BIV Monthly Update XLV

BIV Monthly Update – July 3, 2024

“Well, gosh, kind of a lot has happened since then.” Stanley Goodspeed, The Rock

Highlights

• The team’s whirlwind early summer continued at (deep breath) BlueTech Forum in Edinburgh, Singapore International Water Week, ACE in LA, Confluence in NYC, Christine in China, Jessica and I in Italy, Marissa in Frankfurt and CT, Jennie in the Galapagos AND the UK (but which was better?). We’re gettin’ it done. We just don’t know what time zone we’re in.
• Seeing the strengthening of the Fund I portfolio as LAIIER, Daupler and Irrigreen get momentum in their rounds. 7 of the 16 companies are now on commercially very solid ground indeed, and the others are catching up fast.?
• Wonderful week with Ruki’s family in Chianti, Italy to celebrate the retirement of both her parents, who have been such dedicated teachers for years. Hands up if you put on 6lb in 7 days! Yum.

July Asks

• Tune into two new episodes from The Fundamental Molecule with Matt Johnson - Constraints, Sequencing, and Finding the Fun and Paul Vacquier - Trust, Crucibles, and Kevin Hart.
• Pre-order a Spout system. Or buy an Irrigreen system.?
• Sign up here to attend forthcoming BIV Sessions.
• Point the smartest people you know to the BIV Jobs Board or talent network. CivilGrid , SewerAI and ZwitterCo all actively hiring.

BIV Portfolio Updates? Fund I

• Aquafortus – The team keeps on finding ways to rip capex and opex out of the system while improving performance. Some very valuable membranes rescued. $3.4m closed, $600k left.?
• Beagle Services – In the third month of positive cash flow. The promised land. Leaning into it.
• CivilGrid – Three new partnerships with Civiltech, Cannon and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Attended ACE 2024 and joined the Californian GridTECH Connect Forum.
• Daupler – Booked 28 demos yesterday. Attended BlueTech, Smart Water Utilities and ACE. Great customer showcase with Beth Huerta from Global Water Resources. Check it out here.
• Floodbase –? Great feature in Payload on how they’re using EO to fix flood insurance. Bessie named to the Bloomberg Ones to Watch List. We agree.
• Irrigreen – Featured on CNBC - check it out here (massively appreciated the inclusion of our logo). Saved 200m gallons of water to date. Sales full throttle with the summer season.
• LAIIER – Honoring their Women in Engineering this month - awesome videos from the team here and here. Strong progress on the raise. It’s an excellent story and Matt tells it well.
• NLine Energy – H1 closed ahead of plan. The progress this year is remarkable.?
• SewerAI – Announced their $15M Series B fundraise, led by Innovius Capital. Great feature in TechCrunch, providing some nice (digi)foot traffic.
• Shower Stream – 120-Room ESA commercial install on track for July. 250-unit production underway with a local manufacturer. Strong signals on price validation and promising early results on product performance. 60% complete on a seed extension.?
• Spout – Hosted their 6th Waterside Chat. Dialing in the final stages of the raise and setting up manufacturing.
• SwiftComply – Commercial momentum maintained with the Annual Cross Connection Control Conference and the P3S Conference. Nice work all round.
• Ziptility – Over 50% of our water/wastewater operators are at, approaching, or past retirement age. New YouTube Series to Focus on Amazing Operators Doing Amazing Things.?
• ZwitterCo – Strong progress on their RO Early Access Program. Good showing at Singapore International Water Week. Welcomed new VP for Product Management and Strategy
• 2S Water – Four units signed, and a fifth imminent, all with industry majors. Exceptional work from Anthea. Small round (mostly insider) will move quickly.??
• Aclarity – Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey awarded them a Governor's Citation in recognition of being named one of the Top GreenTech Companies of 2024 by TIME. Top stuff.

Fund II

• HOPE Hydration – Wildly successful week at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Their latest video is lit. 7 units in a major US airport did 42,000 refills in 2 weeks.?
• Subeca – Introduced the Drag & Drop IoT with Amazon Sidewalk functionality. Won the IoT Global Smart City Award 2024.
• TeamSolve – Successful implementation of their Digital Knowledge Companion (DKC) for Balibago Waterworks with the support of Imagine H2O Asia. Won an award at the TechExchange at SIWW.
• Unannounced Water Heater Company – Launching publicly this month. Strong work on the PR and marketing side, and the unit is really coming together. Beautiful.?
• Unannounced Ocean Sensing Company – pH and alkalinity prototype sensors going into the water for pre manufacturing testing and calibration. Excited to be involved.

• Work with the Burnt Islanders
• All open roles with the Burnt Islanders are advertised through the BIV Jobs Board which is accessible here.

Company Pipeline

• Overall Pipeline: 1241 (+63)

• A selection of fascinating hardware innovations on the slate this month. Treatment, as ever, is a popular space, but we are also seeing some incredibly smart folks working on water quality monitoring, stormwater management, and desalination.
• Inbound deal flow is ramping up as founders look to get their rounds moving before the end of the summer. There’s no summer slowdown yet, thassferdangsure.?

Team

• Preparing for our in-person team day ahead of the 2024 BIV Founder Forum next week. Packed, and fun, agenda. Massive kudos to Jessica and Marissa for all their work. Hats off.
• Jyotika did so well as Jennie embarked on her Galapastravaganza. We didn’t skip a beat, and that is quite something in her second week.

BIV Insight/Visibility

• Huge thank you to Nick van Osdol for having me on the Keep Cool podcast to talk about why water is an under-discussed, under-invested in, and under-resourced category. Listen here.
• Many many thanks to Shane Dyer and Irrigreen for including us in their piece on CNBC (which is excellent). You keep saving FIFTY PERCENT of outdoor water y’all.
• Important piece from Christine E. Boyle on Why Joining Professional Associations as a Water Entrepreneur Matters. Vital, especially in water.?
• Big thank you to Imagine H2O Asia for the heavy lift and letting us co-host the Water Innovation Reception at SIWW. It was everyone’s favorite event of the week, because of course it was.
• Thanks to the team at UpLink - World Economic Forum for including us in their excellent report on investing in water.?
• If you'd like to hear more about upcoming BIV events, please register here.

We’re Reading/Listening/Watching

• Mexico City's water crisis is deeply worrying, but it's not alone.
• Launch of the Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative will provide some strong tailwinds for the likes of NLine, CivilGrid, and Altus Thermal.
• This interview with Pat Grady at Sequoia on ILTB really resonated. Mike Moritz’s idea of the “relentless application of force” hit at just the right time. There’s a lot in here.
• Not my favorite person, but How to Sell Like Steve Jobs is a really interesting reminder of what effective selling looks like, and how much effort simplicity requires. One for everyone fundraising.??
• Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem. A fascinating, intelligent look at the history of my adopted neighborhood. Demanding, but in a good way.?
• Dopamine Nation - Just started but woah nelly…
• Inside Out 2 is great. Just think of the other stages of life they can do…