The Port of Seattle has teamed up with a famous American IT name to try and develop maritime innovation among younger generations.
The port is working with New York-headqaurtered coworking firm WeWork to launch Washington state’s first ever maritime startup accelerator.
Ten chosen ventures will receive four months of mentorship and training at Seattle’s WeWork Labs, headed by local entrepreneurship guru Elizabeth Scallon, who helped launch the University of Washington’s business incubator CoMotion Labs. State funds have allocated around $200,000 for the incubator in a bid to attract new talent to the local maritime scene. One-third of employees in Washington’s maritime industry are over the age of 55, according to 2018 census data.
Applications are accepted for the next 30 days.