40 Minute Mentor

October 25, 2023

Building the NASA of the Ocean in Stealth with Steve Etherton, President EMEA of DEEP

For the penultimate week of this Series of 40 Minute Mentor, we’re joined by Steve Etherton, President EMEA of DEEP – an international research and development organisation who aim to become the NASA of the ocean.

Having placed Steve Etherton with DEEP, when they were still in stealth mode, we’re so excited to finally be able to welcome him to the podcast and find out about DEEP’s mission to radically advance how humankind access, explore and inhabit underwater environments.

Before joining DEEP, Steve spent 12 years in the British Army and a decade growing one of Africa’s fastest growing FinTechs.

“We live on an ocean planet, and we have this strange relationship where we assume it’s all been discovered, but it actually hasn’t…”

Steve Etherton

Tune in to discover

Finding the balance between entrepreneurship and the rest of life [03:35]

Starting his career in the Military & leadership lessons [06:51]

Transitioning out of the Army [08:02]

How Africa’s rocketship FinTech began and went on to raise $90 million [09:25]

Figuring out what type of COO you want to be [10:59]

DEEP’s mission to make humans aquatic [13:24]

Coming out of stealth mode & learnings from early build [18:04]

Tackling the climate crisis [21:10]

Developing underwater habitats [24:46]

Being driven, fearless and curious: an insight into DEEP’s culture & hiring practices [26:49]

Evolution of leadership styles [30:24]

Audience question: Understanding the oceans, a note for underwater living sceptics [32:48]

Listen on

Helpful links

➡️ Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-etherton-91190a24/

➡️ Find out more about DEEP: https://www.deep.com/

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