A Miami startup is raising a $1 million seed round to make South Florida the center of the nation's emerging blue economy.
Founded in 2020, Seaworthy Collective is a venture studio and community devoted to scaling restorative ocean and maritime startups. That involves everything from the development of biodegradable plastic alternatives that will not pollute the oceans to the construction of sustainable seawalls that could protect communities from sea level rise.
The goal is to create a regenerative "blue economy" that can combat ocean pollution and climate change while also creating profitable companies, said Seaworthy Collective founder and CEO Daniel Kleinman.
"The ocean is one the biggest assets we have to fight climate change. People often focus on land-based solutions, but that's only 30% of the planet – the rest is the ocean," Kleinman said. "Even if you don't care about the ocean, [blue tech] is one of the big financial opportunities of our lifetime."
Seaworthy Collective had an eventful first year: The organization hosted its inaugural cohort of startups devoted to ocean regeneration, where it co-created two startups and helped eight others build relationships with its network of more than 100 mentors and investing partners in the blue economy. One of the companies it co-founded is SeaGreen Regeneration, a Miami startup working to farm seaweed at the base of the major tributaries entering Biscayne Bay. The seaweed farm will absorb pollutants, like nitrate and phosphate, that feed algal blooms that can be deadly to fish, manatees and other marine life.
Last month, Kleinman pitched Seaworthy Collective at the 2022 Synapse Summit in Tampa, where it was selected as a finalist for the competition's innovation award.
Climate firms make up a small part the wider tech economy, but those ventures are beginning to capture more attention from investors. Climate tech companies received about 14 cents of every venture capital dollar spent between the first half of 2020 to mid- 2021, according to PwC. But ocean technology startups still encompass a small portion of the climate ventures getting funded, Kleinman said.
It's even tougher for blue economy companies developing sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, he added.
"From my own experience, the ocean innovation field is largely dominated by the defense and fossil fuel industries," said Kleinman, who worked as a marine operations engineer and mechanical engineer before launching Seaworthy Collective. "Funding for marine and ocean research has also declined, which isn't helping."
That's a barrier to obtaining the capital support needed to tackle urgent issues impacting the ocean, such as overfishing, sea level rise, plastic pollution and ocean warming.
Seaworthy Collective aims to build pipelines that will connect blue economy startups with incubators, accelerators and larger investors who will help those companies grow. Kleinman said the venture is seeking angel investors for its $1 million seed funding round so Seaworthy can hire additional staff and, eventually, bring its model to other markets. The venture studio recently closed applications for its second startup cohort, which will culminate in a showcase event later this year.
"At Seaworthy, we're lowering the barriers to entry and getting talent in the door to develop solutions in scale," Kleinman said. "Floridians have a special passion for the ocean and we have a chance to activate our community to do great work they truly care about."
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