Founders Interviews — João Rito — SEAentia
First, can you tell us about your professional background and the path that led you to SEAentia?
I’m a biologist. I was doing research in the academic world. I studied at the University of Coimbra and did my master’s there as well, in ecology. I started my PhD working for the first time in aquaculture, at the time with metabolism, nutrition, and carnivorous fish for aquaculture production. That’s when this passion for aquaculture started because I started to travel around the world and started to get to know the sector a bit better. Much different from what we’re doing right now in the industrial sector. Now we still do research but applied to a specific project that allows us to feed the industry with proper data, which is different from what is being done in the academic world. Sometimes you’re just doing fundamental research, which is very important as well, but I literally fell in love with this other side of the sector.
How was SEAentia born?
As I mentioned, when I was doing research, I was working a lot of hours and, in the end, I could only publish some scientific papers, even though I understood the importance of research, I also felt as though the influence I could pose in society was beyond the academic research I was doing. I also felt like just one among thousands of researchers doing the same work. Although the academic world and the entrepreneurial world are both very tough, they are tough in different ways, and I think my profile aligns more with the entrepreneurial world.
I believed I could have a much better life with better returns, some of them financial, by creating my own company. So all these factors drove me to bring my knowledge into the creation of a company.
I always believed in the company and that I could create a proper job for myself, the people around me, and everybody involved in the company. I knew that with SEAentia I would be able to influence society with a better product and sustainable production of food, and all this influence that we can leave behind is what drives us, definitely what brought us to create the company.
How is your product different from the others in the market? What makes it unique?
SEAentia is a pioneer, we are the first company to integrate meagre production with recycling agriculture systems. This is the first time someone is doing it industrially, in a commercial way, which already differentiates us from all the others.
We have a fish that grows faster and has a much better feed efficiency; we are assuring animal welfare, the protection of natural habitats, and the best nutrition for our fish. So, we’re sourcing the ingredients from sustainable sources with as little disturbance to the environment as possible, which is something very important to us and also to the animal protein production.
We were able to reach very high sustainability standards while also supplying the market with a much better product, and that’s not just an opinion, it’s a fact, that we can actually measure in terms of nutritional value and reduction of contaminants.
We’ve already tested our meagre, against meagre from other sources, because we wanted to understand what is exactly the influence that this type of production system and production strategies will play in the quality. It is clear to us and it’s scientifically proven as well, that our fish has better nutritional value.
Does SEAentia fish taste different?
Personally, I think it is very tasty, but there are people who like something and people who hate the same thing, so that’s just my opinion.
However, we have done tests in Portugal, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and other countries, and we keep doing these tasting tests, which have provided very positive results, and our fish is chosen 70 percent of the time over others. So scientifically it is proven, that our fish tastes good, but it’s very subjective.
How was SEAentia’s expansion through the years?
For a long time, it was very difficult because I didn’t even have a salary. I had to cover flights and so on from my pocket, which was a very difficult part of becoming an entrepreneur.
I’ve heard so many times, “Guys, you’re never going to be able to do it, big companies have tried to do what you’re doing, and they failed.” But I always believed and was sure that we were going to be successful. I understood it was only a matter of time before we had that return. All these people doubting gave me all the motivation I needed to prove to them and the world that by being humble, learning with everybody, and getting the right team and partners for our project, we can conquer everything that we want. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Now I truly believe that we have the best team ever and the team is going to grow, and everybody is going to feel part of something bigger, a mission that is going to be achievable very fast. It was very difficult, but at the same time, it’s amusing to show I can do it and prove them wrong.
If you could go back in time, is there anything you’d do differently?
Very likely… If I knew then what I know right now, I would have been able to know where to go, who to reach out to, and how to do it.
I don’t regret most of the things that we’ve done, especially the team that got involved in the project. That is something that I think is very unique in our project. I believe the team has the best type of people who will be able to properly execute and lead to the success of the project in the future as well.
But some of the things that we’ve done in the first three years of the company could have probably been changed to avoid a lot of the hassles that we’ve suffered. Like trying to apply for public funds without having the private funds secured and lots of doors that we knocked on that were completely wrong, if I had known where to go, things might have been different.
Do you have any tips or advice for an aspiring founder?
First of all, try to do all the tests in terms of market, is the market mature enough to accept your product? Test before creating the company. Try to find help in program acceleration programs or mentors or whoever, knock on all the doors, be insistent, persistent, and resilient.
Make sure you try everything and don’t allow it to fail in the future. So make sure that you already have a minimum viable product before raising the real funds and before having the go-to-market plan in place. Nobody can predict the future of the market, but there are some assumptions that we can make. Whatever you’re developing, try to understand if the market will still want it in the future.
You’ll find a lot of people in your journey who are going to disbelieve your project and your work. What I advise is to know it’s okay, never fight back, hear everybody, and understand what they’re saying. They might be right on some points, but don’t allow your motivation to be destroyed by these opinions. The most important things to keep in mind as an entrepreneur is to stay motivated and be humble enough to understand that you don’t know everything, you have to learn every single day with your team and the people that surround you.
What are your plans for the future of SEAentia?
For it to be the most successful aquaculture company in the world. Our project is going to reach wider markets very fast. We want to be global and to be recognized as a true example for the industry of aquaculture around the world. But always understanding that we are always learning and always disrupting ourselves.
We have a plan. I’m very positive that we will be able to reach wherever we want to reach sooner rather than later. It’s not going to be the same as tomorrow or the day after. So, we’re always reinventing ourselves and our processes because we truly rely on the scientific information and the data that we acquire every single day. We will keep researching and relying on scientific data.
Lastly, what has been the most challenging part of growing your startup? And the funnier part?
The most difficult and challenging is definitely having to deal with moments in time when we’re not able to pay employees, people on our team and partners that are trusting us. Being stuck in situations like this that we have no control over, and knowing people are suffering, is definitely hard to deal with. I really want to make sure that we don’t have to go through these situations ever again.
The fun part is being able to come out of the academic world, having no industrial or commercial experience at all, and showing the world that we’re still able to do it. We can learn, and we have the ability to put it in motion. That’s the fun part. Proving to the world that it’s not because we don’t have this background that we’re not going to be able to do it.
