#3: Cascadia Seaweed with Mike Williamson - Starting as a seaweed entrepreneur, focusing on 3 verticals, branding, and the challenges of processing seaweed when it doesn’t behave like spinach!

Here is my wide-ranging conversation with Mike Williamson, one of the first seaweed farmers in north America and the CEO of Cascadia Seaweed, one of the largest provider of ocean cultivated seaweed in North America (full bio below). He told me some really compelling stories about starting as a pioneer seaweed farmer and entrepreneur in British Columbia (Canada). Cascadia Seaweed decided early on to start farming their own seaweed and then focus on 3 main verticals: seaweed for making plant-based food products (e.g. seaweed snacks), feed additives for cows to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, extracting chemicals and dietary supplements from seaweed in a sustainable way.We looked into the importance of scale and the role of small businesses in the seaweed industry, with some great advice for seaweed entrepreneurs.Mike shared his experience and learnings with the branding aspects of developing seaweed products, testing them and bringing them to market - covering topics such as changing people perception and expanding the consumer acceptance and awareness of seaweed.We then launched into a deep dive around seaweed processing: from harvesting, freezing and extracting ingredients (bio-refining). He explained how seaweed doesn’t behave like any other land-based vegetables and the challenges that this brings to the processing stages, creating a need for specialised machinery and innovation in this area, which is strongly supported by collaboration with other seaweed entrepreneurs.Useful Links:Cascadia Seaweed's websiteCascadia Seaweed's on LinkedInMike Williamson on LinkedinSeaweed Around The ClockBooks (mentioned during the episodes):Slime by Ruth Kassinger - How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us PaperbMike Williamson's bio:Mike is a founding partner and the CEO of Cascadia Seaweed. Mike has had a long relationship with the sea. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he proudly served in the Royal Canadian Navy for over thirty years. He had a number of shore-based, sea-going (under-sea) and overseas postings, culminating with three years as Commander of Canada’s west coast Naval Base. In the last ten years, he has been an entrepreneur and leader of a number of marine oriented companies encompassing energy, security, education and the environment. Mike brings this experience, along with a BSc (Math/Physics) and an MBA, to his current role.