Having completed its first full year, the Ocean Startup Project is gearing up to increase its work in Year 2 with a mission of producing more ocean-related startups in the region and country.

The project is a collaboration between a range of groups in all four Atlantic Provinces, and it has three main programs that nurture early-stage oceantech startups and prepare them for more advanced programs.

The project’s success is shown in the number of ocean-related startups launched in the region in the past two years. There was a dearth of new companies in the ocean sector a few years ago, but that has been corrected recently. Of the new startups in the Entrevestor databank in 2020, for example, about 16 percent are oceantech companies.

“This has been an incredibly successful collaboration between the four provinces and a shared vision and commitment to work together for the betterment of the entire sector and region and country,” said Executive Director Donald Grant in an interview. “They’re all rolling up their sleeves and getting on with this.”

Whereas all organizations in the ecosystem talk about collaboration, it is the lifeblood of the Ocean Startup Project. It was created through a cooperative effort between Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and other agencies in all four provinces.

In its delivery of programs, the Start Up Project also works with other groups. It runs its own accelerator, but it also has a key role in delivering curriculum through two other programs, the Creative Destruction Lab and Lab2Market.

Here’s a look at how the three programs have progressed so far:

• Ocean Startup Challenge – This program, offered by the Ocean Startup Project, received 158 applications when it opened its first accelerator cohort last year, and selected 14 companies – 40 percent more than anticipated. Half are from Atlantic Canada. Each company received $25,000 in development capital as it progressed through the program.
• CDL Atlantic, Ocean Stream – The current cohort of CDL Atlantic includes a special stream for oceantech companies, and 20 companies from around the world are now attending. CDL brings in established business people to serve as fellows and associates, to mentor and hopefully invest in companies as they go through the program. The program has found a range of people with deep experience in nautical industries, said Grant, and hopefully their participation will increase angel funding in the sector.
• Lab2Market Oceans – The new program, which teaches entrepreneurial methodology to researchers, includes an ocean stream offered through Memorial University of Newfoundland. The program helps teams led by a PhD or post-doctoral researcher to assess whether their technology can be the basis of a company. Some 17 teams went through the first cohort, held last fall, and so far one team, Extech MIP, has launched as a company.

Grant’s group is planning on expanding its offerings in 2021. It will hold programs again through CDL and Lab2Market, and the Ocean Startup Challenge will have two accelerator cohorts, with a $1.4 million budget. There will be one for new companies and a more advanced stream for companies working on their minimum viable product.

The goal is to help companies in the idea stage establish their proof of concept, prepare them for more established accelerators and further develop the ecosystem.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” said Grant. “We want to make Canada the best place in the world to start, grow and foster an oceantech company, a place where we have all the ingredients.”