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Welcome to the 70th episode of Happy Planet podcast. This is the podcast where we celebrate innovation for a happy planet.

This week we are traveling to Alberta, Canada to speak with Rob Avis, co-founder of 5th World, a Canadian startup focused on regenerative living. 

5th World  designs and builds  self-sufficient homesteads, greenhouses and combined food, water, and energy systems we can live and work more synergistically with nature. Rob has powerful backers and big ambitions. Their end goal? Planetary regeneration within a generation. 

https://5thworld.com/

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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!

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Happy Planet Wednesday!

You might want to listen to this podcast before you pour yourself that cherished morning cup of coffee....

Our guest today is Etelle Higonnet, a French-born, Yale Law School graduate, living in Denmark, who set out to make coffee more environmentally friendly through her organization COFFEE WATCH. 

What she discovered was that environmental degradation was just the tip of the iceberg. The coffee industry is fraught with human injustices as well including human trafficking, child labor, and slavery. 

Despite these horrors, Etelle is confident that she can make a difference by getting all of us to vote with our pocketbooks and put pressure on our local governments. 

Can we have our coffee and our happy planet too? Tune in to hear it from Etelle.

Coffee Watch
Etelle Higonnet

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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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Happy Planet Wednesday!

If you have ever wanted to lift the veil on New England's mysterious working waterfront, this is the podcast for you. Our guest today is Bill Gerencer, a veteran of 40+ years on the New England Working Waterfront.

 Bill served as lobsterman commercial fisherman, fish buyer, salesperson, corporate trainer, fisheries management advisor, and in retirement, a part-time oyster farmer. I have known Bill for years as he used to buy oysters from me on behalf of Boston-based Foley Fish, when it was still a century-old, family-run business.

Bill has recently written a candid memoir titled, Working Waterfront, a Fish Tale. With humour and insight, it dives into everything from near-death experiences on fishing boats to Seaport bar brawls to regulating the fisheries. The tone is Hemmingway-esque, straightforward but soulful. Each chapter ends with a fittingly rough-and-ready seafood recipe.

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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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 ...