Reimagining coastal protection through revolutionary technology that preserves both our cities and oceans. Meet Anya Freeman, the visionary founder behind Kind Designs, who's transforming traditional seawalls into living marine habitats through cutting-edge 3D printing.
The urgency is clear: traditional concrete seawalls are destroying marine ecosystems at an alarming rate—50,000 miles of habitats will be lost by 2040. Meanwhile, coastal communities face increasingly severe flooding and prohibitive costs for protection. Anya's solution? The world's fastest concrete 3D printer creating biomimetic seawalls that serve dual purposes: safeguarding shorelines while fostering thriving underwater ecosystems.
What makes this story particularly compelling is Anya's unlikely journey. A Ukrainian immigrant and former lawyer with no background in science, construction, or oceanography, she built a diverse team largely through Craigslist—proving that innovation often comes from unexpected places. Her leadership philosophy prioritizes grit and hands-on skills over traditional credentials, resulting in a tight-knit team unified by their mission to transform coastal infrastructure.
The impact extends beyond environmental benefits. With 30% of the global population living directly on water, Kind Designs is making coastal protection more affordable and accessible. Their second-generation seawalls eliminate rebar entirely, further increasing cost efficiency, while extending lifespan from 30-40 years to over 100 years.
Discover how this groundbreaking approach to climate resilience is attracting major investment and changing how we think about infrastructure's relationship with nature. Also, I believe this thinking has the ability to inspire more breakthrough solutions and to be a catalyst for game-changing ideas in manufacturing, in total.
Follow Anya's mission to protect our coastlines while nurturing the ocean ecosystems we depend on.
www.kinddesigns.com
Instagram: @KindDesignsOfficial
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I'd love to hear what you think!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Anya Freeman, it's so good to have you here at Proven
Not Perfect.
I'm excited about thisconversation.
I have to tell you I have afriend who probably was my first
friend when I moved to Floridaand he is a brilliant mind,
wonderful business person and hewas like you know what?
You got to meet Anya.
(00:23):
You got to meet Anya, you gotto hear her story, you got to
hear about her business.
And then I went online and Ilooked up Kind Designs and I
have to be honest, when he firstsaid Anya and Kind Designs, I
had a whole different thing inmy mind.
But Kind Designs is such abeautiful name as it relates to
(00:46):
what's important in life, right,like just preserving life as we
know it.
And the thoughtfulness in yourname, I think, speaks to the
thoughtfulness of the business.
So we're going to dive right in.
Tell us, anya, what is KineDesigns.
(01:07):
Tell us what your business is.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Sure.
So we are both a climate techand a construction tech startup
and we are revolutionizingcoastal infrastructure and
coming up with better ways forcities to protect themselves
from flooding, from rising sealevels, by 3D printing living
seawalls, so structurallythey're identical to concrete
(01:30):
seawalls that you've seen aroundeverywhere forever, but because
of the technology, we're ableto incorporate a biomimicry
design into these seawalls whichtransforms them from an
infrastructure product now tosomething that also functions
essentially like an artificialreef oh my god.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So wait, a minute, wait I somebody might have
missed that, because I almostdid so.
Essentially, you have found away to replicate what a reef
looks like in its natural statewhat?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
yes, but the key is the replication has been around
like artificial reefs.
So the artificial reef scienceis very well established.
What's new about what we'redoing is merging that science
into infrastructure products,which before was impossible
because infrastructure was builtusing precast methods.
But because we have the world'sfastest 3D printer, the highest
(02:27):
resolution 3D printer, thatfreedom of design is unlocked.
So for the first time ever,we're able to merge artificial
reef science with a seawall.
So it protects cities fromflooding, protects them from
hurricanes, but also functionslike a marine habitat,
dissipates waves and improvesthe quality of water.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Okay, there's so much in there that we got to unpack
because, literally, thebrilliance of the whole thing.
So first we talked, you hit on3D printing, so I definitely
want to talk about that.
Secondly, you talked aboutoptimizing manufacturing by
being able to have it availableand do it actually in
environment.
Those are two incredible things, right.
(03:08):
And thirdly, you talked aboutwhat the materials are and the
material science that goes intosomething that is not only
useful but beneficial to theenvironment.
Those are three key things thatI'd really like to double click
on.
So let's start with 3D printing.
So, for those that arelistening, what is 3D printing?
(03:30):
Because I think it's kind ofone of those things that people
hear a lot about, right, andsome people know, some people
don't.
I'll break it down for, likeyou know, the folks that are
really just getting into all ofthis stuff.
You essentially say are youseriously on a printer printing
out something that is aninanimate object in multiple
dimensions, just like you woulda piece of paper historically?
(03:52):
And the answer to that questionis A hundred percent what?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, you know, 3d printing has been around for a
while and traditionally peoplethink of it as like desktop 3D
printers.
People have it in their house.
We have like one guy on ourteam who stream, who streamline
what's it called StreamStreamline Streams on YouTube.
Sorry, I'm so bad with these.
Yes, yes, english is not myfirst language.
Anyways, he streams livehimself 3D printing like little
(04:23):
parts, and people watch this.
He like stays up all night for24 hours watching these prints.
But that's what's been aroundforever.
Usually it was for, like,airplane parts or car parts,
small items, small componentparts right.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Exactly Every time.
I mean being a manufacturinggirl here myself.
Every time I hear about it,think about it, see it, it's in
the context of something that'sreally almost sort of a cog
component alternative, if youwill right.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Exactly, and something that needs a lot of
customization, because that'sthe beauty of 3D printing you
can customize things instantlyand a minute later they come to
life.
So that's been around for along time.
What's new is large scale 3dprinting.
So I mean, people are literallynow printing rockets, which is
pretty awesome.
What we're doing is we'reprinting using concrete, so we
(05:16):
have the world's fastestconcrete 3d printer a foot and a
half per second.
A foot and a half per second Afoot and a half per second.
Yes, it's crazy, you have tocome see this in person.
And the second thing that makesthe technology special is also
the highest resolution concrete3D printer.
(05:36):
That means the layers arereally small and thin, and
that's what unlocks the designfreedom that we talked about, so
we can incorporate a biomimicrydesign into the seawall instead
of printing just flat concreterectangular slabs.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Wow, that's so awesome.
And so when you think aboutthat, now taking on the rest of
that question, kind of flowthrough to the environmental
component and the manufacturingcomponent.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Sure.
Well, the problem withtraditional seawalls I think
it's a good place to start isthat one they're very expensive
and they're actually costprohibitive for a lot of people.
I think there's a commonmisconception that only if you
live on like Star Island inMiami or whatever, you are on
the water and you can affordyour seawall.
And that's true.
But globally, 30% of thepopulation lives directly on the
(06:26):
water, is living below thepoverty line, and even in the US
, even in Florida, a lot ofpeople live in canals.
Their property values have goneup, but they don't have
$300,000, $200,000 cash to putin a seawall.
That's being mandated by thelocal municipality, or maybe
they inherited their house,right?
It's a really big problem andpeople are losing their homes.
Actually, it's a good examplerecently in Louisiana, an entire
(06:50):
community, and you know aboutthis I do.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You're speaking to my New Orleans crew right now,
girl.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yes Island is Jean Charles, and they moved them
there initially to give them aspace so they can thrive like
working off of the water.
Right, they're doing a lot ofcrabbing and fishing and
eventually that I forget thechange in the square footage of
their area.
But, like 90% of theircommunity, basically flooded and
(07:18):
it got so bad that they couldnot no longer afford to put in
infrastructure.
And recently they moved theentire community inland to these
horrible, dystopian blockhouses, like a far cry from
these lush coastal homelandsthat they grew up with.
So they're preserving culture.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I mean really.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yes, of course.
Of course, there is no culturein those horrible suburbs.
So, anyways, that's the firstproblem.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Talking like a true Miami girl.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yes, yeah, I love character personality.
So, anyways, that's the firstproblem with seawalls they're
very expensive.
The second problem with regularseawalls is they also destroy
marine habitats, for two reasons.
One is they're leachingchemicals into the water.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
The seawall is concrete, which is most seawalls
in the US, but some are steel,some are vinyl, plastic.
All of them are leachingchemicals and they're flat.
So before there was a seawall,there was a lot of fish there,
different organisms.
Once you put in a flat wall,now those organisms have nothing
to anchor to during stormevents, so they migrate and no
(08:28):
one is left to eat the toxins inthe water.
So just between today and 2040,by installing seawalls in the
us, we're going to kill 50 000miles of marine habitats.
Wow, let's say driving frommiami to la and back and forth
17 times.
By which year did you say?
Speaker 1 (08:48):
By 24?
Yeah, 15 years, that's not thatfar away.
No, it's massively distant.
I even think about how theweather seems to be getting more
and more I'm going to use theword impressive more and more.
I'm going to use the wordimpressive, right?
If you want to think about itin a positive sense.
(09:09):
These storms are something else, right?
And so you know, who knows ifit's even shorter time than that
?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
It's true, and that was really a big inspiration for
why I started Kind Designs,witnessing it firsthand, living
in Miami.
Every year there's way morestorms, or storm surges are much
more intense.
The flooding is much morefrequent.
My street in South Beach, juststraight up, gets flooded like
to my knees.
You can't even leave your carsparked on my street or in my
driveway because they float away.
(09:36):
It's like a regular Wednesdayduring hurricane season here and
I just thought this is notnormal.
My friends in other cities arenot, you know, dealing.
They're not like knee deep inwater trying to get their car
and and exactly, and itshouldn't be and it shouldn't be
normal.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I think that's that's a big point too, all right.
So look, we gotta, we gottapress the tape on pause and we
have to roll back, and I reallydo want to double click into the
magnitude of what you'veendeavored to do.
But before that, who was AnyaFreeman?
What did you go to school for?
(10:14):
What?
Were you a big environmentalist?
Were you a big scientist?
Did you major in science, like,where did this come from?
So take us back to I'm 11 or 12.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Literally none of the above.
I knew nothing about scienceconstruction.
I'm actually a terrible swimmer.
I'm like too buoyant.
I used to always go like divingwith my girlfriends and they'd
be underwater.
They're like mermaids gettingthese cool videos and I'm just
like I'm top floating.
So I've actually, I know,surprisingly, but I was not an
(10:49):
ocean girl at all.
And, um, originally I'm notfrom Florida, I'm from Ukraine,
so that's like my excuse,because I didn't.
I didn't live by the waterthat's an excellent excuse.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
You know, I know a lot of people here from Florida.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Not everybody swims thank you, thank you.
So then, uh, then I grew up inIsrael and eventually I got the
opportunity to come to thisbeautiful country because my dad
got a job with a space program.
Oh, wow.
My whole family moved toactually Maine, a small town in
Maine called Kennebunkport Verydifferent immigrant experience
than probably in Brooklyn orMiami.
(11:17):
I'm so, so lucky, and you knowmy whole family felt extremely,
extremely excited to become UScitizens and really wanted to
make the most of thatopportunity.
And so my first stop, for myparents' guidance, was to go to
law school.
I was supposed to be a lawyer.
My brother was going to ormarry a lawyer.
That was my choice.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Isn't that funny how that optionality remains there
for us girl children, right,isn't?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
that nice.
We have two chances.
The poor guys, they just haveone, you know, they just have
one.
So, anyway, so that was myparents' plan.
So I go to law school andthat's how I ended up in Florida
, because I got a scholarship tostudy law at UM and I graduated
.
I started working as a lawyerdoing litigation, and had a
great career obviously super funlife as we all have in our 20s
(12:07):
in Miami.
But then started to notice thatmy home, this beautiful city of
Miami, had a huge problem withflooding.
And what annoyed me is therewas a lot of attention on this
problem, but it was alwayspeople like standing on a
soapbox talking about howterrible it is and that's like
not new information and peopletelling more books about it and
writing more articles is nothelping.
(12:27):
And it's also like doom andgloom, Like they always say.
You have to be crazy to investin real estate in cities like
Miami because we're all going tobe underwater by 2060.
And there was no conversationaround solutions and,
specifically, there was noconversation around how do we
bring in or even merge existingtechnologies to come up with
that solution.
And so two years ago, to myparents' great disappointment, I
(12:49):
left behind my legal career andI started Kind Designs with the
idea of number one.
We find that solution from myhometown, Fort Miami.
Number two we make sure thatsolution is extremely affordable
so we can scale it, duplicateit to every single coastal city
at risk, because globallythere's 507 cities at risk from
flooding, rising sea levels, inthe next 15 years, and this is
(13:13):
global, global, that's a globalYep.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
And the U?
S?
What's that number?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I don't know, but I do know it's 50,000 miles of
seawalls will have to go intowater in the next 15 years.
Okay, and by far, by far, thenumber one state is Florida.
Yes, Florida will spend $76billion in seawalls in the next
15 years.
Us is $400 billion.
For context, louisiana is ahuge problem area, of course,
(13:41):
new York and California a hugeproblem area of course, new York
and California.
And so the number three thing wewant to accomplish is not to
just build these seawalls, butalso make sure that we're doing
something awesome for the ocean,because we're so lucky to get
to build something that will bein the water for generations to
come, and so put together a team.
You know, raised my first roundlast year, started looking into
(14:01):
the space and right awaystarted learning about seawalls,
which are kind of the firstline of defense to flooding and
the problems that I explainedassociated with those seawalls,
and so we thought how do we comeup with a seawall that's
actually more affordable forcommunities?
And what if, instead ofdestroying marine habitats, what
if the seawall in itself was amarine habitat?
(14:21):
And that's how we came up withthis idea of 3D printing living
seawalls.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
So what's the longevity of that?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
So first generation seawall by design.
Really, the key to earlyadoption was to make them
structurally identical and astraditional as possible, because
it's already a nightmare to geta permit for a seawall in miami
takes two years.
We are working on that.
There's pending legislation tocut that to 90 days.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
The vote will be july 1st actually, so literally two
weeks away yeah, that'sprecedent setting really right,
because you're sort oftrailblazing an opportunity for
new startups that come up withsolution idea companies to get
rid of some of the red tape thatgoes along with that.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And we have a voice that the industry did not have
before us, because engineers andconstruction companies, they
are not able to stand up againstthe county and to suggest some
of these updates to their code,because then maybe the county
won't give them the permits asfast, you know.
So they, so they are much morevulnerable, I think, than we are
(15:31):
we're.
We don't have much to lose.
You know, we're like a bull ina china shop.
And also we have awesomeinvestors who are have a
government background in Florida.
So through their support, we'reable to already pass some
legislation and have morelegislation on the way july 1st.
That's not only going to helpliving seawalls our product but
literally the entire coastalconstruction industry.
(15:54):
Wow, so, so that's super, superexciting.
But to your to finish answeryour questions the first
generation seawalls.
We made them traditional, so soit's still concrete.
It's still the same strength5,000 PSI, that's how strength
is measured in concrete.
That's hurricane conditions andthe same reinforcement.
So all concrete is reinforced.
(16:15):
Seawalls have always beenreinforced with rebar.
It's actually really, reallyunfortunate that we're putting
rebar in the water, becauserebar is made of steel or maybe
it's galvanized, but all rebarrusts over time and when it
rusts, it expands and it popsthe concrete seawall.
But that's the way it's beendone since 1905, since the first
(16:36):
seawall went in the water inGalveston, texas in the US, and
so first generation seawallall.
We'd also use rebar, so ourseawalls last exactly the same
amount of time as precastconcrete seawalls, which is
about 30 to 40 years.
Okay, however, we are in verylate stages of r&d and our plan
we're on target that by q4 ofthis year we will be installing
(16:58):
generation two living seawalls.
We we have zero rebar, whichmakes them even more affordable,
exponentially lighter, easierto install and, most importantly
, they will last over 100 years.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Wow, that is fantastic.
And then I would imagine that,as you continue to build this
solution and think aboutinnovation and sustainability
and all the things inmanufacturing in general, right,
do you start to set your sightsto other opportunities to
(17:33):
participate in supporting therobustness of our environment
and protecting them from naturalcauses?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Honestly, I am like singularly focused on seawalls.
It's my life.
I live and breathe seawalls.
I'm obsessed with seawalls.
That's a good answer, anya.
And it's a massive, massiveindustry.
People don't realize becauseseawalls are kind of boring.
It's not a sexy product.
Like 3D printing houses isawesome.
Everyone knows that.
You know they watch, watchthose really cool videos on
youtube.
No one's looking at seawallsbecause it's like it's a
concrete slab.
But it is a huge market, is ahuge opportunity for impact,
(18:11):
because you can actually buildin all this impact into the
actual seawall.
You know, like now it's amarine habitat, now it's
dissipating waves, improving thequality of water.
How awesome is that?
In a way, I guess we haveactually found a path to make
Seawall sexy through the impactand also some of the design
elements that we're able tobring to the Seawall products.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Anya, this sounds again massively incredible and
impactful.
Tell me about your leadership.
How are you able to get theteam to really see the vision
and to participate in the visionI'd love to pivot to, because
(18:55):
it's no small notion to dreamsomething and build something
and you know heading somewherewhere the people haven't gone.
So how's that part been for you?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I definitely think I'm a contrarian, especially
like in the last few years, kindof where culture has gone.
It's the opposite of where Ihave stayed, where we run like a
full blow.
Meritocracy, wow, Everyone has.
Well, first of all, literallyeveryone has ownership in a
company.
Every single employee hasequity in the company, so as we
raise more rounds and asvaluation grows, they get to
(19:29):
watch their shares rise in value, which is extremely exciting.
Number one.
Number two our hiring methodsare very unusual.
Like it, actually, I almostnever look at education.
It's like the last thing I'lllook at is where you went to
school.
That's probably the leastimportant thing to me.
What's important?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
What's important, tell us being a badass Badass.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
The majority of the team is operate the operation
side, right, so it's like therobot techs.
And what's really liberating isthat you actually can't go to
school to operate large scaleconcrete 3d printers because
it's so new, so that's prettyawesome.
So then I don't care where youwent to school, because you
couldn't learn this stuffanyways.
And because of that, all I careabout is one that you have some
(20:16):
kind of background doinganything with your hands, so
like anything in concretebuilding with wood, maybe
working on cars hands.
So like anything in concretebuilding with wood, maybe
working on cars.
So you, you enjoy and thrive andthat's really, really, um, like
intense grind of working withyour hands.
And maybe some crazy outdoorconditions, like in miami, 100
degrees, number one, number two,like when we have an interview,
(20:38):
I will like, literally, I wantcalluses on your hands.
You know, there's one thing tosay that you love it, but it's
another like to see it, and youdo have to be physically strong.
And some people like they're noquestion me, they're like they
say, like our team looks likeAbercrombie and Fitch or
something, but but it's notbecause I'm like.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I looked at the website.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
It does but it's not because I'm like putting out an
ad, you know, for great lookingteam people.
It's because usually people whoare super strong and like
dedicated and badasses, theyjust happen to also be good
looking, you know.
So that's how we put together ateam, Like, really, and, by the
way, most of them we end upfinding on Craigslist.
I know it sounds crazy.
Initially I did put ads onLinkedIn and Indeed and I was so
(21:22):
disappointed that people wouldreach out to me and be like, oh,
I just graduated, I would loveto learn more.
What's the work-life balance?
I'm like there is no balance,like we are here to suffer, like
you guys are suffering with usor you're out, you know.
And so I was just like really,really turned off by that, just
even the questions thatapplicants were asking of me,
(21:44):
and I ended up going onCraigslist.
Yeah, and that's becausethere's a lot of people on
Craigslist looking for manuallabor and I found an
unbelievable team.
Most of them are immigrants Wow.
We have like every member of ateam from a different country.
A lot of them didn't speakEnglish well when they started,
wow, and they showed up here andwe give training.
(22:06):
So everyone that comes with amonth-long intensive training in
concrete and operating robotsand design, and now everyone the
every single person that's myfounding team is all still
together.
Only one person has left.
That's because he had to go tonicaragua to to be his family.
He'll be back in December.
It's like an incredibly,incredibly strong, lean, close
(22:31):
team.
And my big it was diverse too Imean, you know that but not by
design.
I think that's what peoplealways say oh wow, your team is
so diverse.
But it's not like I went outand I was like I need like one
woman.
I think that's what peoplealways say oh wow, your team is
so diverse, but it's not like Iwant now.
It's like I need like one woman.
I need one like Asian person atall.
Like they're all the best ofthe best and maybe they started
off just being a guy inCraigslist not speaking great
(22:52):
English.
A year later, my designer, mylead designer, for example, has
done things in 3D printing thatno one in the world has
accomplished.
How amazing is is that?
And that's just because of thededication and the belief that
the team has, and that's whywe've been able to move as
quickly as we have to.
So my biggest motivation on theside of all of this, even more
than impacting the ocean, isjust like achieving financial
(23:14):
freedom for my entire team.
I'm always thinking, because alot of them live with their mom,
they send family back, I mean,they're sent money back home to
their countries and I'm justalways like visualizing like
them, like I just got chillsthinking about, like, live with
their mom, they send family back, I mean, they send money back
home to their countries, and I'mjust always like visualizing
like them, like I just gotchills thinking about like
buying their mom a house orsomething you know, just stuff
like that really excites me.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
But I tell you you've done a good job of being really
clear on the type of talentthat is going to show up and
really lean into the vision andthe mission of the organization.
And I grew up with some prettyfantastic brands of companies
(23:52):
and I have always said one ofthem in particular.
What made them so amazing andwell-written about was, I
thought, the savvy of the hiring, clarity to the mission and
vision of what needed to happenand the culture that was
expected.
And I'm hearing all of thatcome through as you think about
(24:13):
and talk about your business.
So many people that start up acompany I don't think that they
quickly understand thosecharacteristics.
Did you know this instinctivelyup front, or how grounded was
your vision and your missionstatement when you started your
company, or is it something thatgot more crisp and clear as you
(24:34):
started to have moreconversations, envisioning the
art of the possible?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
possible.
The mission was very clear.
The culture part of it, Ididn't.
I didn't some, not somethingI've even thought about in the
first in the in, when I firststarted, and now it's one of the
most important things to me.
So I think the culture hascaught up to the vision and I
(24:59):
really see how, how you knowit's it's.
It's impossible to achieve thisvision unless you have a
culture that's really reallyaligned.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Wow, you run, you run , you don't walk.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Actually, I walk extremely fast.
So what's your favorite workout?
Oh my gosh, I'm a Pilates girl.
I've been doing Pilates atleast six days, six days a week,
for the last 10 years.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Okay, I love Pilates too.
Do you like Reformer or mat orboth?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
No, no.
It has to be Reformer and ithas to be Legree Like.
The most painful workout is theonly one that I want.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
So why is that your favorite workout?
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Because it hurts.
I need to feel the pain.
You know no pain, no gain.
You know it's like slow andlike the pain is just deep in
your core.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I love we are learning all about the psyche of
what it takes to be a badassand start a business like this a
likable one on top of it, soall right.
So now you're havingconversations with potential
investors and you're selling andtelling and sharing and all the
(26:09):
things.
What are they asking?
What is the thing that theywant to know the most about, as
folks are starting up businessesand they're hearing hey, gosh,
she definitely sounds like she'sgot this right.
What are they asking you themost about?
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Well, first of all, I knew nothing about fundraising
when I started.
I mean, literally I Googledlike who invests in climate tech
, who invests in constructiontech?
And I just wrote them cold,messaged them on LinkedIn and
luckily, some of them took mycalls, literally.
It's not that I not only have Inever worked in a startup, I've
(26:47):
never even met a person whoworked for get started a company
.
I've never even met someone whoworks at a startup.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
And so you know, miami, just what it just speaks
to this coming right from yourheart, like I just have to.
I just have to really pointthat out, right?
Okay?
Okay, keep going.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Well, you know the help actually being oblivious
sometimes can be really helpful,Cause I'm like I didn't know.
Like you know you're supposedto like get someone to make an
introduction.
If I knew that then I wouldhave never started, Cause I
don't know anyone who can makeintroductions.
So I was like, oh, whatever,Now Google, here's 10 people.
That's the first way I metpeople and the second I got to
(27:25):
speak a lot, and that's reallyreally thanks to just this.
Miami and the city of Miamireally was trying, and still
trying, to kind of transform itsidentity to attract more
startups, more investors.
So it was providing like therewas the Aspen Institute, their
climate conference was in Miamifor a few years that's the first
(27:46):
time I ever spoke about this,yeah.
And so through those fewopportunities, I started meeting
investors.
And what I learned quickly?
Well, first of all, if someoneasks you what is a seawall like,
you should just end the callbecause they don't know what a
seawall is, then they'll neverfeel like the huge opportunity
and the huge problems thatyou're solving.
(28:07):
So that's kind of a deal breakerand on that topic, like what,
but hey, but we can't blow pastthat, right?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Because you know I have listeners that are all over
the world, various stages, andthe reality is we sometimes
assume that we're in a warm,friendly, ready, good soil
environment, right, just becausewe have a good idea, and that's
not necessarily the case.
It's not that people don'tacknowledge it's a good idea,
it's just that for them tobecome educated enough to form a
(28:38):
credible opinion of what theythink is going to take more.
And then you have to thinkabout time value spent, right,
and am I going to spend all mytime educating and getting you
up to speed to even, you know,consider this an important
aspect, or am I going to findthe people that care about this?
Speaker 2 (28:56):
And I just think the chance of success is really low
if you have to do a bunch ofeducation, because there are
investors who already know it'sa problem, they're actively
seeking solutions and that's aslam dunk.
And so for me, those wereactually Florida investors.
So talking to investors in evenNew York City, even in San
Francisco, it's very differentfrom talking to investors in
(29:17):
Florida, because I don't have tonot only educate them on what
is a seawall, but I don't haveto educate them that they're
expensive, that they'redestroying marine habitats and
the fact that it's a it's amulti-billion dollar opportunity
.
They know, and so ultimatelythey understand the urgency
Absolutely, cause they'reexperiencing flooding, of course
, themselves, and so ultimately,I would say 75% of my cap table
(29:40):
was Florida investors.
Oh, wow, and we were lucky tobe really oversubscribed.
We actually increased the round.
Originally, the first round wassupposed to be 5 million.
We ultimately closed 6.5million.
Congratulations, thank you.
We had almost 10 million ininterest, and so we got to
choose the investors, and so allof them are strategic.
Half the investors aregovernment people lobbying
(30:03):
groups, former congressmen,mayors, commissioners and then
the other half is constructionpeople, so people building
things on the water who canspecify us in their plan.
I love that mix.
Isn't that lucky.
And then Mark Cuban investedjust because it's cool and that
attracts more and better.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
That's not a bad deal when, just because it's cool
and that attracts more, that'snot a bad deal when he thinks
something's cool.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, yeah, I'm okay with that Wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Are you going to do Shark Tank?
Speaker 2 (30:28):
We're too big for Shark Tank now.
Plus he left.
He did his last episode acouple months ago.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, well, you know, I figure he still has a phone
number or two he can get you inthere.
No, no, yeah, honestly later,for that I'm so past that I'm in
a different phase and you knowwhat, honestly, that's exactly
why I was excited to talk to youtoo, because I think that you
are in a different phase and Ithink expanding the conversation
(30:54):
around new innovativebusinesses, new innovative
manufacturing principles and thethinking around scale and
urgency, I think is really,really impressive, and I do
believe it's something, eventhough you're doing the right
thing, to think absolutelyrelentlessly.
(31:16):
Focus on the lane that you'rein.
I think we'll all be smart towatch how you build and develop
and grow this, because I thinkthis is transferable and we
really got to think about how dowe continue to develop
manufacturing to be proximate towhere the problem to solve is
(31:39):
and cost efficient and effective.
Those are some of the thingsthat it sounds like you've begun
to tackle.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Absolutely.
I mean, we're obsessed withgetting not just obsessed, we're
actually required.
For example, if you do anyseawall for the Florida
Department of Transportation,fdot, you have to fulfill BABA.
Baba is an acronym which standsbuilt in America by America,
which means the majority of thecomponents of your product have
to come from the United States,and that's actually very
(32:09):
challenging.
A lot of rebar steel comes fromAsia.
We had originally startedworking with a concrete mix
actually came from Germany,because it was the best mix in
the world, and it's hard to getsomeone in the US actually to
meet the same standards in thismix.
And so in construction, it'ssomething you already get a lot
of credit for.
Yeah, and also, are youactually required to do if you
(32:33):
want to go for some of these bigstate or federal kind of jobs?
Speaker 1 (32:37):
So this is a little bit of a swerve too right,
because you know now it's justone more complexity to think
through.
But I think the blessing andthe curse in it for you being a
bit earlier in the tenure isthat you can design.
You can design for efficiencynow sourcing, you know, so that
you're advantaged in the longrun where some other
(32:58):
manufacturers, you know, have tokind of go back and re-script
just because of the positioning.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Absolutely, and we're lucky that we have the scale of
the pipeline that we have,because companies are willing to
do R&D with us and put in theirown investment and time, for
example with a concrete mix, todevelop a mix, because, you know
, they know it's not a one-offproject.
They can see, they have clearvisibility into our pipeline and
the cubic yards of materialthat we're going to need over
(33:26):
the next two years and that'show we're able to, for example,
switch to a material provider inOrlando instead of Germany,
which is hugely impactful froman environmental standpoint,
obviously cost standpoint, andallows us to go after more
government jobs.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I love that.
So look, all right.
So this is fantastic.
I look forward to watching youfly, I look forward to learning
more.
Actually, I'm going to, youknow, after we close this out,
we're going to get our schedulealigned and I'm looking forward
to spending some time with youon site.
I want to see it, I want totouch it and I certainly want to
help.
One of my passions is not onlyto support and develop women in
(34:07):
their careers, but also you know, having been in the angel game
for a long time, it's reallyexciting to me when I see
something pop and it just sohappens right, it's not, it's
not a condition for certainly,but it just so happens.
When it happens to be not it'snot a condition for certainly,
but it just so happens when ithappens to be a woman who came
up with that great idea, I getjust a little bit more excited.
(34:30):
No shame in my game.
So one fun thing before I letyou go, all right.
So I asked this question of acouple of folks and I'd be
curious to hear inbox, becauseyou have such a drive about you
Zero.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Zero, I knew it.
I knew it.
I knew it A hundred percent.
Well, while we talk, probablyit's going to be 26, but before
I got onto this podcast, it waszero.
Yeah, I knew that on you.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I knew it.
Oh my gosh, that's so good.
What do you do for fun?
What is your, what's your happyplace?
And I truly know that everyfiber in you is focused.
But when I say, anya, unplug,what's the thing that you do to
get that done?
Speaker 2 (35:14):
I actually love handwriting, I love calligraphy,
so I hand write books, books.
I hand wrote a cooking book andI just I just hand wrote
Serbian food.
No, cooking food.
It's actually called dearbrother, please don't starve.
And it's for my brother who'sbecause he's at Harvard and he
doesn't know how to boil an egg.
And so I mean a very, verysexist book.
(35:38):
Very easy recipes for guys,like three to five ingredients,
lots of photos.
And then I just finishedanother one last week which is a
handwritten and illustratedbecause I love to draw to um
book for chill kids.
Oh, it's called the teen, tinyshark society.
It's about examples of allthese kids around the world who
(35:58):
have their own little businesses.
So really realistic, I think,creative business ideas that
kids could actually read andthen do, and then go out and do
it themselves.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Anya girl, you are killing it all all sides right,
because I believe, if you wantto really talk about being a
badass, badass is not onlyunderstanding what you're
packing and knowing yourstrengths and how to align those
to get a vision complete, butit's also understanding how
responsible it is for us toshare that wisdom and if we can
(36:30):
plant seeds for the futurethrough the young who are
reading and watching man.
You got the assignment, sush,you got it.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I'm so excited Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Thank you so much for spending time with Proven Not
Perfect.
Looking forward to watching youfly, girlfriend.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Thank you, we'll see you soon in Miami.
Yes, you will.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Yes, you will.
Anya Freeman, it's so good to have you here at Proven
Not Perfect.
I'm excited about thisconversation.
I have to tell you I have afriend who probably was my first
friend when I moved to Floridaand he is a brilliant mind,
wonderful business person and hewas like you know what?
You got to meet Anya.
(00:23):
You got to meet Anya, you gotto hear her story, you got to
hear about her business.
And then I went online and Ilooked up Kind Designs and I
have to be honest, when he firstsaid Anya and Kind Designs, I
had a whole different thing inmy mind.
But Kind Designs is such abeautiful name as it relates to
(00:46):
what's important in life, right,like just preserving life as we
know it.
And the thoughtfulness in yourname, I think, speaks to the
thoughtfulness of the business.
So we're going to dive right in.
Tell us, anya, what is KineDesigns.
(01:07):
Tell us what your business is.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Sure.
So we are both a climate techand a construction tech startup
and we are revolutionizingcoastal infrastructure and
coming up with better ways forcities to protect themselves
from flooding, from rising sealevels, by 3D printing living
seawalls, so structurallythey're identical to concrete
(01:30):
seawalls that you've seen aroundeverywhere forever, but because
of the technology, we're ableto incorporate a biomimicry
design into these seawalls whichtransforms them from an
infrastructure product now tosomething that also functions
essentially like an artificialreef oh my god.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So wait, a minute, wait I somebody might have
missed that, because I almostdid so.
Essentially, you have found away to replicate what a reef
looks like in its natural statewhat?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
yes, but the key is the replication has been around
like artificial reefs.
So the artificial reef scienceis very well established.
What's new about what we'redoing is merging that science
into infrastructure products,which before was impossible
because infrastructure was builtusing precast methods.
But because we have the world'sfastest 3D printer, the highest
(02:27):
resolution 3D printer, thatfreedom of design is unlocked.
So for the first time ever,we're able to merge artificial
reef science with a seawall.
So it protects cities fromflooding, protects them from
hurricanes, but also functionslike a marine habitat,
dissipates waves and improvesthe quality of water.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Okay, there's so much in there that we got to unpack
because, literally, thebrilliance of the whole thing.
So first we talked, you hit on3D printing, so I definitely
want to talk about that.
Secondly, you talked aboutoptimizing manufacturing by
being able to have it availableand do it actually in
environment.
Those are two incredible things, right.
(03:08):
And thirdly, you talked aboutwhat the materials are and the
material science that goes intosomething that is not only
useful but beneficial to theenvironment.
Those are three key things thatI'd really like to double click
on.
So let's start with 3D printing.
So, for those that arelistening, what is 3D printing?
(03:30):
Because I think it's kind ofone of those things that people
hear a lot about, right, andsome people know, some people
don't.
I'll break it down for, likeyou know, the folks that are
really just getting into all ofthis stuff.
You essentially say are youseriously on a printer printing
out something that is aninanimate object in multiple
dimensions, just like you woulda piece of paper historically?
(03:52):
And the answer to that questionis A hundred percent what?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, you know, 3d printing has been around for a
while and traditionally peoplethink of it as like desktop 3D
printers.
People have it in their house.
We have like one guy on ourteam who stream, who streamline
what's it called StreamStreamline Streams on YouTube.
Sorry, I'm so bad with these.
Yes, yes, english is not myfirst language.
Anyways, he streams livehimself 3D printing like little
(04:23):
parts, and people watch this.
He like stays up all night for24 hours watching these prints.
But that's what's been aroundforever.
Usually it was for, like,airplane parts or car parts,
small items, small componentparts right.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Exactly Every time.
I mean being a manufacturinggirl here myself.
Every time I hear about it,think about it, see it, it's in
the context of something that'sreally almost sort of a cog
component alternative, if youwill right.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Exactly, and something that needs a lot of
customization, because that'sthe beauty of 3D printing you
can customize things instantlyand a minute later they come to
life.
So that's been around for along time.
What's new is large scale 3dprinting.
So I mean, people are literallynow printing rockets, which is
pretty awesome.
What we're doing is we'reprinting using concrete, so we
(05:16):
have the world's fastestconcrete 3d printer a foot and a
half per second.
A foot and a half per second Afoot and a half per second.
Yes, it's crazy, you have tocome see this in person.
And the second thing that makesthe technology special is also
the highest resolution concrete3D printer.
(05:36):
That means the layers arereally small and thin, and
that's what unlocks the designfreedom that we talked about, so
we can incorporate a biomimicrydesign into the seawall instead
of printing just flat concreterectangular slabs.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Wow, that's so awesome.
And so when you think aboutthat, now taking on the rest of
that question, kind of flowthrough to the environmental
component and the manufacturingcomponent.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Sure.
Well, the problem withtraditional seawalls I think
it's a good place to start isthat one they're very expensive
and they're actually costprohibitive for a lot of people.
I think there's a commonmisconception that only if you
live on like Star Island inMiami or whatever, you are on
the water and you can affordyour seawall.
And that's true.
But globally, 30% of thepopulation lives directly on the
(06:26):
water, is living below thepoverty line, and even in the US
, even in Florida, a lot ofpeople live in canals.
Their property values have goneup, but they don't have
$300,000, $200,000 cash to putin a seawall.
That's being mandated by thelocal municipality, or maybe
they inherited their house,right?
It's a really big problem andpeople are losing their homes.
Actually, it's a good examplerecently in Louisiana, an entire
(06:50):
community, and you know aboutthis I do.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You're speaking to my New Orleans crew right now,
girl.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yes Island is Jean Charles, and they moved them
there initially to give them aspace so they can thrive like
working off of the water.
Right, they're doing a lot ofcrabbing and fishing and
eventually that I forget thechange in the square footage of
their area.
But, like 90% of theircommunity, basically flooded and
(07:18):
it got so bad that they couldnot no longer afford to put in
infrastructure.
And recently they moved theentire community inland to these
horrible, dystopian blockhouses, like a far cry from
these lush coastal homelandsthat they grew up with.
So they're preserving culture.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
I mean really.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yes, of course.
Of course, there is no culturein those horrible suburbs.
So, anyways, that's the firstproblem.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Talking like a true Miami girl.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yes, yeah, I love character personality.
So, anyways, that's the firstproblem with seawalls they're
very expensive.
The second problem with regularseawalls is they also destroy
marine habitats, for two reasons.
One is they're leachingchemicals into the water.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
The seawall is concrete, which is most seawalls
in the US, but some are steel,some are vinyl, plastic.
All of them are leachingchemicals and they're flat.
So before there was a seawall,there was a lot of fish there,
different organisms.
Once you put in a flat wall,now those organisms have nothing
to anchor to during stormevents, so they migrate and no
(08:28):
one is left to eat the toxins inthe water.
So just between today and 2040,by installing seawalls in the
us, we're going to kill 50 000miles of marine habitats.
Wow, let's say driving frommiami to la and back and forth
17 times.
By which year did you say?
Speaker 1 (08:48):
By 24?
Yeah, 15 years, that's not thatfar away.
No, it's massively distant.
I even think about how theweather seems to be getting more
and more I'm going to use theword impressive more and more.
I'm going to use the wordimpressive, right?
If you want to think about itin a positive sense.
(09:09):
These storms are something else, right?
And so you know, who knows ifit's even shorter time than that
?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
It's true, and that was really a big inspiration for
why I started Kind Designs,witnessing it firsthand, living
in Miami.
Every year there's way morestorms, or storm surges are much
more intense.
The flooding is much morefrequent.
My street in South Beach, juststraight up, gets flooded like
to my knees.
You can't even leave your carsparked on my street or in my
driveway because they float away.
(09:36):
It's like a regular Wednesdayduring hurricane season here and
I just thought this is notnormal.
My friends in other cities arenot, you know, dealing.
They're not like knee deep inwater trying to get their car
and and exactly, and itshouldn't be and it shouldn't be
normal.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I think that's that's a big point too, all right.
So look, we gotta, we gottapress the tape on pause and we
have to roll back, and I reallydo want to double click into the
magnitude of what you'veendeavored to do.
But before that, who was AnyaFreeman?
What did you go to school for?
(10:14):
What?
Were you a big environmentalist?
Were you a big scientist?
Did you major in science, like,where did this come from?
So take us back to I'm 11 or 12.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Literally none of the above.
I knew nothing about scienceconstruction.
I'm actually a terrible swimmer.
I'm like too buoyant.
I used to always go like divingwith my girlfriends and they'd
be underwater.
They're like mermaids gettingthese cool videos and I'm just
like I'm top floating.
So I've actually, I know,surprisingly, but I was not an
(10:49):
ocean girl at all.
And, um, originally I'm notfrom Florida, I'm from Ukraine,
so that's like my excuse,because I didn't.
I didn't live by the waterthat's an excellent excuse.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
You know, I know a lot of people here from Florida.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Not everybody swims thank you, thank you.
So then, uh, then I grew up inIsrael and eventually I got the
opportunity to come to thisbeautiful country because my dad
got a job with a space program.
Oh, wow.
My whole family moved toactually Maine, a small town in
Maine called Kennebunkport Verydifferent immigrant experience
than probably in Brooklyn orMiami.
(11:17):
I'm so, so lucky, and you knowmy whole family felt extremely,
extremely excited to become UScitizens and really wanted to
make the most of thatopportunity.
And so my first stop, for myparents' guidance, was to go to
law school.
I was supposed to be a lawyer.
My brother was going to ormarry a lawyer.
That was my choice.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Isn't that funny how that optionality remains there
for us girl children, right,isn't?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
that nice.
We have two chances.
The poor guys, they just haveone, you know, they just have
one.
So, anyway, so that was myparents' plan.
So I go to law school andthat's how I ended up in Florida
, because I got a scholarship tostudy law at UM and I graduated
.
I started working as a lawyerdoing litigation, and had a
great career obviously super funlife as we all have in our 20s
(12:07):
in Miami.
But then started to notice thatmy home, this beautiful city of
Miami, had a huge problem withflooding.
And what annoyed me is therewas a lot of attention on this
problem, but it was alwayspeople like standing on a
soapbox talking about howterrible it is and that's like
not new information and peopletelling more books about it and
writing more articles is nothelping.
(12:27):
And it's also like doom andgloom, Like they always say.
You have to be crazy to investin real estate in cities like
Miami because we're all going tobe underwater by 2060.
And there was no conversationaround solutions and,
specifically, there was noconversation around how do we
bring in or even merge existingtechnologies to come up with
that solution.
And so two years ago, to myparents' great disappointment, I
(12:49):
left behind my legal career andI started Kind Designs with the
idea of number one.
We find that solution from myhometown, Fort Miami.
Number two we make sure thatsolution is extremely affordable
so we can scale it, duplicateit to every single coastal city
at risk, because globallythere's 507 cities at risk from
flooding, rising sea levels, inthe next 15 years, and this is
(13:13):
global, global, that's a globalYep.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
And the U?
S?
What's that number?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I don't know, but I do know it's 50,000 miles of
seawalls will have to go intowater in the next 15 years.
Okay, and by far, by far, thenumber one state is Florida.
Yes, Florida will spend $76billion in seawalls in the next
15 years.
Us is $400 billion.
For context, louisiana is ahuge problem area, of course,
(13:41):
new York and California a hugeproblem area of course, new York
and California.
And so the number three thing wewant to accomplish is not to
just build these seawalls, butalso make sure that we're doing
something awesome for the ocean,because we're so lucky to get
to build something that will bein the water for generations to
come, and so put together a team.
You know, raised my first roundlast year, started looking into
(14:01):
the space and right awaystarted learning about seawalls,
which are kind of the firstline of defense to flooding and
the problems that I explainedassociated with those seawalls,
and so we thought how do we comeup with a seawall that's
actually more affordable forcommunities?
And what if, instead ofdestroying marine habitats, what
if the seawall in itself was amarine habitat?
(14:21):
And that's how we came up withthis idea of 3D printing living
seawalls.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
So what's the longevity of that?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
So first generation seawall by design.
Really, the key to earlyadoption was to make them
structurally identical and astraditional as possible, because
it's already a nightmare to geta permit for a seawall in miami
takes two years.
We are working on that.
There's pending legislation tocut that to 90 days.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
The vote will be july 1st actually, so literally two
weeks away yeah, that'sprecedent setting really right,
because you're sort oftrailblazing an opportunity for
new startups that come up withsolution idea companies to get
rid of some of the red tape thatgoes along with that.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And we have a voice that the industry did not have
before us, because engineers andconstruction companies, they
are not able to stand up againstthe county and to suggest some
of these updates to their code,because then maybe the county
won't give them the permits asfast, you know.
So they, so they are much morevulnerable, I think, than we are
(15:31):
we're.
We don't have much to lose.
You know, we're like a bull ina china shop.
And also we have awesomeinvestors who are have a
government background in Florida.
So through their support, we'reable to already pass some
legislation and have morelegislation on the way july 1st.
That's not only going to helpliving seawalls our product but
literally the entire coastalconstruction industry.
(15:54):
Wow, so, so that's super, superexciting.
But to your to finish answeryour questions the first
generation seawalls.
We made them traditional, so soit's still concrete.
It's still the same strength5,000 PSI, that's how strength
is measured in concrete.
That's hurricane conditions andthe same reinforcement.
So all concrete is reinforced.
(16:15):
Seawalls have always beenreinforced with rebar.
It's actually really, reallyunfortunate that we're putting
rebar in the water, becauserebar is made of steel or maybe
it's galvanized, but all rebarrusts over time and when it
rusts, it expands and it popsthe concrete seawall.
But that's the way it's beendone since 1905, since the first
(16:36):
seawall went in the water inGalveston, texas in the US, and
so first generation seawallall.
We'd also use rebar, so ourseawalls last exactly the same
amount of time as precastconcrete seawalls, which is
about 30 to 40 years.
Okay, however, we are in verylate stages of r&d and our plan
we're on target that by q4 ofthis year we will be installing
(16:58):
generation two living seawalls.
We we have zero rebar, whichmakes them even more affordable,
exponentially lighter, easierto install and, most importantly
, they will last over 100 years.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Wow, that is fantastic.
And then I would imagine that,as you continue to build this
solution and think aboutinnovation and sustainability
and all the things inmanufacturing in general, right,
do you start to set your sightsto other opportunities to
(17:33):
participate in supporting therobustness of our environment
and protecting them from naturalcauses?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Honestly, I am like singularly focused on seawalls.
It's my life.
I live and breathe seawalls.
I'm obsessed with seawalls.
That's a good answer, anya.
And it's a massive, massiveindustry.
People don't realize becauseseawalls are kind of boring.
It's not a sexy product.
Like 3D printing houses isawesome.
Everyone knows that.
You know they watch, watchthose really cool videos on
youtube.
No one's looking at seawallsbecause it's like it's a
concrete slab.
But it is a huge market, is ahuge opportunity for impact,
(18:11):
because you can actually buildin all this impact into the
actual seawall.
You know, like now it's amarine habitat, now it's
dissipating waves, improving thequality of water.
How awesome is that?
In a way, I guess we haveactually found a path to make
Seawall sexy through the impactand also some of the design
elements that we're able tobring to the Seawall products.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Anya, this sounds again massively incredible and
impactful.
Tell me about your leadership.
How are you able to get theteam to really see the vision
and to participate in the visionI'd love to pivot to, because
(18:55):
it's no small notion to dreamsomething and build something
and you know heading somewherewhere the people haven't gone.
So how's that part been for you?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I definitely think I'm a contrarian, especially
like in the last few years, kindof where culture has gone.
It's the opposite of where Ihave stayed, where we run like a
full blow.
Meritocracy, wow, Everyone has.
Well, first of all, literallyeveryone has ownership in a
company.
Every single employee hasequity in the company, so as we
raise more rounds and asvaluation grows, they get to
(19:29):
watch their shares rise in value, which is extremely exciting.
Number one.
Number two our hiring methodsare very unusual.
Like it, actually, I almostnever look at education.
It's like the last thing I'lllook at is where you went to
school.
That's probably the leastimportant thing to me.
What's important?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
What's important, tell us being a badass Badass.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
The majority of the team is operate the operation
side, right, so it's like therobot techs.
And what's really liberating isthat you actually can't go to
school to operate large scaleconcrete 3d printers because
it's so new, so that's prettyawesome.
So then I don't care where youwent to school, because you
couldn't learn this stuffanyways.
And because of that, all I careabout is one that you have some
(20:16):
kind of background doinganything with your hands, so
like anything in concretebuilding with wood, maybe
working on cars hands.
So like anything in concretebuilding with wood, maybe
working on cars.
So you, you enjoy and thrive andthat's really, really, um, like
intense grind of working withyour hands.
And maybe some crazy outdoorconditions, like in miami, 100
degrees, number one, number two,like when we have an interview,
(20:38):
I will like, literally, I wantcalluses on your hands.
You know, there's one thing tosay that you love it, but it's
another like to see it, and youdo have to be physically strong.
And some people like they're noquestion me, they're like they
say, like our team looks likeAbercrombie and Fitch or
something, but but it's notbecause I'm like.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I looked at the website.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
It does but it's not because I'm like putting out an
ad, you know, for great lookingteam people.
It's because usually people whoare super strong and like
dedicated and badasses, theyjust happen to also be good
looking, you know.
So that's how we put together ateam, Like, really, and, by the
way, most of them we end upfinding on Craigslist.
I know it sounds crazy.
Initially I did put ads onLinkedIn and Indeed and I was so
(21:22):
disappointed that people wouldreach out to me and be like, oh,
I just graduated, I would loveto learn more.
What's the work-life balance?
I'm like there is no balance,like we are here to suffer, like
you guys are suffering with usor you're out, you know.
And so I was just like really,really turned off by that, just
even the questions thatapplicants were asking of me,
(21:44):
and I ended up going onCraigslist.
Yeah, and that's becausethere's a lot of people on
Craigslist looking for manuallabor and I found an
unbelievable team.
Most of them are immigrants Wow.
We have like every member of ateam from a different country.
A lot of them didn't speakEnglish well when they started,
wow, and they showed up here andwe give training.
(22:06):
So everyone that comes with amonth-long intensive training in
concrete and operating robotsand design, and now everyone the
every single person that's myfounding team is all still
together.
Only one person has left.
That's because he had to go tonicaragua to to be his family.
He'll be back in December.
It's like an incredibly,incredibly strong, lean, close
(22:31):
team.
And my big it was diverse too Imean, you know that but not by
design.
I think that's what peoplealways say oh wow, your team is
so diverse.
But it's not like I went outand I was like I need like one
woman.
I think that's what peoplealways say oh wow, your team is
so diverse, but it's not like Iwant now.
It's like I need like one woman.
I need one like Asian person atall.
Like they're all the best ofthe best and maybe they started
off just being a guy inCraigslist not speaking great
(22:52):
English.
A year later, my designer, mylead designer, for example, has
done things in 3D printing thatno one in the world has
accomplished.
How amazing is is that?
And that's just because of thededication and the belief that
the team has, and that's whywe've been able to move as
quickly as we have to.
So my biggest motivation on theside of all of this, even more
than impacting the ocean, isjust like achieving financial
(23:14):
freedom for my entire team.
I'm always thinking, because alot of them live with their mom,
they send family back, I mean,they're sent money back home to
their countries and I'm justalways like visualizing like
them, like I just got chillsthinking about, like, live with
their mom, they send family back, I mean, they send money back
home to their countries, and I'mjust always like visualizing
like them, like I just gotchills thinking about like
buying their mom a house orsomething you know, just stuff
like that really excites me.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
But I tell you you've done a good job of being really
clear on the type of talentthat is going to show up and
really lean into the vision andthe mission of the organization.
And I grew up with some prettyfantastic brands of companies
(23:52):
and I have always said one ofthem in particular.
What made them so amazing andwell-written about was, I
thought, the savvy of the hiring, clarity to the mission and
vision of what needed to happenand the culture that was
expected.
And I'm hearing all of thatcome through as you think about
(24:13):
and talk about your business.
So many people that start up acompany I don't think that they
quickly understand thosecharacteristics.
Did you know this instinctivelyup front, or how grounded was
your vision and your missionstatement when you started your
company, or is it something thatgot more crisp and clear as you
(24:34):
started to have moreconversations, envisioning the
art of the possible?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
possible.
The mission was very clear.
The culture part of it, Ididn't.
I didn't some, not somethingI've even thought about in the
first in the in, when I firststarted, and now it's one of the
most important things to me.
So I think the culture hascaught up to the vision and I
(24:59):
really see how, how you knowit's it's.
It's impossible to achieve thisvision unless you have a
culture that's really reallyaligned.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Wow, you run, you run , you don't walk.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Actually, I walk extremely fast.
So what's your favorite workout?
Oh my gosh, I'm a Pilates girl.
I've been doing Pilates atleast six days, six days a week,
for the last 10 years.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Okay, I love Pilates too.
Do you like Reformer or mat orboth?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
No, no.
It has to be Reformer and ithas to be Legree Like.
The most painful workout is theonly one that I want.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
So why is that your favorite workout?
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Because it hurts.
I need to feel the pain.
You know no pain, no gain.
You know it's like slow andlike the pain is just deep in
your core.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I love we are learning all about the psyche of
what it takes to be a badassand start a business like this a
likable one on top of it, soall right.
So now you're havingconversations with potential
investors and you're selling andtelling and sharing and all the
(26:09):
things.
What are they asking?
What is the thing that theywant to know the most about, as
folks are starting up businessesand they're hearing hey, gosh,
she definitely sounds like she'sgot this right.
What are they asking you themost about?
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Well, first of all, I knew nothing about fundraising
when I started.
I mean, literally I Googledlike who invests in climate tech
, who invests in constructiontech?
And I just wrote them cold,messaged them on LinkedIn and
luckily, some of them took mycalls, literally.
It's not that I not only have Inever worked in a startup, I've
(26:47):
never even met a person whoworked for get started a company
.
I've never even met someone whoworks at a startup.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
And so you know, miami, just what it just speaks
to this coming right from yourheart, like I just have to.
I just have to really pointthat out, right?
Okay?
Okay, keep going.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Well, you know the help actually being oblivious
sometimes can be really helpful,Cause I'm like I didn't know.
Like you know you're supposedto like get someone to make an
introduction.
If I knew that then I wouldhave never started, Cause I
don't know anyone who can makeintroductions.
So I was like, oh, whatever,Now Google, here's 10 people.
That's the first way I metpeople and the second I got to
(27:25):
speak a lot, and that's reallyreally thanks to just this.
Miami and the city of Miamireally was trying, and still
trying, to kind of transform itsidentity to attract more
startups, more investors.
So it was providing like therewas the Aspen Institute, their
climate conference was in Miamifor a few years that's the first
(27:46):
time I ever spoke about this,yeah.
And so through those fewopportunities, I started meeting
investors.
And what I learned quickly?
Well, first of all, if someoneasks you what is a seawall like,
you should just end the callbecause they don't know what a
seawall is, then they'll neverfeel like the huge opportunity
and the huge problems thatyou're solving.
(28:07):
So that's kind of a deal breakerand on that topic, like what,
but hey, but we can't blow pastthat, right?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Because you know I have listeners that are all over
the world, various stages, andthe reality is we sometimes
assume that we're in a warm,friendly, ready, good soil
environment, right, just becausewe have a good idea, and that's
not necessarily the case.
It's not that people don'tacknowledge it's a good idea,
it's just that for them tobecome educated enough to form a
(28:38):
credible opinion of what theythink is going to take more.
And then you have to thinkabout time value spent, right,
and am I going to spend all mytime educating and getting you
up to speed to even, you know,consider this an important
aspect, or am I going to findthe people that care about this?
Speaker 2 (28:56):
And I just think the chance of success is really low
if you have to do a bunch ofeducation, because there are
investors who already know it'sa problem, they're actively
seeking solutions and that's aslam dunk.
And so for me, those wereactually Florida investors.
So talking to investors in evenNew York City, even in San
Francisco, it's very differentfrom talking to investors in
(29:17):
Florida, because I don't have tonot only educate them on what
is a seawall, but I don't haveto educate them that they're
expensive, that they'redestroying marine habitats and
the fact that it's a it's amulti-billion dollar opportunity
.
They know, and so ultimatelythey understand the urgency
Absolutely, cause they'reexperiencing flooding, of course
, themselves, and so ultimately,I would say 75% of my cap table
(29:40):
was Florida investors.
Oh, wow, and we were lucky tobe really oversubscribed.
We actually increased the round.
Originally, the first round wassupposed to be 5 million.
We ultimately closed 6.5million.
Congratulations, thank you.
We had almost 10 million ininterest, and so we got to
choose the investors, and so allof them are strategic.
Half the investors aregovernment people lobbying
(30:03):
groups, former congressmen,mayors, commissioners and then
the other half is constructionpeople, so people building
things on the water who canspecify us in their plan.
I love that mix.
Isn't that lucky.
And then Mark Cuban investedjust because it's cool and that
attracts more and better.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
That's not a bad deal when, just because it's cool
and that attracts more, that'snot a bad deal when he thinks
something's cool.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, yeah, I'm okay with that Wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Are you going to do Shark Tank?
Speaker 2 (30:28):
We're too big for Shark Tank now.
Plus he left.
He did his last episode acouple months ago.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, well, you know, I figure he still has a phone
number or two he can get you inthere.
No, no, yeah, honestly later,for that I'm so past that I'm in
a different phase and you knowwhat, honestly, that's exactly
why I was excited to talk to youtoo, because I think that you
are in a different phase and Ithink expanding the conversation
(30:54):
around new innovativebusinesses, new innovative
manufacturing principles and thethinking around scale and
urgency, I think is really,really impressive, and I do
believe it's something, eventhough you're doing the right
thing, to think absolutelyrelentlessly.
(31:16):
Focus on the lane that you'rein.
I think we'll all be smart towatch how you build and develop
and grow this, because I thinkthis is transferable and we
really got to think about how dowe continue to develop
manufacturing to be proximate towhere the problem to solve is
(31:39):
and cost efficient and effective.
Those are some of the thingsthat it sounds like you've begun
to tackle.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Absolutely.
I mean, we're obsessed withgetting not just obsessed, we're
actually required.
For example, if you do anyseawall for the Florida
Department of Transportation,fdot, you have to fulfill BABA.
Baba is an acronym which standsbuilt in America by America,
which means the majority of thecomponents of your product have
to come from the United States,and that's actually very
(32:09):
challenging.
A lot of rebar steel comes fromAsia.
We had originally startedworking with a concrete mix
actually came from Germany,because it was the best mix in
the world, and it's hard to getsomeone in the US actually to
meet the same standards in thismix.
And so in construction, it'ssomething you already get a lot
of credit for.
Yeah, and also, are youactually required to do if you
(32:33):
want to go for some of these bigstate or federal kind of jobs?
Speaker 1 (32:37):
So this is a little bit of a swerve too right,
because you know now it's justone more complexity to think
through.
But I think the blessing andthe curse in it for you being a
bit earlier in the tenure isthat you can design.
You can design for efficiencynow sourcing, you know, so that
you're advantaged in the longrun where some other
(32:58):
manufacturers, you know, have tokind of go back and re-script
just because of the positioning.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Absolutely, and we're lucky that we have the scale of
the pipeline that we have,because companies are willing to
do R&D with us and put in theirown investment and time, for
example with a concrete mix, todevelop a mix, because, you know
, they know it's not a one-offproject.
They can see, they have clearvisibility into our pipeline and
the cubic yards of materialthat we're going to need over
(33:26):
the next two years and that'show we're able to, for example,
switch to a material provider inOrlando instead of Germany,
which is hugely impactful froman environmental standpoint,
obviously cost standpoint, andallows us to go after more
government jobs.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I love that.
So look, all right.
So this is fantastic.
I look forward to watching youfly, I look forward to learning
more.
Actually, I'm going to, youknow, after we close this out,
we're going to get our schedulealigned and I'm looking forward
to spending some time with youon site.
I want to see it, I want totouch it and I certainly want to
help.
One of my passions is not onlyto support and develop women in
(34:07):
their careers, but also you know, having been in the angel game
for a long time, it's reallyexciting to me when I see
something pop and it just sohappens right, it's not, it's
not a condition for certainly,but it just so happens.
When it happens to be not it'snot a condition for certainly,
but it just so happens when ithappens to be a woman who came
up with that great idea, I getjust a little bit more excited.
(34:30):
No shame in my game.
So one fun thing before I letyou go, all right.
So I asked this question of acouple of folks and I'd be
curious to hear inbox, becauseyou have such a drive about you
Zero.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Zero, I knew it.
I knew it.
I knew it A hundred percent.
Well, while we talk, probablyit's going to be 26, but before
I got onto this podcast, it waszero.
Yeah, I knew that on you.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I knew it.
Oh my gosh, that's so good.
What do you do for fun?
What is your, what's your happyplace?
And I truly know that everyfiber in you is focused.
But when I say, anya, unplug,what's the thing that you do to
get that done?
Speaker 2 (35:14):
I actually love handwriting, I love calligraphy,
so I hand write books, books.
I hand wrote a cooking book andI just I just hand wrote
Serbian food.
No, cooking food.
It's actually called dearbrother, please don't starve.
And it's for my brother who'sbecause he's at Harvard and he
doesn't know how to boil an egg.
And so I mean a very, verysexist book.
(35:38):
Very easy recipes for guys,like three to five ingredients,
lots of photos.
And then I just finishedanother one last week which is a
handwritten and illustratedbecause I love to draw to um
book for chill kids.
Oh, it's called the teen, tinyshark society.
It's about examples of allthese kids around the world who
(35:58):
have their own little businesses.
So really realistic, I think,creative business ideas that
kids could actually read andthen do, and then go out and do
it themselves.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Anya girl, you are killing it all all sides right,
because I believe, if you wantto really talk about being a
badass, badass is not onlyunderstanding what you're
packing and knowing yourstrengths and how to align those
to get a vision complete, butit's also understanding how
responsible it is for us toshare that wisdom and if we can
(36:30):
plant seeds for the futurethrough the young who are
reading and watching man.
You got the assignment, sush,you got it.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I'm so excited Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Thank you so much for spending time with Proven Not
Perfect.
Looking forward to watching youfly, girlfriend.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Thank you, we'll see you soon in Miami.
Yes, you will.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Yes, you will.
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