BIV Monthly Update XL
This has been a remarkable month, where I’ve witnessed the ability (and glimpsed the staggering potential) of this newly-formed BIV Team on multiple different fronts. I’m so excited for what is now possible, and what it means for our work as we find, fund, and support the best entrepreneurs in water globally.
It’s been a fast start to the year for many of the companies. All very exciting.
BIV Monthly Update – February 2, 2024
“In progress.” Martin Blank Grosse Pointe Blank
Highlights
I’m really starting to internalise how great it will be build this next stage of BIV with a team of such deeply smart, committed, fun, nice people. There have been multiple times this week where I have become actively excited about the work going on, the quality and clarity of the thought and execution. It’s humbling (because any problem being fixed traces back to…..me).
Really excellent that SewerAI, SwiftComply, and LAIIER have been accepted to the Xylem Innovation Labs Partnership Accelerator for 2024. It’s an amazing program that Sivan runs.
Great for Ziptility to oversubscribe an interim round to accelerate growth (they would take one or two more small checks) while also maintaining sales momentum. Excellent first board meeting with the team at NLine Energy. They’re entering a very exciting new phase.
Christine, Steve and I met in Seattle for a thoroughly productive partner meeting (whiteboard scribbling for the win, especially when you’re working right to left…). Jessica joined us for the second afternoon as we worked through operational planning, and joined us for a lovely dinner with some of our Seattle network in a converted monastery. Much fun.
February Asks
There are a variety of very interesting growth roles out now or upcoming across the portfolio. Point the smartest people you know to the BIV Jobs Board or talent network (or just be in touch!).
Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule, and if you like it, spread the word. Actually, spread the word regardless.
Sign up here to attend forthcoming BIV Sessions.
BIV Portfolio Updates
SwiftComply – Partner program already bearing fruit, with promising collaborations ahead. Strong start toward their revenue goals.
Ziptility – Hosted their first Ziptility Customer Event in Nashville, Indiana. Their community around their product is remarkable. Building a strong sales motion, 4 more closes this month.
ZwitterCo – Alex moved mountains on a serious project over the holidays, and it looks like it will bear considerable fruit. Building into a very strong position.
2S Water – Announced as a finalist in the Eramet Water Resource Innovation Challenge. On track for deployments with two major companies.
Aclarity – Closed their first commercial contract. Bravo.
Aquafortus – Working through their full pilot - a fascinating stage and process.
Beagle Services - Achieved net cash flow breakeven in Q4 2023 and doubled annual revenue growth. Their ARR subscription, Watchdog, is growing steadily.
CivilGrid – A strong contender for the 2024 NextEra Seed Competition. A productive meeting with an oil and gas major. Revenue numbers climbing nicely, especially annualised.
Daupler – Winter storms caused a surge in usage as millions of residents became reliant on Daupler during widespread outages - another example of their impact. New sales leader hitting his stride, on pace for a record sales quarter.
Floodbase – Announced another strategic partnership with Capella Space, adding on high-res satellite imagery to their parametric insurance offerings. Included in a16z’s American Dynamism 50 AI Edition.
Irrigreen – Already sold 30 systems in the “slow period” of the year. Received an average customer rating 4.8 stars (out of 5.0) with 95% of new customer service cases being dealt with on the same day. High quality execution.
LAIIER – Achieved their highest revenue month ever in January with some major deals in the pipeline. New engineering hire performing well. Preparing for their Series A.
NLine Energy – Details forthcoming on how they plan to take the company to the next stage. Closed five Microsteam turbine projects in December.
SewerAI – Exceptionally strong reception to their latest release (QAI). Series B in progress with strong demand. Sales accelerating through Q4 with two new broken records on their DAU and MAU products.
Shower Stream – Expanded non-dilutive R&D funding pipeline for 2024. Accepted to the 2024 ACEEE Hot Water Forum.
Spout – Onboarded the former COO from Makerbot to lead manufacturing. In process to select a factor and will begin shipping machines to customers. Approaching 2,400 pre-orders
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: 905 (+25)
The engine is turning nicely, and I have been so impressed with the efficiency of processing and the quality of thought going into our decisions.
We have a very strong top of the forced curve, and it is always interesting to see how the relative order of quality evolves over time, as we gradually get to know companies. Having time is helpful, and one of the advantages of a tricky current market.
Team
I can see this group starting to hum. It’s really exciting. And also puts my capabilities in some fairly stark perspective (again). Jessica has a great mantra of “one mess at a time”. Though I maintain her bar for a “mess” is very low….
Spring Associate finalized. A stellar candidate selected from a highly qualified group. An excellent selection process run by Jennie and Christine.
BIV Insight/Visibility
Two new episodes from The Fundamental Molecule with Wayne Byrne - 4x Startups to Exit and George Hawkins - A Study in Transformation. Two excellent people, and the episodes work well together.
Tremendous fun to chat water and climate with Cody Simms on the MCJ podcast. Tune in here. There was a good response to this one (mainly because of the vast audience I think).
Huge thank you to the Global Corporate Venturing team for including us in their latest special report on the circular economy - an excellent piece on the economies of carbon, plastic and water.
If you'd like to hear more about upcoming BIV events, please add events@burntislandventures.com to your address book.
We’re Reading/Listening/Watching
A fascinating report from Morgan Stanley on individual investor sentiment in sustainability. "Water Solutions" ranks #1 globally as well as in the US and Europe for investors being “Very” or “Somewhat” interested. Long may it continue.
The role of water in the AI transformation - just five ChatGPT queries can use 16oz of water. Read more here.
A pocket guide of essential early-stage sales advice. This never gets any less important.
The water industry is currently valued at $3.8 trillion and is expected to increase to $12.6 trillion by 2034 according to GWI.
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli and Genesis and the Big Bang by Gerald L. Schroeder. A good reminder of the forces at work and the unique complexity of the humble water molecule.
Will Guidara’s Pre-Meal newsletter. The importance of how you treat your customers is sage advice for anyone running a business.
Expect this section to expand a bit as it’s now a team effort!
Things to Work On
Managing time - ruthless focus required on my 2 priorities. I talk about magpie syndrome (shiny objects) with our founders, and it’s really hard to resist when there are so many exciting things going on.
