#8: The Seaweed Company with Joost Wouters - Stepping up professionalisation, building a company as a platform, true collaboration Vs. secrecy, and going from corporate career to seaweed entrepreneur.

Joost Wouters is the Founder & SeaEO of The Seaweed Company. We started our conversation by unpacking the milestones of his journey from a corporate career to becoming an entrepreneur “hooked on seaweed” and on a mission to “make seaweed visible”.Among the many topics discussed on this episode, here are some that you might find really interesting: The need to step up professionalisation in the industry to get out of the “hobby” area, appreciating the value that you are providing to help grow from a cottage industry to establishing a competent and credible industry. The mindset of starting a company as a platform, open to true collaboration and to partnering with like-minded people that want to work with seaweed. The value of cooperation to grow hand-in-hand. Evolving the market rather than blocking the speed of innovation by protecting IP. Changing the attitude and learning to share failure. Biorefining and how this area may develop in the future. Biggest challenges to overcome, such as producing seaweed biomass on shore below a certain price. Scaling production in a way that works with nature. The benefits of using biostimulants and animal feed supplement. Reconnecting with the source and the other living beings around us, removing the barrier between human being and nature.Useful Links:Joost Wouters on LinkedInThe Seaweed Company: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.Joost Wouters' Bio:Joost started his professional career in the corporate world, working at Proctor & Gamble first, to then join the management team of PepsiCo. Following the urge to become more independent, he decided to start a management consulting firm, working with the leadership teams of large and small companies such as Danone, Unilever, Heineken and Reckitt Benckiser, in places all over the world. After a year spent travelling in the USA with his family, he moved to Spain, where he built a house and Leadership Centre at the Mediterranean. Ten years later he returned to The Netherlands to continue his journey to contribute to a liveable future for the generations to come by implementing carbon positive seaweed solutions with The Seaweed Company. Farming seaweed all over the globe to support the health & wellbeing of humans, animals, crops and soils.