An MIT Boston state of mind

The participants in our growth programme have been in Boston to boost their growth strategies by learning first hand from a world-renowned faculty; the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.

A very demanding and exciting part for the companies in our 12-week Ocean Tech Scaling programme is the one-week intense training at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Aker Solutions, PGS, Additech, airMont and HOW Energy are participating in this year’s program and have worked in workshops on their growth strategies and business plans alongside world class entrepreneurs and mentors.

– It is fantastic to be a part of the GCE Ocean Technology team visiting MIT in Boston. Great learning and very inspiring for the job we in HOW Energy are doing as going forward, says Karl-Erik Johannessen from HOW Energy.

Key takeaways

– In addition to covering scaling strategies we also touched upon intrapreneurship and the spin-offs that goes on in the larger companies, and the incentives and models that can optimize this process, says Owe Hagesæther CEO in GCE Ocean Technology.

However, one of the most important takeaways from a week at Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship is to ensure you have a “paying customer” before you spend too much resources on something that could end up as a solution looking for a problem to solve.

– This “common sense” is unfortunately forgotten by many startups in their excitement over their idea or technology, but after a week at MIT, this becomes a part of your modified DNA, says Bjarte Fagerås, Senior R&D Advisor in GCE Ocean Technology and himself a serial-entrepreneur.

Moreover, we have learnt that it is OK to fail, but just make sure you fail early, so you will have the resources to try again and again until your idea has passed the key criteria for a future success.

– We have a lot to learn about the concept of “give before you get” between entrepreneurs in these successful clusters of entrepreneurship, says Fagerås.

– Dare to ask and you will get answers, even from the most successful people that most of us think are outside our reach. They have themselves learnt that we all benefit from sharing knowledge.

Great lectures, good discussions and a lot of social interaction throughout the week. All in all a great experience!, Additech AS

The lessons of growth are evolving

After having organised five seasons of the Ocean Tech Scaling Program we still learn new things when we are at MIT. Mostly, because the program itself is continuously changing and being improved by the entrepreneurs in residence that at any time work at the center under the supervision of the charismatic leader Bill Aulet.

The companies moreover learn from each other even if they represent different business segments and are of different sizes. Some of the fundamental learnings apply to us all, both as individuals and for our organizations.

Strengthening our global ocean-tech-ties

This year we had the pleasure of getting half a day at Woods Hole Oceanographic research center, well known for many in the offshore tech industry.

We are working on strengthening the relationship between Norway and those strong and vibrant ocean tech areas in New England and Halifax in Canada, and Woods Hole will be a key partner in this.

Contact Owe Hagesæther if you want to apply to join the Ocean Tech Scaling Program in 2023.