicking off 2023 with an interview with Patrick Breeding, the young founder who says he’s building Maine’s next “unicorn.” And he’s doing it with a lobster based skincare product that is flying off the shelves.
His company is Marin Skincare, a Maine-based company founded by couple Patrick and his girlfriend Amber Boutiette who met at the University of Maine and whose lives changed when they got hooked up with The Lobster Institute.
In this episode we learn:
- How a personal tragedy can lead to a profound desire to do good
- How two university students stumbled into a skincare solution
- How science majors may be particularly well suited for entrepreneurship
- How grants can provide important early funding for startups
- Why it's nice to have a co-founder
- How this company is using PR to drive sales
- How this company is pushing off fundraising as long as they can.
Mentions in this episode
Patrick Breeding
Amber Boutiette
Marin Skincare
MTI
The Lobster Institute
Luke's Lobster
Luke Holden
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Meet Chip Terry, Founder and CEO of BlueTrace, a Maine based software company aiming to digitize the seafood industry where the vast majority of tagging, tracing and reporting is still done with pen and paper.
Smart and funny, Chip was a lot of fun to interview. But his story also resonates with many entrepreneurs because the problem he is solving now is not the one he set out to solve originally. A couple years in, he made a full pivot and in doing so transformed his potential customer base from a subset of aquaculturists to virtually any harvester or dealer in the global seafood market. Sometimes it takes getting in to find the right path.
I’d like to thank Maine Venture Fund, a two time investor in BlueTrace, for sponsoring this episode.
In this podcast we’ll learn the following and more:
- When Chip knew it was time to pivot - and how he did it
- Why digitizing the seafood industry is urgent
- How racing lasers is good training for entrepreneurship
- How Chip raised money in this terrible fundraising climatee
Mentioned in the episode: BlueTraceMaine Technology InstituteChip TerryMaine Venture Fund
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Meet Lisa Scali of Ocean’s Balance, a seaweed-based food startup specializing in staple pantry items. This is a particularly fun episode for me because Lisa and I met in graduate school at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) many years ago. Since then our paths have crossed again and again with us both ending up in Maine aquaculture! And to add to that, Lisa's business partner Mitchell Lench is also a SIPA alum.
In this podcast we’ll learn:
- How working for yourself is a game-changer
- How Lisa’s European heritage and experience are helping her create award-winning products
- Why Americans should eat more seaweed and why it should be locally farmed
- How seaweed is grown and the respective merits of different strains
- How seaweed sequesters carbon
- Where Ocean’s Balance is in their growth cycle and what it’s like raising money.
- Why Maine is a good place to start a business.
- Lisa’s advice for fellow entrepreneurs.
Also a huge thank you to Lisa for being my first guinea pig on this podcast. There was a bit of a learning curve and we had to do a second take! A supportive friend!
Mentioned in this episode:
Lisa Scali
Ocean's Balance
New England Ocean's Clusters
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Maine Technology Institute
Katapult VC
Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs
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In this week’s episode of Happy Planet we meet Bernard Hidier, Co-Founder of Finsulate. The serial impact-entrepreneur shares his story of how the sea urchin inspired his company’s totally unique approach to marine anti-fouling.
Bernard is a French-born entrepreneur living in the US. He’s a brilliant, energetic serial entrepreneur who is as philosophical in his approach to business building as he is pragmatic. And that combo seems to be working.
In this podcast we’ll learn:
- What is biomimicry?
- How sea urchins inspired Finsulate?
- How the French used to think "innovation" was heretical and how - fortunately - that has changed.
- How they are going about rolling out this business?
- What’s different about startups in France and the US
- How Finsulate is raising capital.
- What advice Bernard has for other entrepreneurs.
Finsulate
Bernard Hidier
New England Ocean Clusters
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This week we speak with Blaine Grimes, the woman behind Gulf of Maine Ventures, the investment arm of Gulf of Maine Research Institute. I really enjoyed my conversation with Blaine. She has a broad perspective on the ocean economy as well as a take-charge attitude.
During her tenture at GMRI, Blaine realized that important innovations were sometimes not making it into the market due to a funding gap in the blue economy startup space. Like any good entrepreneur, she set out fix the problem. And in doing so, she seems to have started a trend! Blue tech investment is finally getting its moment!
GMRI
Gulf of Maine Ventures
Also mentioned:
Sea-Ahead
Ocean's Balance
BlueTrace
American Unagi
In Happy Planet’s third episode we meet Griffin O’Driscoll, the young CEO of Organicin Scientific. Griffin joined forces with his professor Dr. Margaret Riley to commercialize her 25+ years of research on bacteriocins, anti-microbial proteins that kill bacteria in a targeted way. Organicin is now creating products for the aquaculture industry, both to keep seafood safer for consumption and to reduce mortality in farming. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what they think they can do….
Learn how antibiotics became standard issue, giving rise to big Pharma, and how, by looking back at techniques used before the discovery of penicillin, we may have found the way forward to a new post-antibiotic age. I hope you find this conversation as fascinating and hope-inspiring as I did.
Company website:
https://www.organicinscientific.com
Mentions:
www.sea-ahead.com
www.techstars.com
Meet Nicholas Sullivan, author of Blue Revolution, who helps debunk some of the myths around wild caught seafood versus aquaculture and tells us about new blue technologies that will make both industries fare better.
Nicholas is a Senior Fellow at The Fletcher School’s Council on Emerging Market Enterprises and a Senior Research Fellow at its Maritime Studies Program. A writer and editor focused on the interplay between technology and development, Sullivan has twice been a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Resident Fellow. He is a graduate of Harvard University and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and resides in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
To learn more about fisheries and blue technology in New England, I highly recommend reading his book. It is a who’s who of New England’s blue economy, and a few of the players figuring in it will be featured in upcoming Happy Planet podcasts.
A few mentions:
www.blue-trace.com
https://www.newenglandoceancluster.com
Iceland Ocean Cluster @oceancluster
Meet Bill Curtsinger, a pioneer of underwater sea photography. He has many “firsts” to his name including being the first to photograph a narwhal.
Bill was also my neighbour growing up in Maine and his stories and photographs made a life-long impression.
I wanted to reconnect with Bill to frame our ocean series discussion. In addition to uncovering his tales of adventure, I was eager to hear how the ocean ecology issues of the late 60s and 70s compare to our concerns now.
Bill's Website
BOOKS:
EXTREME NATURE
MENTIONED
Scripps
National Geographic
Welcome to Happy Planet where we speak with entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders driving the impact economy. I am your host, Abigail Carroll. For a long time I was best known as Maine’s oyster lady; now I work with other mission-driven start-ups pursuing both profit and planetary health.. This work is so exciting and hope-inspiring that I decided to share the stories of some of the incredible people I’ve met along the way. Our first season will treat the ocean economy where some of the greatest environmental impacts are being forged from business innovation.