Arctic Seaweed is on a mission to transform seaweed cultivation with disruptive technology. As Strategic Advisor, Matthias Boeing is assisting the company to build a strategy for scaling up. He's studied International Business and Strategic Management at the University of York, after which he gained important experience in management consulting and digital transformation. He then took what he calls an "Ocean Sabbatical" that lead him to finally combine his background and skills with his passion for the ocean. * Check out ⁠⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time. Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠⁠ * [1:40] Highlights from Day 1 of Seagriculture Conference EU 2023. [2:50] Learning from the software industry how to test and iterate. [6:00] The blueprint for building partnerships in the seaweed industry. [9:55] Challenges in attracting capital investment for seaweed supply chain. [12:50] The concept of Seaweed As A Service: a framework for partnership. [19:50] Seaweed farming and offshore wind: announced collaboration with Simply Blue Group. [24:45] How technology could disrupt seaweed farming and allow scaling up. [29:30] The need to show a path to profitability in order to survive. [32:00] Opportunities for new entrants in the industry. [33:30] Digital transformation and using data. [37:30] How to integrated ecosystem services. [40:45] Why the seaweed industry must succeed in this "make or break" moment. * Useful Links: Matthias Boeing: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Arctic Seaweed: ⁠Website⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and email at hello@aseaweed.com * Get in touch on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, or by emailing me directly at fed@insideseaweed.com - Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think! less

Kaly is a natural capital operating platform whose mission is to scale the production of regeneratively farmed seaweed in Scotland and develop new routes to market through higher-value processing using a community-based approach.

Co-Founder of Kaly, Daniel Hillman is an experienced impact investor and entrepreneur, most recently as Director of Investments and Business Development for Waterfund, a private investment firm he helped create focused on solving global water scarcity through investments in technology and infrastructure. In this capacity, Daniel built and scaled a water desalination and distribution business in the Middle East and led venture capital investments within food and ag-tech companies in the United States. Prior to Waterfund Daniel worked at Hanson Asset Management in London, advising family offices on direct investments with a real assets focus. He also advises closely-held businesses in the UK and the US on implementing growth and M&A strategies.

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Check out ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠

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[3:00] Expectations from Seagriculture Conference.

[4:45] The steep learning curve to join the seaweed industry.

[5:50] Bridging the gap between finance and the seaweed industry.

[8:00] How nature dictates what a sustainable growth would look like.

[9:50] Challenges and frustration worth "throwing money at".

[12:20] What Kaly is not going to do and what they will rely on partners.

[14:10] Moving from vertical integration to specialisation in a mature industry.

[17:30] Establishing a network of commercial agreements with local creel fishermen.

[23:00] Kaly's products and who is going to buy them.

[24:55] "Big Ag" getting interested about seaweed.

[26:10] Biostimulant trial set-up and what Kaly is hoping to learn.

[30:05] Nutrient credits as a way to create an extra income stream.

[36:00] Final thoughts about enthusiasm and passion in the industry.

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Useful Links:

Daniel Hillman: Linkedin

Kaly Group: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

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Get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or by emailing me directly at fed@insideseaweed.com - Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Special thanks to my brother Riccardo, who made this episode possible by travelling with me to Trondheim (Norway), acting as technical director and helping hugely in making sure that both live interviews went as smoothly as they did.

GreenWave trains and supports regenerative ocean farmers in the era of climate change, working with coastal communities to create a blue economy—built and led by ocean farmers.

Sam Garwin leads GreenWave’s efforts to establish reliable, accessible, and equitable markets for seaweed farmers. Her work includes business development and organizing support for regional farmer networks, research and infrastructure pilots to address post-harvest bottlenecks, and value chain coordination to cultivate a resilient ecosystem of businesses to get seaweed from seed to sale. Since 2019, Sam has led the buildout of Seaweed Source, GreenWave’s direct buyer engagement program and digital tool, growing the network to over 50 buyers across nine U.S. states and Canadian provinces, and facilitating forward contracts for over 400,000 lbs of kelp. 

Sam draws on more than a decade of experience building sustainable supply chains and socially responsible business models. Before joining GreenWave, Sam developed market-based solutions for regenerative food companies through her consulting firm, 5th Quarter Foods. She was previously the CEO of Fleishers, a pioneer of pasture-raised whole-animal retail butchery; and an early employee of Maya Mountain Cacao, a social enterprise dedicated to direct-trade organic cocoa bean sourcing. Sam holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Science and Biology from Cornell University.

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Check out the ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠

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[1:20] Why do most seaweed entrepreneurs have a part-time job?

[4:30] Cultivating multiple species.

[5:50] How to start a seaweed business that works.

[9:45] Sharing risk and reward with farmers

[11:10] Other initial considerations, specific to the type of business.

[14:10] Are product and market introductions lagging behind expectations?

[16:10] Similarities between seaweed farming and agriculture. What can be learnt and replicated?

[23:00] How to collaboratively co-create value across the entire supply chain.

[25:30] Tools and support for seaweed entrepreneurs.

[26:10] Main benefits in joining an incubator/accelerator

[28:45] Scaling up the industry while still allowing small business to join and thrive

[30:15] Abandon scarcity mindset: focus less on price reduction and more on value creating.

[31:20] How could we make seaweed a "cash crop"?

[36:30] More on how to avoid repeating the mistakes of land agriculture.

[37:35] High margin Vs. Low margin products - considerations for seaweed entrepreneurs.

[43:50] Listening to the customer, being willing to test and pivot.

[49:20] Seaweed Source: GreenWave's new "dating" app for the seaweed industry. 

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Useful Links:

Sam Garwin: LinkedIn, Twitter and Website⁠

GreenWave: Website, LinkedIn⁠, Twitter, ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠

Regenerative Ocean Farming Hub

Seaweed Source app: Where Supply Meets Demand

Other companies and organisations mentioned in the Show: Atlantic Sea Farms, Akua, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, SeaAhead, Hatch, Investable Oceans, Local Catch, Launch Alaska.

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Vincent Doumeizel is Senior Adviser on the oceans to the United Nations Global Compact as well as director of the Food Programme at the Lloyd’s Register Foundation. Author of a new book titled "The Seaweed Revolution" which officially launched in the UK in May 2023, Vincent has in recent years devoted himself to promoting a food revolution and environmental solutions based on sea resources, especially seaweed. He also played an instrumental role in the creation and development of the Global Seaweed Coalition.

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Check out the ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠

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[1:40] Book launch of The Seaweed Revolution at the National History Museum in London.

[4:00] Goals and expectations for the book and its unexpected impact so far.

[11:30] Lessons and takeaways from researching and  writing this book.

[15:00] European culture and the West's lost connection with seaweed and the ocean.

[19:50] Why is nobody making money from seaweed, yet?

[25:55] Adjustments and contingencies to put in place when starting a seaweed business.

[27:45] Biorefining as key path toward profitability.

[32:15] How to collaborate within the framework of the Global Seaweed Coalition.

[38:50] Licencing issue and lack of science as biggest obstacles for the industry.

[42:00] Seaweed application in the food industry: a model that could work for Europe.

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Useful Links:

Vincent Doumeizel on LinkedIn and Twitter

United Nations Global Compact: Website, LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠

Global Seaweed Coalition : Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Lloyd's Register Foundation: Website⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Simon Johansson is the CEO of Nordic SeaFarm and has been working in the aquaculture industry for 5+ years and has a strong passion for the ocean. With a background from Management Consulting and working in the Middle East, North America and Europe he has acquired strong knowledge from various cultures and companies now being applied to scale up Nordic SeaFarm to become the pioneering seaweed company in Europe going forward. 

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Check out the ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠

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[1:05] Seaweed home-made pesto recipe.

[3:12] The global food crisis and how the ocean can play a role.

[6:10] Problem-solution fit, what is the problem we are trying to solve?

[8:50] Developing a downstream market for seaweed-based food products.

[15:40] Beyond taste, using seaweed as a functional ingredient in food products.

[21:20] Changing public perception about a new crop.

[23:00] Disrupting the food industry with innovative seaweed products.

[29:20] Vertical integration Vs. Specialisation.

[33:15] Product innovation and focusing on the customer.

[35:35] Growing other species of seaweed beyond kelp.

[36:20] How to enter the seaweed industry and have positive impact.

[37:00] Pursuing product-market fit. Testing, metrics and product development.

[42:20] Need for expertise in developing tasty but industrialised.

[43:45] The importance of lowering price and the risk of making seaweed a commodity.

[46:50] Collaboration and competition

[47:50] Opportunities in growing and using high value species such as sea lettuce and dulse

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Useful Links:

Simon Johansson on LinkedIn

Nordic SeaFarm: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Steven Hermans is the founder of Phyconomy, the platform on a mission to improve the flow of information in the seaweed industry. Phyconomy is currently doing so through a blog, a newsletter, a database of seaweed organisations and an annual report called State of the Seaweed Industry, which has been referenced on newspapers like the Financial Times, academic papers and policy papers such as Seaweed For Europe. You will be able to meet Steven in person at Seagriculture Conference EU 2023 (June 21st-22nd in Trondheim, Norway), where he will be part of discussion panel on seaweed investments and business aspects.

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Check out the ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠

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[1:05] Serving a niche as a content creator 

[6:40] What is Phyconomy?

[10:20] The invisible barrier between western and eastern seaweed industry

[12:20] Lack of educational content for newcomers into the industry

[15:15] Best formats for packaging information and who is the recipient

[18:10] Current focus for Phyconomy and plan going forward

[22:10] Feasibility of a knowledge-based business in seaweed

[26:15] The narrative for communicating the value of seaweed (engaging potential customers, creating a brand, promoting a product)

[27:40] Balance between unsupported hype and unnecessary pessimism

[31:00] Criteria to decide how to separate the signal from the noise

[32:30] Challenges and frustrations

[37:25] State of the Industry 2023

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Useful Links:

Steven Hermans on LinkedIn

Phyconomy: Website and Twitter.

Phyconomy's Newsletter, Blog, Database of Seaweed Organisations and State of the Industry 2023

⁠Seagriculture Conference EU⁠ - June 21st and 22nd 2023 in Trondheim, Norway. (⁠Follow on LinkedIn⁠)

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

This episode was created as part of ⁠Inside Seaweed⁠'s partnership with ⁠Seagriculture Conference⁠.

Olavur Gregersen is co-founder and CEO of Ocean Rainforest, one of the largest seaweed cultivation companies in Europe which also operates in California. Olavur has more than 20 years' experience as an entrepreneur and international speaker, primarily focused on seaweed cultivation and growth in the blue bioeconomy. He will be keynote speaker during Seagriculture Conference EU 2023 (June 21st-22nd in Trondheim, Norway), where he will discuss the financial ecosystem to enable scaling-up seaweed cultivation.

*

Check out the Inside Seaweed Newsletter! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at anytime.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to insideseaweed.com

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[1:38] Introduction to Ocean Rainforest

[3:13] Customer segments and the seaweed value chain

[6:05] Seaweed application in the dairy sector

[8:03] Seaweed as functional feed additive, and its benefits

[9:58] Finding customers for your seaweed biomass

[14:22] Cultivating in large scale in California

[17:00] Seagriculture Conference EU 2023

[21:52] The financial ecosystem to enable scaling-up

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Useful Links:

Olavur Gregersen on LinkedIn and Twitter

Ocean Rainforest: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Seagriculture Conferece EU - June 21st and 22nd 2023 in Trondheim, Norway. (Follow on LinkedIn)

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on LinkedIn, Twitter, or directly via email. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

This episode was created as part of Inside Seaweed's partnership with Seagriculture Conference.

Silje Forbord is Research Manager at SINTEF Oceans. Silje has 15 years' seaweed cultivation experience from land-based hatchery and field work, including integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). She holds a PhD in cultivation of sugar kelp with focus on nitrogen uptake kinetics, growth characteristics and chemical composition.

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Check out the ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at anytime.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com

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SINTEF Ocean is an independent research organisation based in Norway, which over the past 15 years has conducted around 60 projects on various aspects of seaweed cultivation and utilization.

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[08:30] Producing seaweed biomass that nobody wants to buy.

[09:25] The equipment you can’t buy in store

[10:20] How funding availability influences which research projects are pursued.

[12:35] Upscaling and why the seaweed industry is not profitable, yet.

[13:55] Need to pay more attention to finding the right location for seaweed farming.

[17:25] Coastal farming Vs. Offshore farming.

[20:50] Innovation needed to achieve upscaling.

[25:10] Cost is holding back faster progress.

[26:50] Market development has been overlooked.

[28:40] Year-round supply and diversification into different species.

[32:20] What can we learn from Asia? Is there enough collaboration?

[36:40] Seagriculture Conference EU.

[39:20] Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture.

[46:40] Areas where more research is needed.

[48:00] Final thoughts.

Useful Links: Silje Forbord on LinkedIn

SINTEF Ocean: Website, LinkedIn

Seagriculture Conferece EU - June 21st and 22nd 2023 in Trondheim, Norway. (Follow on LinkedIn)

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Fionnuala Quin is the Founder CEO of Kelpy, a start-up working to create a reliable and ethical bioplastic replacement for the single use packaging items currently choking our oceans worldwide.

The daughter of a fisherman, Fionnuala is no stranger to aquaculture and its challenges. Her positive vision of the future is not just driven by her determination to create a positive impact, but it is also supported by a deep understanding of the industry and what it takes to succeed with a seaweed business.

Some of the key points covered in our conversation are as follows:

• How to choose the right product among the wide range of seaweed applications
• How to bring innovation in an emerging and disruptive industry
• Market research and validating a business idea
• The importance of market pull to get out of the lab and drive positive outcomes
• Finding the right partners to build the business
• Climate change and the seaweed industry: Fionnuala’s vision for the future
• The role of seaweed bioplastics and using the soil as a carbon sink

Useful Links:

Fionnuala Quin on LinkedIn

Kelpy: Website, LinkedIn

The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz: book and Ted Talk

2040 (documentary)

Green Eco Technologies

Liz MacDonald is the Seaweed Supply and Advancement Manager at Atlantic Sea Farms. Liz has been farming the Gulf of Maine (US) since 2016, cultivating native mussels, scallops and kelp. Her detailed and practical knowledge of seaweed production is absolutely incredible.

Liz has collaborated with researchers and is a published author in multiple scientific journals, presenting her research nationally. She is responsible for Atlantic Sea Farms’ farming partnerships and helps a growing community of ocean farmers.

In this very informative episode, she painted an in-depth picture of seaweed supply on the east coast of the United States. This included:

• Learnings from on-the-job experience
• Practical tips as a seaweed farmers
• Trainings paths to become a seaweed farmer and learning resources
• Best practices and equipment out on the farm
• Costs and challenges associated with farming
• Processing and logistics
• Opportunities for innovation
• Social and environmental considerations

Useful Links:

Liz MacDonald on LinkedIn
Atlantic Sea Farms: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook
Gulf of Maine Research Institute - Aquaculture Projects
University of Maine
Sea Grant

Is the era of automation and AI coming to the seaweed industry?

I try to answer this question in my conversation with one of the pioneers of automation and mechanisation in the sector.

Here is a short trailer of this episode: click here

Among the many topics discussed on this episode, here are some that you might find really interesting:

• New technologies to disrupt the seaweed industry
• Principles and strategies behind a serial entrepreneur and how products and services are brought to market
• Seaweed stabilisation and secondary processing 
• Automation and mechanisation in seaweed farming 
• Using data and AI to reduce risk and operational cost whilst increasing the quality and quantity of the biomass
• Drastically reducing the time required for obtaining a seaweed farming licence
• The learnings from experiencing the war in Ukraine

It has been an absolute eye opener for me to hear the insights and thoughts Morten shared during our chat, I hope you will enjoy it.

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Check out the ⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time.

Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠

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Useful Links:
Morten Kroslid on Linkedin
Sirputis: Website, Linkedn, Facebook and Insagram
SoftSeaweed: Website and LinkedIn

Morten Kroslid's Bio: 

Morten Kroslid is CEO of Sirputis, a company providing equipment for seaweed cultivation and processing. He is also Co-Founder of SoftSeaweed, a software solution developed to make seaweed farming businesses more sustainable and profitable. Morten studied Business and Economics in his native Norway and went on, over the years, to become the founder or co-founder of more than 20 start-ups in several different countries. In the last few years he's focused on innovation aimed at enabling the growth of the seaweed industry globally.

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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Joost Wouters is the Founder & SeaEO of The Seaweed Company. We started our conversation by unpacking the milestones of his journey from a corporate career to becoming an entrepreneur “hooked on seaweed” and on a mission to “make seaweed visible”.

Among the many topics discussed on this episode, here are some that you might find really interesting:

• The need to step up professionalisation in the industry to get out of the “hobby” area, appreciating the value that you are providing to help grow from a cottage industry to establishing a competent and credible industry.
• The mindset of starting a company as a platform, open to true collaboration and to partnering with like-minded people that want to work with seaweed.
• The value of cooperation to grow hand-in-hand. Evolving the market rather than blocking the speed of innovation by protecting IP. Changing the attitude and learning to share failure.
• Biorefining and how this area may develop in the future.
• Biggest challenges to overcome, such as producing seaweed biomass on shore below a certain price.
• Scaling production in a way that works with nature.
• The benefits of using biostimulants and animal feed supplement.
• Reconnecting with the source and the other living beings around us, removing the barrier between human being and nature.

Useful Links:

Joost Wouters on LinkedIn
The Seaweed Company: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Joost Wouters' Bio:

Joost started his professional career in the corporate world, working at Proctor & Gamble first, to then join the management team of PepsiCo. Following the urge to become more independent, he decided to start a management consulting firm, working with the leadership teams of large and small companies such as Danone, Unilever, Heineken and Reckitt Benckiser, in places all over the world. After a year spent travelling in the USA with his family, he moved to Spain, where he built a house and Leadership Centre at the Mediterranean. Ten years later he returned to The Netherlands to continue his journey to contribute to a liveable future for the generations to come by implementing carbon positive seaweed solutions with The Seaweed Company. Farming seaweed all over the globe to support the health & wellbeing of humans, animals, crops and soils.