Recently my long-time friend, Tamara Marshall asked if she could interview me for her new Podcast, The Tides of Business. Tamara is an accomplished aquarist, aquaculturist, entrepreneur, and founder of Manta Systems. She wanted to talk about my career journey in marine science and aquaculture and I happily agreed, thinking: A.) this might be fun, and B.) a link to this interview might be a useful resource for my students and other young people in the process of mapping out their own futures. As we planned, then recorded the interview, catching up along the way (it had been a few years since we’d spoken), it occurred to me that Tamara had something to offer my students that I didn’t: an extensive background and education in business management and entrepreneurship. Although many of our students at Carteret Community College have their sights set on working at a hatchery or public aquarium, most of them at least consider using their skills in aquaculture to go into business for themselves. One of the courses I administer, called Aqua Business, consists of students working independently over the course of a semester to develop a business plan. They are provided with a variety of resources through the course website and are expected to attend a series of relevant seminars to help guide them in the process. My conversations with Tamara left me feeling completely inadequate as a mentor for students interested in starting their own businesses as this is an area in which I have no personal experience, but it also gave me an idea. After our initial interview, I asked Tamara if she would mind turning the tables and allowing me to interview her, using questions submitted by my students. She was happy to do it, and now my students have another great resource available to them. Check out the interview below, and while you’re at it, check out the Manta Systems website. Since its launch, Tamara has been tirelessly posting useful articles on a range of topics relevant to aquarium husbandry. In case you’re wondering about the purpose of such a nice website where there’s nothing presently for sale, let’s just say you might want to be on the lookout for a truly innovative product hitting the aquarium industry in the near future.