Last year, Guice Offshore co-founders Nathan and Billy Guice were among the mentors participating in the inaugural cohort for the new Gulf Blue “Navigators” business incubator designed to assist bluetech startups that already have a pilot program in place and are ready to scale.
The Gulf Blue Navigator Program was established by the University of Southern Mississippi Research Foundation and SeaAhead, which specializes in high-potential, ocean-focused technology startups, building global networks and venture financing.
Given Guice Offshore’s work with military, defense, energy and environmental industries and our active role with Gulf Blue, a Gulf states blue economy consortium, we were assigned as part of the Gulf Blue Navigators program to mentor Seatrac, a company that designs and develops uncrewed surface vehicles for persistent in-shore and open-ocean missions.
Including Seatrac, six companies were selected by Gulf Blue in November 2022 as the first cohort of Navigator participants. All will give their final presentations in a “Demo Day” scheduled for May 3, 2023 at Coast Transit Authority and Mississippi Aquarium.
To learn more about the Gulf Blue Navigators program, click here.
SeaTrac wrote on April 13, 2023 about how the program is helping them.
To read the entire interview with SeaTrac Communications Director Alessandra Bianchi, click here.
“SeaTrac’s space – the uncrewed surface vehicle sector – is disruptive and new enough that it takes a lot of collaboration among disparate stakeholders that might not necessarily have sat around the same table before,” Bianchi said. “Having a shared access point like the Gulf Blue Navigator gives our new company added legitimacy and local credibility that’s invaluable as we make our way in the Blue Economy.”
“As with anything in life, familiarity and in-person connections breed trust and build traction. Our monthly visits to Mississippi allow us to foster these relationships while identifying connections that can be indispensable to building positive outcomes,” she added.
The first half of the program focused on networking with U.S. government agencies, specifically the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, the Navy, and the Naval Research Lab.
To meet all the companies in Gulf Blue Navigators’ Cohort-1, click here.
