An Israeli company with Tampa Bay ties has made its way to TIME's 100 Best Inventions of the Year.
ECOncrete, which was in the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator program in 2018, was named one of the best companies in the "Design" category. ECOncrete began in 2012 and aims to replace concrete blocks often seen along shorelines with less disruptive concrete infrastructure that better blends with the environment and accommodates living sea creatures. It was founded by Shimrit Perkol-Finkel and Ido Sella.
"We've developed ECOncrete a few years out of academy as we realized that to make a real change we must bring a solution that the industry can use at commercial scale," Perkol-Finkel said in an email to Tampa Bay Inno. "We took on concrete as it makes about 70% of coastal structures and we've witnessed that regular 'gray' concrete isn't a good surrogate to reefs, and it mainly attracts "wheedy" and invasive species."
The company, based in Tel Aviv, hired its sales manager from the Tampa area and also leased storage space in St. Petersburg. Rachel Feinman, executive director of FIBA, has a bi-weekly phone call with the company team to continue to help ECOncrete with Floridian connections.
"From the time they applied, we saw their passion for what they were doing and the strength of their team was what really stood out," Feinman said. "When you're evaluating early stage companies, the team is just as, if not more, important than the solution. From the founders to the rest of the staff, everyone was very strong even before they joined our program."
After doing further research into the company, ECOncrete was cemented as a standout startup.
"When we did our due diligence we saw how impactful the product was and the number of connections we could make and the work they're already doing," Feinman said. "They found a great home in St. Pete because it has a significant amount of coastal areas."
TIME's recognition is one of many accolades the company has received in recent months. In October, the company won the "Pitch to Rich" event in Tel Aviv hosted by Virgin mogul Sir Richard Branson. In June, Fast Company recognized Perkol-Finkel as a "Most Creative Person" honoree. Forbes also named Perkol-Finkel as one of the 50 women in tech who are "crushing it."
"I was so honored to be a part of of this special yearly edition, and now after reviewing the other inventions I'm even more excited," Perkol-Finkel said. "It's difficult to say what such incredible recognitions can lead to. Surely great exposure, more projects and partnerships hopefully, all of which will bring us closer to making our vision into reality, and change the way our future waterfronts ports and working waterfronts look and function. Helping sustain our precious oceans."
According to Perkol-Finkel, the company has raised $5 million to date and are seeking $7 million in its latest funding round. She said the next step for the company is simply to grow and to grow quickly.
"We need to act fast as we are losing coastal ecosystems and coastal communities that are under real threat of sea level rise and extreme storminess," she said. "We need to act fast through partnerships and collaborations with industry giants that can help us bring our solution to the makers that need it — be it massive ports and megacities and small island communities that are especially vulnerable and need to restore natural barriers."
