Reducing “launch costs” for ocean tech will unlock the blue economy, the same way the private space sector led to a boom in orbital observation and communications.

In the last 60 years, natural disasters, driven by climate change, are punishing coastlines at a far greater rate than inland disasters (see graph). Furthermore, the extremes of these events will worsen and may likely increase in frequency. Not to mention the fact that 40% of the world’s population lives in, commutes through, works around, and is otherwise part of this impact zone.

Today, Propeller pushed an update to our website, revealing for the first time the portfolio we’ve been busy building. It’s an exciting day for us because what makes our work so satisfying is backing founders and the important work they’re doing.

Here’s a quick profile on how we invest at Propeller for founders seeking funding or for investors seeking to syndicate with us. Note: We’re speaking generally here. We sometimes draw outside the lines.

At Propeller, we constantly seek opportunities to inspire ocean-climate innovation and entrepreneurship. Our Hackathons help identify opportunities for research teams from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to solve problems faced in the market and uncover connections between industry and academia.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend The World Ocean Summit hosted by Economist Impact as part of my ClimateCap Fellowship and on behalf of Propeller as their MBA Venture Capital intern. A few weeks later, I’ve now had time to reflect on my experience at the Ocean Summit, and look back on main takeaways from the keynote speeches, panel discussions, and meet and greet conversations. In doing so, I have pulled together the key themes I feel were central to the summit and are critical to achieving a sustainable blue economy.

Propeller and WHOI have deepened their collaborations through the direct funding of projects that have high commercializable value to the wider world. In addition, the Ocean MBA program helps project scientists consider the needs of markets and customers, and imagine themselves as risk-takers in the entrepreneurial realm. Peter de Menocal, President & Director, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution kicks off the Ocean MBA Propeller guest mentors work in breakout sessions with WHOI researchers Propeller fielded the unique program, an “Ocean MBA”, for WHOI scientists and engineers on site January 17-18. The event kicked off with a case study by Propeller founding partner Brian Halligan to introduce a common lexicon and share the journey of HubSpot. It served as an icebreaker to provide new perspectives to ocean researchers and bridge the worlds of startups and research. Viewing their technologies as vital pieces in a value chain that enables novel activities in the new blue economy resonated with the group. Guest Lecturer Susan Schofer presents on turning hard tech into product