Matthew Costello, Voyager Portal: Pivoting, AI and Building Maritime Tech That Actually Works
What happens when the original idea isn’t the one that ultimately builds the business?
Matthew Costello, Founder and CEO of Voyager Portal, joins The Last Dinosaur to talk candidly about building a maritime technology company, the pivots that shaped Voyager, and why listening to customers sometimes means admitting you got it wrong.
Matthew and Chris discuss Voyager’s move deeper into demurrage, rebuilding a product when the first approach didn’t work, the growing role of AI, and why he believes this may be one of the best times yet to build a maritime technology company.
In this episode:
02:21 Matthew’s path from Stolt Tankers to founding Voyager
06:09 Finding the original opportunity in maritime technology
12:46 Why Voyager pivoted deeper into demurrage
17:31 The customer feedback that led to a product rebuild
20:48 Balancing customer requests with innovation
26:47 AI, data architecture and rising customer expectations
32:25 The changing maritime investment landscape
35:35 Why the next wave of maritime startups may look very different
36:22 What Matthew is reading
This episode of The Last Dinosaur is sponsored by Digital Ship.
Digital Ship Summit Athens takes place on 15 October, bringing together maritime technology leaders, shipowners, operators and innovators for practical conversations around AI, cybersecurity, connectivity and digital transformation.
Stay salty. Stay curious.
Chris
Learn More:
Tune in Now: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more! Watch the episode on YouTube.
Music by: Peg and The Rejected “King of SKA”
Art Work By: GA Design
Produced by: Chris Aversano
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