#21: Macro Oceans with Matthew Perkins – Biorefining to create profitable seaweed products, lessons from a decade in terrestrial agriculture and the role of technology in building positive change.

The Ocean Age

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Matthew is the Founder and CEO of Macro Oceans, a startup transforming seaweed into low-carbon chemicals for use in materials, cosmetics, food, and many other applications. Matthew is an experienced technology entrepreneur, having built and sold his first company, Yield Pop, to The Climate Corporation. He has more than a decade of experience in terrestrial agriculture and was the first business hire at Inari, a gene-editing technology company, where he helped raise over $100M in venture capital funding.

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:20 Matthew's ambitions and motivations at the outset of his career.
3:55 Early career in terrestrial agriculture: Syngenta, Yield Pop, The Climate Corporation, Inari.
7:30 Lessons in bringing technology to terrestrial agriculture.
9:50 Main differences and similarities between land farming and ocean farming.
13:25 Learning from other industries to innovate and solve problems in seaweed.
14:44 The genesis of Macro Oceans and the consideration in starting the company.
20:50 Macro Oceans business model and role in the industry.
25:15 Product strategy, the importance of profitability and optimising unit economics.
27:45 The role of technology in addressing some of the industry's pain point.
32:00 The cosmetic industry as an interesting application for seaweed.
34:00 Possible opportunities and challenges in developing nutraceuticals.
35:10 The supply chain in the cosmetic industry, the importance of brands and storytelling.
38:30 The trend of brands trying to simplify and “clean up” their labels.
40:20 Adopting solutions from terrestrial agriculture that are missing in seaweed.
43:15 Final thoughts

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Useful Links:

Matthew Perkins: LinkedIn

Macro Oceans: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Newsletter and email at [email protected]

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