GreenWave trains and supports regenerative ocean farmers in the era
of climate change, working with coastal communities to create a blue
economy—built and led by ocean farmers.
Sam Garwin leads GreenWave’s efforts to establish reliable, accessible, and equitable markets for seaweed farmers. Her work includes business development and organizing support for regional farmer networks, research and infrastructure pilots to address post-harvest bottlenecks, and value chain coordination to cultivate a resilient ecosystem of businesses to get seaweed from seed to sale. Since 2019, Sam has led the buildout of Seaweed Source, GreenWave’s direct buyer engagement program and digital tool, growing the network to over 50 buyers across nine U.S. states and Canadian provinces, and facilitating forward contracts for over 400,000 lbs of kelp. 
Sam draws on more than a decade of experience building sustainable supply chains and socially responsible business models. Before joining GreenWave, Sam developed market-based solutions for regenerative food companies through her consulting firm, 5th Quarter Foods. She was previously the CEO of Fleishers, a pioneer of pasture-raised whole-animal retail butchery; and an early employee of Maya Mountain Cacao, a social enterprise dedicated to direct-trade organic cocoa bean sourcing. Sam holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Science and Biology from Cornell University.
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Would you like to get a super short email from me every month, with three actionable insights for your seaweed business? I will search the seaweed industry for the most important lessons, the most useful conclusions and relevant actions, condensed into a half page that I will share with you, each month. It's easy to sign up and just as easy to cancel. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠
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[1:20] Why do most seaweed entrepreneurs have a part-time job?
[4:30] Cultivating multiple species.
[5:50] How to start a seaweed business that works.
[9:45] Sharing risk and reward with farmers
[11:10] Other initial considerations, specific to the type of business.
[14:10] Are product and market introductions lagging behind expectations?
[16:10] Similarities between seaweed farming and agriculture. What can be learnt and replicated?
[23:00] How to collaboratively co-create value across the entire supply chain.
[25:30] Tools and support for seaweed entrepreneurs.
[26:10] Main benefits in joining an incubator/accelerator
[28:45] Scaling up the industry while still allowing small business to join and thrive
[30:15] Abandon scarcity mindset: focus less on price reduction and more on value creating.
[31:20] How could we make seaweed a "cash crop"?
[36:30] More on how to avoid repeating the mistakes of land agriculture.
[37:35] High margin Vs. Low margin products - considerations for seaweed entrepreneurs.
[43:50] Listening to the customer, being willing to test and pivot.
[49:20] Seaweed Source: GreenWave's new "dating" app for the seaweed industry. 
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Useful Links:
Sam Garwin: LinkedIn, Twitter and Website⁠
GreenWave: Website, LinkedIn⁠, Twitter, ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠
Regenerative Ocean Farming Hub
Seaweed Source app: Where Supply Meets Demand
Other companies and organisations mentioned in the Show: Atlantic Sea Farms, Akua, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, SeaAhead, Hatch, Investable Oceans, Local Catch, Launch Alaska.
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Inside Seaweed's host is Fed DeGobbi, get in touch on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, or directly via ⁠email⁠. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!