S5E17 - How to Build the World Leading Water Innovation Accelerator: Imagine H2O | (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

Description

with 🎙️ Scott Bryan - President of Imagine H2O

💧 Imagine H2O is the world leading Water Innovation Accelerator with $800+M raised in early-stage funding and 1.1 billion people (and counting) served.

What we covered:

🌎 How Imagine H2O's Alumni network now extends to 168 portfolio companies in 20 countries

🚀 How Imagine H2O launched in 2008, creating the water innovation accelerator concept from scratch

💡 How the organization's concept first was a Business Model contest, how it pivoted from there, and why

🛣️ How Imagine H2O swiftly realized that to accelerate water technologies they had to work on water technology adoption

💸 How only 1% of climate tech venture investments flow to water today and why it is problematic

🪣 How Imagine H2O's non-profit business model works, and who the organization partners with to maximize its impact

🤝 How market competitors can incredibly work together to take new solutions off the ground

🌱 How entrepreneurs entering from other sectors bring a breath of fresh air and how fun it is to work with them

😵 How sometimes, entrepreneurs hang around a little longer than they should in the Water Industry

🤑 How some valuations we currently see in the Water Sector can be detrimental to both the founder and the investor

💥 How the booming accelerator playground offers incredible resources for entrepreneurs while also reaching some boundaries

🎯 Focus being the name of the game, the criterion to work with Imagine H2O, the most important thing to look at as a water entrepreneur, water as a global opportunity and a local market, scaling up, building for the long-term… and much more!

🔥 … and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥

➡️ Come say hi to Scott on LinkedIn

➡️ Check out the full story (and an infographic) on How Imagine H2O became the World's leading water innovation accelerator

➡️ Check the stories of Imagine H2O's alumni we shared on this microphone:

🎙️ Aquacycl (S1E20)

🎙️ StormHarvester (S2E11)

🎙️ 120Water (S3E1)

🎙️ Puraffinity (S4E1)

🎙️ Epic Cleantec (S4E3)

🎙️ Typhon Treatment (S4E9)

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About (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

❓ Ever wondered how the #WaterIndustry was reacting to our World's Water Challenges? Water Scarcity? #SDG6? PFAS? Climate Change? Circular Economy? Digitization and Smart Water?

💪 Get the Water Market pulse for free. In one hour per week, while you do the dishes!

📈 We talk water investment, water tech, water entrepreneurship and water market with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, book authors, scientists, investment funds, VCs, and C-Level experts from water majors.

➡️ Leverage their insights, advice & experience and ensure to stay on top of best practices

🗓️ Tune in every Wednesday (don't miss out! 😅)

🌐 Find all the detailed episode notes, interviews, infographics, and more at http://dww.show

Currently in its 10th Season, the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast has already welcomed around 250 guests from Water Majors (SUEZ, Veolia, Jacobs, Xylem, Kemira, Evoqua, Aquatech, SKion Water...), Scale-Ups (Cambrian Innovation, Epic Cleantec, Gradiant, Liqtech, 374Water, Gingko Bioworks...), Start-Ups (Puraffinity, KETOS, 120Water, ZwitterCo, Membrion, Source...), Universities (Berkeley, the Columbia Water Center), Investment Funds (Sciens Water, Mazarine, Burnt Island Ventures...), Business Accelerators (Imagine H2O, Elemental...), Book Authors (Seth Siegel, David Sedlak, David Lloyd Owen...) or Market Intelligence Companies (BlueTech Research, Global Water Intelligence, World Bank, OECD, Isle Utilities...). Or simply water legends like Gary White, Mina Guli or Andrew Benedek!

On the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast, I strive to make the Water Industry easy to understand for everyone, starting with water professionals, executives, and investors. Hence, he opens the microphone to seasoned, inspirational water experts to discuss their field of excellence.

No one can claim an all-around in-depth understanding of a matter as complex as Water. But piece by piece, you can rebuild the puzzle. With curiosity, patience, and passion, Antoine Walter explores topics such as Advanced Treatment Technologies, Water-Energy Nexus (Hydrogen, Lithium...), PFAS removal, Nature-Based Solutions, Wastewater Reuse, Distributed Water Treatments, Water Finance, and Water Entrepreneurship.

I actually firmly believe that regular listeners of the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast may, in the end, claim a "Water MBA!"

A particular field of interest is how innovation forms, grows and gets widely adopted in a complex and conservative field like the Water Industry. This may be one of the keys to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal n°6 - #SDG6.

Oh, and in short, about me: I'm a water engineer turned avid student of the water business, market, finance, and tech. I'm married, a happy father of three, and I'm French (nobody's perfect 😅).