The European Startup Show

My guest today is Roberto Coustas, co-founder and CEO of Deepsea.ai. In 2020 DeepSea Technologies secured a 3 million euro investment from the Environmental Technology Fund (ETF), and is currently one of the fastest-growing maritime startups in Europe. In this episode, I find out more about how selling to the maritime industry is different, why Roberto was wary of VC money and why he changed his mind later and how to hire and manage people more than twice your age.

Show Notes

Maritime industry
  • [1:34] Why did you start Deepsea? Why has the maritime industry been so late in modernizing?
  • [6:53] Being two engineering founders, how did you supplement the business knowledge that was missing?
  • [09:56] How did the pandemic affect your business? What did you need to do to adapt?

Startup advice
  • [12:15] What are some of the challenges and lessons you learnt in the early stages? 
  • [14:43] What was the one change you made in your B2B selling process?
  • [18:30] You were initially wary of taking VC money. What made you change your mind?
  • [21:51] What did you do right when preparing for your fundraising? 
  • [26:23] What advice do you have for hiring and managing people who are older than you?
  • [29:38] How do you reduce stress and startup burnout?

What is The European Startup Show?

To inspire technology entrepreneurs in Europe with stories and practical strategies from other successful entrepreneurs.

If you are a CEO, founder, or work in sales or marketing, and your company is based in Europe or is looking to expand into Europe, then this podcast is for you.