Sea Change Made: Seaworthy's Landmark 5 Year Impact Report

Daniel Kleinman
49 minutes ago
23 min read

In the fall of 2020, Seaworthy Collective was founded to take on a fundamental social problem holding back larger economic and environmental change:

While many people have the passion and relevant skills to lead or contribute to ventures driving innovation for ocean impact, a vast sea of untapped talent has yet to get involved. A lack of access to industry-specific knowledge, connections, and opportunities has made chances to take part in the BlueTech (ocean innovation) ecosystem too scarce and exclusive, limiting progress against the economic and environmental challenges facing the ocean.

This inspired Seaworthy Collective’s mission of bringing all hands on deck for BlueTech; helping ocean impact-driven individuals gain awareness of and access to opportunities to pursue their passions via entrepreneurship, while providing human-centered support to grow their capacities and confidence to pursue new and emerging ventures in the blue economy.

We believe that everyone with a passion for bettering our blue planet through business and innovation should have an accessible pathway to exploring their potential and making an impact. Seaworthy’s intentionally-designed programs break down barriers to participation in ocean innovation while building community to expand the ecosystem, ultimately developing the scale of solutions necessary to turn the tide on the exponentially growing challenges facing our seas.

Seaworthy Collective is a Miami-based 501c3 nonprofit that supports current and aspiring entrepreneurs driving innovation for ocean impact (AKA BlueTech). Our programs bring all hands on deck for BlueTech by co-creating and growing startups at their earliest stages, building regional capacity, and educating our community.

Half a decade into our work following this ambitious vision, we are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish to date. At the same time, in many ways we are just reaching “maturity” as an organization; having established strong foundations to be able to scale our programs, collaborate more effectively, and dependably deliver meaningful outcomes for the current and aspiring entrepreneurs we serve.

This work is truly a collective effort, and it has taken a village to get us to where we are today. Whether you’re one of the 100 founders we’ve supported, a mentor or collaborator who has volunteered their time and expertise to a Seaworthy startup’s success, a community member who has shown up to contribute at one or multiple of our 80 events to date, one of our dedicated board members or advisors, or a government, corporate, or philanthropic partner who has enabled so much of this work to happen - everyone has had an important role in our impact over the last 5 years. And if you’re looking to get involved - there has never been a better time to join our rising tide and contribute to our collective impact than now!

As we approach the end of the year, we are asking for your support this giving season starting today, ahead of Giving Tuesday! We’re looking to raise at least $12,500 to support our impactful work next year, and are already halfway to our goal with a generous donor who has committed a $5,000 match and over $1,300 raised for Give Miami Day!

Donate to support Seaworthy this Giving Season

If our work at Seaworthy Collective has inspired you, given you practical reasons for hope, or made you truly excited about the future of ocean innovation and impact, this is your chance to show your support and further our work empowering Sea Change Makers - current and aspiring BlueTech entrepreneurs. If you are looking to maximize the impact of your year-end tax deductible donations, join us in supporting the growth of tangible ocean solutions along with the people behind them.

We're proud to share our total outcomes from this year, and 5-year lifetime outcomes below. Keep reading past that to check out our milestones from this year and highlights from our startup and community programs. After that we share featured startup success stories and updates from Seaworthy alumni! Finally, this 5-year milestone impact report concludes with a preview of our plans for next year, including details on ways to get involved with Seaworthy in 2026.

Seaworthy's Social, Economic, & Regional Impacts

Seaworthy's Lifetime Environmental Impacts

Seaworthy's Biggest Milestones In 2025

Each list item has an arrow (on the left) to minimize it if you want to skip to the next section!

Co-developing The Continuum, Our $14M NOAA Partnership

We kicked off 2025 with starting our largest and most ambitious partnership in our history - co-leading the development of our $14M partnership with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The Continuum. The Continuum is a one-stop platform for U.S.-based entrepreneurs developing cutting-edge Bluetech solutions that advance the ocean enterprise, strengthen the blue economy, and build a more resilient, future-ready workforce.

Designed to accelerate innovation across all stages of business growth, The Continuum supports the full lifecycle of Bluetech startups from idea to impact by offering a coordinated, year-round network of expertise, opportunity, and resources.

This powerful collaboration unites seven industry leaders combining regional strengths, international reach, technical expertise, and sector-specific resources to create a seamless support system that accelerates innovation more effectively than any single organization could alone.

Continuum partners at Seaworthy's home at the Miami Yacht Club (left) and at OCEANS 2025 Conference in Chicago (right)

Launching The Shoreline, Our Community & Network Platform

In the spring, Seaworthy launched a new way for BlueTech entrepreneurs to access our ecosystem and support; The Shoreline platform. 4 beta subscribers joined our pilot, with the platform and Seaworthy's supporting enabling outcomes including securing customers and raising investment, learning and executing market validation, articulating fundamental value propositions, and developing team capacity.

The Shoreline is Seaworthy Collective's digital community and network platform designed to scale capacity and efficiency in supporting current, aspiring, and potential BlueTech entrepreneurs. As founders seek out critical support for bringing their ideas to market, their main opportunities for accessing support are traditionally via formal accelerator programs, which have limited acceptances and are time intensive commitments. However, founders don't need a litany of formal programs to maintain progress; they just need access to components of these programs such as access to mentors, catalytic support, and more.

Leveraging ecosystem mapping, regenerative frameworks, and AI, The Shoreline enables more entrepreneurs to access support. It provides a platform with automations for matchmaking network connections, sharing tailored industry insights, and recommending relevant resources and curricula, while still delivering 1 on 1 support (by humans) on a less intensive basis. Ultimately, The Shoreline will scale up access to our ecosystem so that no worthy entrepreneur is left without the support they need to keep going – after all, our blue planet is counting on them!

Seaworthy's First Time on Capital Hill Fighting for NOAA

Speaking of NOAA, in April we had the chance to sit down with Congressional staffers and even sit down with members of Congress for Seaworthy’s first time on Capitol Hill in DC, in partnership with Ocean Conservancy. It was a critical time to make our voices heard as budget appropriations were kicking off and Congress acts as the authority that directs current and future funding allocations for NOAA and the nation's budget, and we were thrilled to add advocacy to our growing foundational abilities for supporting our community.

Our small but mighty Florida delegation met with members of congress' staff from across the state, including Congresswoman Salazar (FL-27), Congressmen Rutherford (FL-04), Frost (FL-10), and Mast (FL-21). On the last day of the trip, Daniel got to meet 1 on 1 with Rep. Bonamici (OR-1), the co-chair of the House of Representatives' Ocean Caucus, who offered future opportunities to engage Congress on BlueTech!

Joining The World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Regenerative Blue Economy

The World Economic Forum's network of Global Future Councils brings together cross-disciplinary experts to develop transformative ideas for positive global impact. The 2025-2026 term brings together around 700 of the most relevant and knowledgeable thought leaders grouped into 36 expertise-based thematic councils - one of which will focus on the Regenerative Blue Economy.

This year, The World Economic Forum has officially launched the Global Future Council on the Regenerative Blue Economy — a dynamic group of experts from finance, business, government, academia, and civil society. Seaworthy Collective's own Founder & CEO Daniel Kleinman is representing the startup ecosystem as a member of the council.

Chaired by Helle Herk-Hansen and Dr. Ussif Rashid Sumaila, the Council will provide strategic guidance to help governments, investors, and businesses implement solutions that drive sustainable ocean economies forward 💡 Together, this Council will provide insights charting a viable economic trajectory for marine sectors, while supporting innovation that improves marine ecosystems, mitigates climate change impacts and ensures equity.

Attending The United Nations' Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice & Blue Economy Finance Forum in Monaco

Seaworthy Collective had the honor of speaking on two different panels in the green zone with 1000 Ocean Startups and Early Career Ocean Professionals, sailed in the Rypples regatta with fellow entrepreneur support organization leaders and investors (and won the race!), and built deeper connections with so many outstanding individuals making incredible impact.

We were proud to start UNOC as part of a session celebrating women ocean entrepreneurs led by our 1000OS working group co-lead Birgit Liodden and The Ocean Opportunity Lab! Over 41% of the founders Seaworthy Collective has supported have been women, and the majority of our past 3 cohorts have had women-led startups! We shared how intentional founder-centric design has inherently driven reaching female founders within our programs. It was an honor to share the stage with many women-led organizations we are proud to collaborate and partner with, including Braid Theory and Ann Carpenter, StartBlue Ocean Enterprise Accelerator and Vanessa Scott, Paula Sylvia and Port of San Diego, Jenny Krusoe and AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, and more!

We were also thrilled to share the stage to discuss innovation and entrepreneurship led by Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) alongside Herland Cerveaux of OceanHub Africa and Inés Mas de la Peña of Climate KIC. There was a clear thread of the barriers to overcome for youth and early career individuals to participate in innovation, and how we can demystify the perceived exclusivity of the ecosystem. We also had the opportunity to co-lead a workshop at the 1000 Ocean Startups Startup Reef with Ann Carpenter and Braid Theory, demonstrating our collaboration as part of The Continuum.

Additional highlights from UNOC & BEFF included sailing and winning the Rypples Regatta with our friends at Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Ocean Impact Organization, OceanHub Africa, joining our fellow members of the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition from across the globe for an inspiring town hall aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl , getting to participate in the first ever in-person gathering of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council for the Regenerative Blue Economy for our an incredible roundtable discussion, and spirited discussions on the Ocean Enterprise data technologies, services, and finance with our partners at the Marine Technology Society.

Our friends at Climate Acceptance Studios even filmed us in the Green Zone to capture our time at UNOC:

Partnering with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR) to Develop RegeneraSea

Seaworthy Collective joined forces with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), a global leader in legal services for technology, life sciences, and innovation-driven organizations.

WSGR’s deep expertise in supporting startups and emerging industries, combined with their commitment to community impact, aligns directly with Seaworthy’s mission. We’re excited to be working together on developing exciting financial innovations that will power our first investments next year via our venture philanthropy vehicle, RegeneraSea.

Becoming an Official Nominator for The Earthshot Prize

Seaworthy Collective recently announced that we are an Official Nominator for The Earthshot Prize 2026! The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental award, and we're excited for our community of startups and founders to be able to access this incredible opportunity.

We are actively selecting our first-ever nominees for The EarthShot Prize and anticipate announcing them soon!

Highlights From Our Startup & Community Programs

This year, Seaworthy Collective hosted or co-hosted 11 events, including 8 different collaborative events, along with our flagship Sea Change Makers Series Panels, and our biggest-ever Startup Showcase at the Miami Beach Bandshell! We spent a considerable amount of time focused internally on developing The Continuum for the early part of the year, and kicked our community events off a little later this year in May.

BlueTech Pitch Night @ The LAB Miami

Seaworthy co-hosted our first event of the year in collaboration with Cohort 3 alumnus, Gradible, for a "Pitch Night" pitch competition at The LAB Miami! We had an incredible turnout, and the startups and founders who pitched (all of which were doing so for their very first time on a public stage) knocked it out of the park!

We were proud to feature pitches from:

🤖 Sunfish Inc - CTO Kristof Richmond
🗺️ Vital Ocean - Co-founder Joi Danielson
🦪 Everglades Oysters - Co-founders Josh Wilkie and Fabio Galarce
☁️ SkyWind Solutions - Co-founder Bonnie Schneider

All of these featured startups were either currently part of The Shoreline beta (Everglades Oysters, SkyWind Solutions & Sunfish), and/or were under consideration for our next cohort in the Ocean Enterprise Studio & Incubator (Vital Ocean & SkyWind Solutions)! Everglades Oysters ended up having the winning pitch, fast-tracking them to the Top 40 for SPARC South Florida, with the chance to compete for a $1,000,000 investment!

Cohort 6 of our NOAA-revamped Studio & Incubator

A few months later, we were proud to announce our 6th cohort, our first as part of our NOAA partnership, The Continuum! We revamped our flagship Startup Studio & Incubator in alignment with our NOAA partners' focus on the Ocean Enterprise; building solutions providing infrastructure and capacity for ocean observation, measurement, and forecasting, or delivering operational ocean information products and services.

Our latest wave of 7 pioneering ocean startups, including 1 that was co-created, that were part of the Fall 2025 Ocean Enterprise Studio & Incubator were:

🪸 Coral Collective (Waianae, HI) – Founded by Annalee Herrera - An AI-powered platform that turns community-driven coral reef monitoring into scalable, actionable insights. By combining citizen science with photo and data analysis, it streamlines reef health tracking & empowers local conservation with real-time, tech-enabled tools.
🛠️ DOLGO (Tampa, FL) – Founded by "Waz" Wazenn - DOLGO is building the experience infrastructure for field-based troubleshooting expertise, transforming the individual tacit knowledge of engineers & technicians into institutional knowledge.
🏛️ Endur (West Palm Beach, FL) – Founded by Roberto Lama - provides a next-generation ocean intelligence platform, initially focused on transforming the marine permitting process by integrating real-time data, predictive analytics, & compliance automation to help marine restoration industries streamline approvals & reduce delays.
☘️ Kelp Cover (Honolulu, HI) – Founded by Allison Rowe- Kelp Cover is an AI-enabled finance platform for ocean farmers, starting with affordable parametric insurance backed by blue nature credits.
📡 SkyWind Solutions (Boca Raton, FL) – Co-founded by Bonnie Schneider - SkyWind Solutions provides AI-powered, hyperlocal forecasts for total coastal water levels, addressing sea level rise impacts & bridging gaps between conventional tidal gauges. A separate model is in development to forecast red tide conditions with high spatial and temporal resolution.
🌊 Vital Ocean (Portland, OR) – Co-founded by Joi Danielson, Vincent Kneefel, Luke Dallafior, Vladimir Shifrin, & Madhu Reddiboina - Vital Ocean harnesses the power of AI and emerging technologies to bring clarity to ocean complexity & unlock bold new possibilities for ocean recovery and resilience.
🪼 VOMAR (Co-created startup) - Co-founded by Sandra Fogg - VOMAR is a visual ocean marketplace, connecting imagery, data, and people to make the ocean visible. VOMAR is an all-in-one platform solving the fragmentation between the users and providers of visual ocean data.

Fall Sea Change Makers Series Panels

This fall, members of Cohort 6 were featured across 2 Sea Change Makers Series Panels, 1 virtually and one hosted in person in collaboration with AI Salon at our home at the Miami Yacht Club:

Panel recordings will be up on our YouTube before the end of the year!

Fall 2025 Startup Showcase at the Miami Beach Bandshell

Seaworthy Collective's fall slate of events culminated in our Startup Showcase in Miami at the end of October! The event celebrated the hard work and dedication between members of our 6th cohort, our team, Seaworthy community, and partners in The Continuum!

It was an honor and inspiration to be part of these founders' journeys and help them dive into the BlueTech ecosystem, and build their "core" from diving deep into their "why" to testing, iterating, and solidifying value propositions, business models, pitches, and more.

This year raised the bar in many ways for Seaworthy; we gave founders access to the most people, resources, and opportunities we ever have in just 3 months, along with offering critical connections across NOAA and our Continuum partners at Braid Theory, Tampa Bay Wave, Ocean Exchange, St. Pete Innovation District, World Ocean Council, and University of South Florida! We were also thrilled to host our first-ever unconference at our Startup Showcase, ensuring our community walked away with fresh and meaningful connections from our flagship event!

We're especially grateful to all of our mentors, collaborators, and partners who donated their time, knowledge, resources, and experience to support our latest wave of founders, including:

Chris Daniels, Ann Carpenter, Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy, Emily Patrolia, James Irvine, Dave Doebler, Sirena Andras, Mayor Rachel Streitfeld, Zack Baize, Mathew Biddle, Evan Taylor, Vincent Arena, Dr. Brahm Rhodes, Conner Lachenbruch, Sarabeth Brockley, Diego Arango Moncayo, a very special AMA with Dr. Rick Spinrad, and many more!

None of this would be possible without the support of NOAA & IOOS' Ocean Enterprise Initiative and Environment Next, who have backed Seaworthy's ambitious work in The Continuum and continue proving the value of NOAA and ocean data for the future of the blue economy! Looking ahead, we can't wait to see our cohort graduates' continued progress with ongoing support from our partners in The Continuum!

Seaworthy on the Scene

In addition to establishing ourselves on the global stage at UNOC, Seaworthy's team and community made waves all over the country - check out some of the highlights from events we spoke at, additional collaborations, and partner events from this non-stop year below:

Tamara reps team Seaworthy from coast to coast and in between

From Dallas to Los Angeles, Director of Founder Success Tamara Kahn Zissman shared her thought leadership at EarthX and their E-Capital Summit! She also joined Seaworthy Cohort 6 members Bonnie and Roberto at our partner Braid Theory's conference, IGNITE22! Tamara also took over our Instagram with PR Director Angela Betancourt to share all of the exciting updates on Seaworthy's Startup Programs this year, and moderated our virtual Sea Change Makers Panel. Capping the year off, Tamara rocked the stage at our Startup Showcase, and co-facilitated our first-ever unconference collaboration activity at our flagship event!

Kelsey makes a splash in her first full year on team Seaworthy

Meanwhile, Seaworthy's Director of Operations, Kelsey Rumburg, made her mark on the community in her first year as our third full-time team member! She represented Seaworthy speaking on a panel with our partners in The Continuum at the Synapse Summit in Tampa, moderated one of our Sea Change Makers Panels, and supported collaborations with Miami Waterkeeper & Rotary Club of Coconut Grove. We also couldn't be prouder that this year she graduated from Harvard University with a Masters Degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Harvard Extension School!

Daniel's shares Seaworthy's leadership from Miami to Tampa Bay

Rounding us out, Daniel Kleinman, Seaworthy's Founder and CEO, further cemented our work on the homefront across Florida at conferences including Miami Tech Works' Future Workforce Development 2025 (FWD 2025), and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's 2025 Resilient Solutions Summit. We also hosted port leaders from Norway to Italy at our home at the Miami Yacht Club in collaboration with our partners at The Ocean Opportunity Lab (TOOL). One of Daniel's personal highlights was getting to spend time with Dr. Rick Spinrad, the former Administrator of NOAA, in St. Petersburg. They recorded a soon-to-be-released podcast with our partners at Tampa Bay Wave.

Seaworthy Stories: Spotlighting Founders' Journeys

Dr. Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez, Co-founder & CEO of PhytoFlora by Green Thumb Strategies

📍Miami, Florida, USA

Cohort 4 (Spring 2024)

Dr. Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez and her company PhytoFlora are growing... literally! They gained their first municipal client, the city of Pinecrest, who are supporting the pilot of a scaled productive floating wetland installation. This pilot is now also being supported by a $225k USDA grant to assist with the research monitoring of the installation for 12 months.

PhytoFlora's pilot is supporting the municipality of Pinecrest to become more resilient to the threats impaired water quality has on South Florida's coastal region. Additionally, they are enabling Pinecrest to serve as a role model to neighboring communities, empowering other municipalities to leverage their pilot. While the official removal will be measured at the end of this year, they can estimate approximately 10kg of nitrates and 10kg of phosphates will have been removed by the end of this year with their current installation.

How did Seaworthy help Jazmin & PhytoFlora get here?

"Seaworthy has made a significant impact on me personally as a founder, professionally as a startup, and even more for Phytoflora's network and impact. Seaworthy has provided me with a direct connection to the blue economy community of South Florida (and beyond) by continuing to engage in activities, attend workshops, participate in events, and be an active member of this community. I am thankful to say that relationships built during our time in the cohort have resulted in genuine friendships that help uplift me through the difficult journey of being a founder." - Dr. Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez

Gabriel Savio, Co-founder & CEO of Sipremo

📍São Paulo, Brazil

Cohort 1 (Fall 2021)

Gabriel Savio and his company Sipremo have come a long way since graduating from Seaworthy's inaugural cohort, establishing themselves as a global leader in AI-powered climate risk intelligence. Sipremo’s risk-modeling technology is reaching maturity while demonstrating its global impact potential and readiness for international collaboration.

This year, Sipremo successfully absorbed and operationalized a long-range climate forecasting technology previously restricted to the U.S. Department of Defense, making its capabilities available to the civil sector worldwide. Powered by a $4M investment, this achievement is an unprecedented step forward in democratizing climate intelligence. Furthermore, their system for detecting and tracking offshore oil spill plume displacement was highlighted by the World Ports Sustainability Program, demonstrating its applicability for port, coastal, and maritime operations.

Over 40 million people have already benefited from Sipremo’s technology, whether through risk mitigation, enhanced civil defense preparedness, or the protection of critical supply chains. Through the adoption of its predictive intelligence models, partner organizations have achieved a 90% reduction in environmentally harmful inputs, eliminating unnecessary chemical applications and decreasing contamination risks for soil, water bodies, and surrounding ecosystems. In the field of climate resilience, Sipremo’s technology has enabled a 62.9% reduction in response time to climate-related events, allowing companies and public agencies to act before damage occurs protecting lives, preventing economic losses, and reducing emergency management costs.

Sipremo was recently invited to present its technology at several notable climate and innovation forums, including the UN AI for Climate Action Forum 2025 in Tanzania, Rio Innovation Week, and First Global Innovation Forum organized by the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub. Sipremo was also a finalist at the 1st UN Citiverse Challenge, and Gabriel was recognized as a UNESCO speaker. Nationally, Sipremo was recognized as one of São Paulo’s leading machine learning companies and was invited by the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present its technology and contribute to strategic discussions on climate and innovation.

How did Seaworthy help Gabriel & Sipremo get here?

"Taking part in the inaugural Seaworthy Collective cohort was a game-changer for our global initiatives, especially in the world of BlueTech. It opened doors to incredible connections and helped us realize the massive potential of our solution, not just in business terms, but also in the positive impact it can make. Seaworthy played a crucial role in expanding our network, opening our first pathways into international markets, and most importantly reconnecting us with our core purpose to positively impacting people’s lives through technology." - Gabriel Savio

Max MacKenzie, Founder & CEO of Prosper Water

📍Miami, Florida, USA

Cohort 5 (Fall 2024)

Max MacKenzie and his company Prosper Water are taking water pollution head on through their patented gas infusion wastewater aeration system - bringing life back to current and potential dead zones in the water.

Prosper Water successfully manufactured and installed their first system as a retrofit of an existing wastewater treatment plant in Brazil to improve the quality of water discharge. The project was to upgrade the aeration system in an aging lagoon style plant that was operating out of compliance. The project was commissioned in early October, and they have now improved the quality of water discharge to save more than 830 million gallons per year of polluted water from flowing into the ocean and over 16.7 billion gallons over the life of their 20 year contract.

This success has led Prosper to being awarded two more contracts from the client and also their 1st reservoir restoration & maintenance contract to preserve the clean water source in a small city that serves over 200,000 residents. The early success of these projects has also generated additional RFPs that are suited for their unique patented technology, while enabling them to successfully raise $2.5M in investment to support our growth.

How did Seaworthy help him get here?

"Seaworthy was vital in guiding Prosper through the critical pilot to commercialization phase. The Studio & Incubator program provided a gateway for me to become part of the BlueTech community and also refine my approach for ways to impact the ocean. Seaworthy's support focused on both the business execution and the emotional support entrepreneurs need through the challenging phases that founders with small teams face. Seaworthy also provided Prosper with a platform to get our message out into our local community, where we hope to bring our solutions to solving local water problems. I’m eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a caring and dedicated team at Seaworthy." - Max MacKenzie

Updates From More Newsworthy Sea Change Makers

Kind Designs - Cohort 1 (2021)

Founder Anya Freeman and her team have been on a roll in 2025 scaling their 3D-printed Living Seawalls!

Kind Designs secured their first $1M in revenue, raised another $5M with further investment from Mark Cuban (bringing their total amount raised to $11.5M), plus securing 3 separate federal grants, enabling them to expand to markets across Florida & NYC.

They also expanded to a 50,000 square foot Miami factory, now deploy 3 robots, and completed 10 installations. They also led updates to Miami-Dade’s seawall legislation for expedited permitting and other incentives for Living Seawalls.

Kind Designs has also racked up accolades, including Time Best Invention 2025, Fast Company's 2024 World Changing Ideas, Fast Company's 2024 Most Innovative Companies, and more!

"Participating in Seaworthy’s first cohort was pivotal for Kind Designs. It immediately connected us with a committed community and allowed us to present our vision to the right audience. This exposure directly led to attracting our first investors and early adopters, which helped lay the foundation for our rapid growth. Seaworthy offered resources that were instrumental at a critical stage for Kind Designs." - Anya Freeman

Clean Earth Rovers - Cohort 2 (2022)

Co-founder Michael Arens and his team have also come a long way from Cincinnati to LA.

They've now secured contracts with Port of Los Angeles and Newport Beach, while establishing partnerships with Waterkeeper Alliance and Atlas Scientific.

Their flagship "Roomba for the Ocean" Rover, can collect up to 100 pounds of debris per bag, and be adapted to collect two gallons of oil a minute, aquatic vegetation up to five feet below the surface, or even spray herbicide on algae and invasive species. They've also expanded their product line to include new models of DataPod smart buoys, which wirelessly report diagnostic samples to the cloud every 30 minutes and send live-alerts about water quality concerns.

They've made great strides against addressing waterway pollution in California; Clean Earth Rovers have removed over 10 tons of plastic pollution from waterways to date! Most recently, CER graduated from Continuum partner Braid Theory's accelerator, and raised about $350,000 to date and are approaching $300,000 in annual recurring revenue.

Gradible - Cohort 3 (2023)

Founder Yadira "Yadi" Diaz has been building the community along with her startup Gradible, the "environmental concierge" offering over 150 tailored solutions to reduce waste, energy, and water use without compromising the hospitality industry's bottom line. Their digital platform helps businesses track progress, identify savings opportunities, and access available rebates, making sustainability simple, measurable, and profitable.

Yadi's passionate leadership in the community has led to her receiving profiles from Refresh Miami to The Cool Down and a Local 10 news feature!

As Yadi leads building the prototype of Gradible's next online client portal and marketplace, her company has already helped facilitate diverting 48,251 lbs from landfill, reducing 27 metric tons of CO2 emissions, and even donating 300 meals to those in need.

We were thrilled to collaborate with Yadi for our spring BlueTech Pitch Night, and Yadi continues hosting Pitch Night events regularly - keep an eye out!

"As a solopreneur, it is very important for me to cultivate a network of like-minded individuals who share the same mission and aspirations. Surrounding myself with this community fed my drive and helped me towards achieving my goals. Seaworthy for life!" - Yadi Diaz

Coastal Protection Solutions (CPS) - Cohort 4 (Spring 2024)

Founder Alex Berkowitz's startup is developing nearshore infrastructure to reduce wave energy and enhance climate resilience. Alex's personal experience with Hurricane Sandy in her hometown of Rockaway Beach inspired her to create the Wave Breaker—an innovative floating barrier designed to protect coastal communities from storm surge and erosion.

Since graduating, CPS has won Mass Challenge's social impact award (2nd place), and is working with communities in the Outer Banks to pilot after raising $75,000 in initial investment. Learn more on Alex's recent podcast appearance on Harvard Business School's Climate Rising Podcast.

SeaLumber by Sargassum Eco Lumber - Cohort 4 (Spring 2024)

Co-founder Raquel de Antonio Crespo's innovative solution combining invasive sargassum seaweed and marine plastic into a lumber alternative that also turns the tide on deforestation has continued branching out!

This year SeaLumber forged strategic alliances with the Ministry of Economy Mexico and SEMARNAT to establish large-scale operations in Quintana Roo. They've also received strong interest from major companies for sustainable furniture and pallets. Raquel also joined fellow Seaworthy alum Blayne from Shorelock to join Daniel and Seaworthy at the UN Oceans Conference!

Raquel has also continued her mastery on the pitch competition stage, selected as a Top 30 GreenTech Finalist in the EPiC Competition representing our region in Hong Kong this month!

“Seaworthy Collective helped me realize that I wasn’t just solving the Sargassum crisis — I was addressing the deeper, systemic challenges of the lumber industry. Their mentorship gave me the perspective to see the bigger picture.” - Raquel de Antonio Crespo

Toothpik - Cohort 5 (Fall 2024)

Founder Tenny-Ann Dandy's solution to build community and improve recycling and composting rates is gaining ground after launching their app this month!

Toothpik takes the guesswork out of recycling. Their app allows users to snap a photo or search for an item to instantly learn whether it belongs in recycling, compost, or trash. Designed to make sustainable living easier, Toothpik empowers individuals and communities to reduce contamination, divert waste, and build better recycling habits—one item at a time.

This year they hosted their first in person event, a composting and recycling workshop with over 22 attendees in West Palm Beach. Toothpik launched their app in the Apple and Google Play app stores after raising over $16,500+ in non-dilutive funds including winning an AI Hackathon. They have already captured nearly 400 organic users from their MVP to their app launch in November!

Mud Rat - Cohort 5 (Fall 2024)

Founder Amelia Martin's mycelium mushroom-based surfboards and floatation alternative material has found many avenues to continue sprouting!

Mud Rat has now secured over $60k in non-dilutive funding, highlighted by being selected as the Cade Prize's sports innovation category winner and a Rice Business Plan Finalist. Mud Rat also completed their prototype, grew their team, and started collaborating with their first surf brand!

“Seaworthy Collective helped us not only in looking at the big picture and really understanding how large an impact Mud Rat can have, but also in our personal development as leaders. We met great friends through the program and are most thankful for the community we now get to be a part of.” - Amelia Martin

Astraeus Ocean Systems - Cohort 5 (Fall 2024)

Founder Alex Parker's autonomous "data as a service" startup has been making waves, raising $22,000 in grants while landing their first large customer. They also deployed three new MVPs for sectors in commercial fishing, shellfish aquaculture, and water quality, mapping dissolved oxygen "dead zones" in 3D in lakes and coastal waters. Altogether, they're leveraging their autonomous surface vehicles to help their partners operationalize stewardship of working waters.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Hope you enjoyed reading through our most comprehensive impact report in Seaworthy's history! So much has come together in 2025 despite the uncertainty that clouded much of the year. However, after a lot of hard work we are looking ahead to 2026 with confidence as we double down on our efforts in The Continuum and anticipate bringing on multiple new partners to anchor and scale our impact moving forward.

If you're looking to access support or get involved with us next year, here is a preview of our current and upcoming opportunities, with A LOT to look forward to in the new year:

Applications for Cohort 7 / The Continuum Ocean Enterprise Studio & Incubator

Applications for our spring 2026 cohort will open LATER THIS WEEK! Go to our homepage and click "Join Our Community" to get on our mailing list for the announcement of when applications open! This cohort will run from February to May, powered by our NOAA partnership, The Continuum.

We are re-opening applications to join our Mentor, Collaborator, and Investor Network!

Want to get involved with Seaworthy Collective's upcoming cohort of innovative ocean impact startups? Applications are open until January 31st - Apply here! If you miss the deadline - don't worry, we will accept rolling applications thereafter!

We are seeking additional new partners for 2026

Partners spanning governments, corporates, and foundations support either/all of our 3 program areas (Startup & Community programs, as well as Impact Investing). If you’re interested in partnering with us, learn more about our partnership opportunities here and reach out to us at Info@SeaworthyCollective.com

We are more intentionally looking to partner with academic institutions next year

We anticipate bringing back our Sea Change Maker Fellowship next summer / fall! If you work in entrepreneurship, social innovation, and/or the marine sciences in higher education, reach out to us at Info@SeaworthyCollective.com

We are also looking for new collaborators from Miami to Tampa and beyond to co-create events in 2026!

If you'd like to join forces to build community with us next year, reach out to us at Info@SeaworthyCollective.com

We anticipate growing our team in 2026!

Keep an eye out for job postings by following us on social media (LinkedIn & Instagram) and subscribing to our mailing list.

On a final note, we are so incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported us to get where we are today. From our partners at NOAA and Environment Next, to The Continuum, Seaworthy's Board Members and Advisors, our network of mentors and collaborators, and YOU our community members who continually show up to support our team and our amazing founders and startups - collectively, you've all made this work and impact possible!

Donate to Seaworthy via PayPal here

Donate to support Seaworthy this Giving Season

We're continually grateful for everyone's unwavering dedication, support, and energy for growing our ambitious vision for "sea change"! As a community, we are making BlueTech accessible to the dedicated change makers pursuing their passions for ocean impact by providing opportunities and support for them to dive into developing their own businesses.

Cheers to a milestone year of seeing hard work pay off and celebrating the tangible change we've made together for people, planet, and prosperity. Whether you've been here for the last 5 years or are just joining our community to start 2026, sea levels are rising and so are we - let's build on this growing wave of sea change together!

Happy holidays from the Seaworthy Crew! 🌊❄️🌊

Daniel Kleinman

Founder & CEO

Daniel@seaworthycollective.com