Company Failure: How SOURCE Lost Everything in Just 12 Months | (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

Description

🤔 What Happened to Source Global's Water-from-Air Technology?

🙌 Supporters 🙌

A big thank you to my partner SimpleLab: https://link.dww.show/simplelab

My best water tech analysis straight to your inbox

SOURCE (formerly Zero Mass Water) produced drinking water from air using solar-powered Hydropanels.

Founded in 2015 by Cody Friesen, it raised $270 million, becoming one of water tech's most-funded companies - before turning into a Company Failure

🥜 IN A NUTSHELL 🥜

What was Source Global's core technology? Solar-powered Hydropanels that extract drinking water from atmospheric humidity, requiring no electrical or water infrastructure.

Why did the company fail despite massive funding? Ran out of cash after failing to raise funds, faced major quality issues from Malaysian manufacturing, and had unsustainable costs versus traditional water delivery, leading to company failure

What were the main product problems? High failure rates within 2-3 years, frequent fan and battery breakages, and warranty quietly reduced from 10 to 5 years.

Did Source attempt a business pivot? Acquired Proud Source Water and launched Sky Water, building Hydropanel farms to produce canned atmospheric water at scale.

What remains of Source Global today? The founder and executives left in early 2025. Hydropanels and Sky Water are out of stock, but the acquired Proud Source Water business continues operating despite the mother company failure

#️⃣ Mentioned Links #️⃣

SOURCE's SEC filings (over the years):

Source on Glassdoor

Source's troubles in Allensworth

My own interview with Source, four years ago

Source's website (still active)

Cody Friesen's LinkedIn profile

Proud Source Water's website

Thunderf00t's original video

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

🤔 What Happened to Source Global's Water-from-Air Technology?

🙌 Supporters 🙌

A big thank you to my partner SimpleLab: https://link.dww.show/simplelab

My best water tech analysis straight to your inbox

SOURCE (formerly Zero Mass Water) produced drinking water from air using solar-powered Hydropanels.

Founded in 2015 by Cody Friesen, it raised $270 million, becoming one of water tech's most-funded companies - before turning into a Company Failure

🥜 IN A NUTSHELL 🥜

What was Source Global's core technology? Solar-powered Hydropanels that extract drinking water from atmospheric humidity, requiring no electrical or water infrastructure.

What were the main product problems? High failure rates within 2-3 years, frequent fan and battery breakages, and warranty quietly reduced from 10 to 5 years.

Did Source attempt a business pivot? Acquired Proud Source Water and launched Sky Water, building Hydropanel farms to produce canned atmospheric water at scale.

#️⃣ Mentioned Links #️⃣

SOURCE's SEC filings (over the years):

Source on Glassdoor

Source's troubles in Allensworth

My own interview with Source, four years ago

Source's website (still active)

Cody Friesen's LinkedIn profile

Proud Source Water's website

Thunderf00t's original video

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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Description

🤔 What Happened to Source Global's Water-from-Air Technology?

🙌 Supporters 🙌

A big thank you to my partner SimpleLab: https://link.dww.show/simplelab

My best water tech analysis straight to your inbox

SOURCE (formerly Zero Mass Water) produced drinking water from air using solar-powered Hydropanels.

Founded in 2015 by Cody Friesen, it raised $270 million, becoming one of water tech's most-funded companies - before turning into a Company Failure

🥜 IN A NUTSHELL 🥜

What was Source Global's core technology? Solar-powered Hydropanels that extract drinking water from atmospheric humidity, requiring no electrical or water infrastructure.

What were the main product problems? High failure rates within 2-3 years, frequent fan and battery breakages, and warranty quietly reduced from 10 to 5 years.

Did Source attempt a business pivot? Acquired Proud Source Water and launched Sky Water, building Hydropanel farms to produce canned atmospheric water at scale.

#️⃣ Mentioned Links #️⃣

SOURCE's SEC filings (over the years):

Source on Glassdoor

Source's troubles in Allensworth

My own interview with Source, four years ago

Source's website (still active)

Cody Friesen's LinkedIn profile

Proud Source Water's website

Thunderf00t's original video

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

🤔 What Happened to Source Global's Water-from-Air Technology?

🙌 Supporters 🙌

A big thank you to my partner SimpleLab: https://link.dww.show/simplelab

My best water tech analysis straight to your inbox

SOURCE (formerly Zero Mass Water) produced drinking water from air using solar-powered Hydropanels.

Founded in 2015 by Cody Friesen, it raised $270 million, becoming one of water tech's most-funded companies - before turning into a Company Failure

🥜 IN A NUTSHELL 🥜

What was Source Global's core technology? Solar-powered Hydropanels that extract drinking water from atmospheric humidity, requiring no electrical or water infrastructure.

What were the main product problems? High failure rates within 2-3 years, frequent fan and battery breakages, and warranty quietly reduced from 10 to 5 years.

Did Source attempt a business pivot? Acquired Proud Source Water and launched Sky Water, building Hydropanel farms to produce canned atmospheric water at scale.

#️⃣ Mentioned Links #️⃣

SOURCE's SEC filings (over the years):

Source on Glassdoor

Source's troubles in Allensworth

My own interview with Source, four years ago

Source's website (still active)

Cody Friesen's LinkedIn profile

Proud Source Water's website

Thunderf00t's original video

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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!

➡️ 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

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

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 😅).

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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