Jack Hurley is the Founder of Firetail Robotics, Winner of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2021 Ocean Monitoring Spotlight Award for their pioneering work using technology to increase ocean knowledge. A commercial helicopter pilot and aerial surveyor by trade - Jack is driven to help businesses ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to solving problems.

Declan McAdams is the co-founder and Chairman of Pinovo, a Norwegian startup on a mission to transform the $12bn environmentally destructive sandblasting industry. As Declan eloquently shares in this podcast - the vast majority of paint used in the world today is actually plastic. And when painted infrastructure is routinely maintained or degrades over time - enormous quantities of microplastic paint particles enter the environment.

Julia and Jordy Kay are the founders of Great Wrap, and 2nd Runners Up in Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2021. Great Wrap is an Australian startup tackling the problem of plastic pollution and waste generated by cling wrap. It replaces petroleum-based cling wrap with a compostable alternative from food waste.

Simeon Pieterkosky and Liané Thompson are the founders of Aquaai, an innovative startup using robotics and biomimicry to gather critical data from the ocean and waterways. Aquaai’s technology has a unique, nature-inspired, ‘fish like’ design allowing for accurate data collection and reduced stress in certain settings like aquaculture.

In this Episode of our Pitchfest 2021 Series, Nathan Pyne-Carter talks about how Ace Aquatec has pioneered new technologies, how welfare can’t be put to one side, and about navigating the long road of building and leading a successful ocean impact startup.

Jeff Kirschner is the founder and CEO of Litterati, a startup on a mission to identify, map, and eliminate the world's litter. In this episode, Jeff talks about how Litterati found a business model that worked, how integrating machine learning made the app even better, and how data is driving change.