COAST announces Seacork Studio as the winner of its first annual pitch competition

This week, COAST announced the winner of its first annual pitch competition: Annie Dahan, a UBC grad and the founder of Seacork, a biomaterial design studio that launched this year.

Seacork is focused on developing biodegradable acoustic panels sourced from local seaweed and has filed patents for its acoustic noise absorption material. The studio plans to use the awarded $10K in cash to grow its production process to supply its pilot projects.

Dahan shared that Seacork’s mission is two-fold: “First, is to replace environmentally degrading acoustic panels with locally sourced, biodegradable Seacork acoustic panels. Second, is to rethink our approach to material development by prioritizing the life of the natural resource in its ecosystem as a greater value than that of the final product made from it.”

In partnership with Spring, an incubator, accelerator, and advisory firm for entrepreneurs and investors, the pitch competition aims to support early-stage startups in the ocean space and to drive forward-thinking initiatives. Along with Dahan, other finalists from the competition include:

• Bruce Bradley from Bee Sea Kelp and Biocha

• Dorn Beattie from Swordfish Energy

• Ranah Chavoshi from PhyCo Technologies and;

• Omid Moradtalab from Tesla Robotics

“We saw some novel and impactful ideas in the pitch fest that speak to how much talent there is in British Columbia,” shared Graham Day, a partner at Spring Impact Capital. “Annie of Seacork stood out as a founder with deep product knowledge and clear steps to iterate its design. I’m excited to see her and the other founders take their ideas forward.”

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