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This week I am delighted to introduce you to the entrepreneur who inspired this whole podcast, Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda, Founder and CEO of Urchinomics.
I met Brian through our last interviewee, Harry Wright. Brian was participating in one of Harry’s accelerator programs in the UK. I knew Brian was on to something when I met him. And apparently so have a lot of other people since then. Fast forward a few months and Brian was speaking at DAVOS!
Brian is growing sea urchins for the uni market. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He’s simultaneously restoring kelp forests and the biodiverse species for which they provide a habitat. His is the
first company in the world to be verified for the blue carbon credit market for wild kelp. They are one of only three commercial ventures in the world to be endorsed by
United Nations Ocean Decade. Given how in demand Brian is, it was a particular honour to have him on the show.
In this episode, we cover a lot including:
- The importance of Kelp Forests
- How urchin barrens form and become toxic for the ecosystem including for themselves
- Japan’s pioneering of the blue carbon credit space
- How sometimes the best entrepreneurs piece together technology rather than create it
- Farming Uni
- How uni are what they eat and what Urchinomic’s feeds them
- The global uni market
- When we’re all going to be able taste Brian’s uni
- Prioritizing speed even when it might seem too ambitious
- Leaving a climate legacy
To hear my conversation with Brian, tune in on Apple, Spotify, or
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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.
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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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