Ep. 12: Anthea Sargeaunt - Transforming Water Management Through Real-Time Sensing
Multivariate, real-time non-contact sensing is one of the holy grails of water management. Getting it right will allow all stakeholders to understand what is in their water in real time. And if we can get it really right, this knowledge will allow a host of improvements in water management, including reduced chemical and energy use, reduced pollution, reduced fines, improved health outcomes, improving the pace and cadence of experimentation with new technology. The list is very long indeed. Anthea and her team have taken a fascinating pathway from problem selection to massively leveraging their equity through grants. She is an exceptional founder and person and one of the best founder communicators I have met. I loved her insights into the importance of public speaking as you're building a company. Please do enjoy my conversation with the excellent Anthea Sargeaunt.
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Full show notes and links to mentioned content below.
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Anthea's entrepreneurial journey, spanning from early ventures to the oil and gas sector, showcases her problem-solving prowess and industry acumen. Today, she and Tom explore partnership complexities and grant acquisition, stressing understanding partner expectations and grant funding's role in startup growth. Anthea's insights emphasize genuine connections, adaptable communication, and infrastructure investment for streamlined product development. This dialogue not only underscores innovation's transformative power but also offers guidance for aspiring water entrepreneurs, marking a pivotal moment in industry evolution.
Episode Highlights:
0:00 Start
0:49 Introduction
1:50 Anthea’s career to date
6:10 2S Water’s genesis
8:30 Its product and the problem it solves
10:43 Understanding the problem
14:39 Establishing early customer relationships with large companies
16:50 Pros and cons of this early engagement
18:19 Crossing the Chasm and Anthea’s implementation of it
21:11 Navigating partnerships
27:00 Funding with grants
29:19 Key skills in writing grants
32:48 What surprised Anthea most about the water sector
34:32 What she has learned since joining it
35:19 Anthea’s advice based on these learnings
37:05 Her experience in the Lithium market
39:52 Working with family
42:24 Anthea’s speaking and presenting skills and their value
46:01 Her most important piece of advice for aspiring water entrepreneurs
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