π§ The European Water Tech Accelerator aims to boost European water start-ups to drive sustainable growth in the global water sector.Β
This episode is part of my series on (successful) Water Entrepreneurship β check it out! π
What we covered:
π How Environment, Economy, and Society shall work together to achieve a triple win, usually known as Sustainable Development
π How Finance and Venture Capital shall be much more involved if we aim at a successful outcome
π The strengths European start-ups usually draw on, but also the common weaknesses they share
π How Market Positioning, Business Model, Go-To-Market Strategy, and Mindset often are the Water Industry Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
π Which type of company is the rarest whilst presenting the most potential
π The ecosystem differences between North-America, Europe, and Asia
π How radical differentiation and transposition innovation might be applied to the Water Sector
π Hypergrowth as a strategy in the Water Industry
π New ways to tackle the innovation value chain
π₯ β¦ and of course, we concluded with the π§ππ₯ππ πππ§π π¦πͺππ¨π©ππ€π£π¨ π₯Β
Teaser:
Resources:
β‘οΈ Send your warm regards to Gaetane on LinkedIn
β‘οΈ Check the European Water Tech Acceleratorβs Page
is on Linkedin β‘οΈ
Infographic: Entrepreneurship in the Water Industry
Table of contents
Full Transcript:
These are computer generated, so expect some typos π
Antoine Walter:
Hi Gaetane, Welcome to the show.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Thank you, Antoine. Thank you very much. Thatβs very nice of you to have me on your program. Well, first of all, you know, on this very special day, I would like to wish everyone, you know, a happy world water day. I know probably itβs not going to be broadcasted on that day, but,
Antoine Walter:
But itβs important to mention that yeah, we are recording actually on the world water day. So letβs make something which is at the level of that event. Because you know, itβs one day in the year, hopefully they are more than one day in the year where people put water in the spot. But if thereβs one itβs today,
Gaetane Suzenet:
Itβs today indeed. Yes. So hopefully, you know, it, it should be everyday, as you say, but letβs say break, you know, at least one day today.
Antoine Walter:
Absolutely. Itβs good to have you on the show because you have a profile, which is rare, at least from my end of the water sector, because many previous guests of that podcast have mentioned regulations, finance to be very important drivers to this industry. But youβre the very first guest I have, which is directly touching these topics. Does that mean that because you know the regulation because youβre shaping the regulation that, you know, the future of this industry?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Well, thank you Antoine. I wish, you know, I would, but at least, you know, what Iβm doing or trying to do is to shape the future, you know, for the best for the water industry. So it doesnβt mean that I know it, I wish, you know, I would, but what Iβve been trying to do over the last 25 years, itβs very much, you know, shaping the future and thinking forward and not backward, you know, bringing the water sector into the future. Very modestly. We have very good people in the water industry of course. But yeah, my objective has always been to make sure that we have, you know, the tools and instruments for the future. And since you mentioned finance, finance was actually the area, which I think was really missing in our discussion. We talk about regulation. We talk about technology. We talk about infrastructure. We talk about engineering, but for me, the missing link has been finance. And thatβs why I have decided to raise this agenda for the water industry.
Antoine Walter:
How did you actually do that? You mentioned that 25 years, which I wouldnβt have spontaneously because you know, I have sometimes to be a gentleman, but now, thatβs, youβve raised it. Can you just swiftly guide us through your steps as we understand these elements of the finance, which is going to be our deep dive, but also the regulation aspect shaping the industry. I love that. That way. Sorry. Now I shut up.
Gaetane Suzenet:
No, thatβs absolutely fine. Donβt worry. Iβve never had actually an agenda. You know, when I got into the water sector and Iβve always been driven by the endgame, I wanted to make sure that I contributed to societal objectives, now it sounds, you know, a bit like, you know, very esoteric and, you know, like, and everybody could say that, but thatβs true. In fact, and when I decided I would work in the water sector, I would always picked up opportunities in which I could be useful, shape the future and make sure that there is a win-win situation for everyone. So Iβve never got into, for instance, you know, the public private debate. I think thatβs ridiculous because we all work for the same objective and I had the pleasure and opportunity to work for the UK water industry. So I always in the best position, because as you know, the UK water industry is public and private.
So really for me, the objectives were very much, you know, environmental, economic and societal. So the sustainability agenda for me was actually a very good framework to work within. And when I say economics, for me, itβs not, you know, the environment against the economy or society against the environment for me, itβs everything. So I was never afraid of saying that if you make money in the water industry, then itβs good. And I was never afraid that you can actually already consigned the fact that you can make money because this money can be injected into investment and you can make money while providing water, safe water to people. You can improve wellbeing, you can improve health. And at the same time you can also improve the environment. So thereβs no contradiction between the phrase trans thereβs no contradiction between public and private. For me, we all working towards the same objective and thatβs, I know Iβm not doing my CV here, which I think would be boring, but itβs just to say that alongside these 25 years, for me, it was very much what has driven the things that it was very meaningful to me.
And thatβs, whatβs driven my carrier up to now.
Antoine Walter:
Well, that gives us a smooth transition into our deep dive because actually one of the thrusts of sustainable development is this economical aspect. And in your latest venture. So the European water tech accelerator, you are aiming at bringing that element of finance and probably letβs use the big word venture capital inside the water industry. And Iβd like to start, you know, for the muggles like me, which donβt know that magical word of finance. So letβs start by just defining what is the European water tech accelerator?
Gaetane Suzenet:
The European water tech accelerator was actually set up last year. And with my co-founder Jacob Tompkins, we decided to set it up because we could see a gap in Europe, despite the fact that you have very good organizations, excellent organizations wanting, you know, to move the water agenda forward. What weβve seen as a gap is you have a lot of startups, but these startups can scale up. I mean, you havenβt seen yet, unless you are able to name one company, which has been able to scale up and get to the Google same arena. We donβt see any. So weβve seen a gap in this, and thatβs why we with Jacob, we have decided to set up the European Water Tech Accelerator for this particular reason. We want to accelerate just a few companies. So not 150 companies, rather, you know, 15 companies, which will become European Water Champions.
Antoine Walter:
So thatβs the mission. And how do you intend to achieve that? Thatβs a good question. Thatβs a broad question.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Very broad question. I think, you know, one thing that we have noticed in the water sector is that we have very good engineers. We have very good tech. What we are missing is entrepreneurs, and Iβm not going to be very popular when I say that. And the finance side of things. Itβs starting, but itβs not there yet. And what we have noticed since youβre mentioning finance is that venture capitalists are still sort of reluctant to invest in the water sector. Funny enough, you know, Iβm talking about this in todayβs time, Iβm doing a talk also to talk about, you know, investment in digital water. And I was looking at the portfolio of a very well-known investment fund in the water sector in Europe. There were set up in 2006 and theyβve done only seven investments in 14 years. 15 years. Yes. So that gives you the gap that we have two close between the startups and the venture capitalist, or I would say, you know, the financial world,
Antoine Walter:
I think thereβs a lot to uncover in what you just said. First. I fully agree with you with that aspect of entrepreneurship. I think thatβs the drawback of having an industry, which is full of engineers. We probably are very prone to the technical side, but if you have engineers everywhere in every role, they have to have their limits as well. And I guess thereβs a broad limit on the entrepreneurship side. And of course the finance side of things. And whatβs, youβre saying with the investment fund brings me back to a discussion I was having on that same microphone with Nicola Lei Ravello and he was mentioning the water sector is a very good investment for the sturdy long-term investments with low risk. And I guess thatβs on the other end of that spectrum. If youβre into venture capital, that means that you are looking at something probably more risky, but also which can bring much more potential is that a reason why venture capital wasnβt that much involved in water, or do you see other barriers to their involvement?
Gaetane Suzenet:
This is certainly true that thereβs this issue about the return on investment that venture capitalists are looking are usually looking for. So that has been a reason indeed, but thereβs also, I think itβs not just a return on investment. There is also the issue of the market uptake, despite the fact that youβve seen, you know, where every single line probably today we are going to see that being the world water today that water, you know, is a global issue. Water is life water is, you know, like the most important thing, you know, and the major risks, according to the world water forum, or, you know, where is the finance, where is the market,
Antoine Walter:
So, youβre saying that theyβre not walking the talk?
Gaetane Suzenet:
No. And, and despite the fact that we keep saying that water and Iβm sure youβve been to all these conferences, you know, like where we could graduate ourselves by saying, you know, like that water will be the next thing Iβve said. Also that water would be the next investment, you know, area. I think, you know, thereβs if, if the market is not ready yet for these innovations that are coming onto the market, then we have a problem. I think, you know, for successful innovation investment strategy, you need three things. You need entrepreneurs, you need scalability, which is market, and you need the tech. And for me, these are the three things which will make the water sector successful in the future, including not just, you know, like the big players, who are very successful. And in fact, if you look at Iβm diverging a bit now, but if you look at the return rate for big water companies, they are pretty good. So now what we need to work on is how innovation is going to be attractive enough for this investment funds. Generally speaking, not just for VCs, but generally speaking. So they need to trust the fact that entrepreneurs will be able to sell their tech or their product to the market. And that the market is confident in the product as well.
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Antoine Walter:
Is that where you step in as a startup accelerator? How,
Gaetane Suzenet:
Yeah, no, I think we need to work. I mean, obviously our core activity is to accelerate companies. So practically speaking, what we do is we are very selective. So having worked in an investment fund and working with investment funds, we are very selective. So thatβs why weβre not going to accelerate many companies. And we do a due diligence and we have many conversations with the CEOs, with the team. We look at the tech and we look at the potential for scalability. Once weβve done that, we work with the team on a program, which is tailor-made. So itβs not one size fits all. And we look at what areas we need to work on. So it can be finance, you know, how to prepare a pitch for investors. It can be how to pitch to the market. It can be the market positioning because sometimes many startups donβt know where they stand, you know, to this positioning against their competitors.
It can be looking at how to structure the team. It can be, you know, what kind of partnerships would be most useful to scale up quickly? Because the core of our activity is not just scaling up itβs to scale up quickly and back to your question about, you know, the Ray very long time, thatβs precisely what we want to work on. You know, itβs how you can reduce the time where the investor is actually going to see that it is profitable, not just, you know, generating revenues, but also being profitable. And then they can plan an exit in the time that usually is part of their strategy, investment strategy. Yeah.
Antoine Walter:
What youβre describing here sounds to me like those companies would be having probably a golden Idea, but they would be at, at a stage, which is previous to the product market fit. They donβt necessarily have that product market fit yet, which means the market traction isnβt really there already. And you would be supporting them to get that market traction. So we are really speaking of early stage companies do I translate that right?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Youβre absolutely right. We are also considering this type of companies. We are also considering companies which are already generating revenues, so which have already market traction and want to scale up. They want to scale up, but they donβt know how to do it. So they have a proven product if you like, they have already clients, but now they need to go to the next step. So they would need money. They need a strategy. And they would probably need to look at the team and believe me or not. But this type of companies are not really there yet. I mean, we canβt find many like this. So you have early stage, you have lead stage, but the ones in the middles, which I think, you know, and thatβs a personal view are the best. Letβs say, you know, the best future, these are much more difficult to find.
Antoine Walter:
Thereβs again, so much things that Iβd like to uncover. And what you just said, but regarding this, letβs say early stage scale-up or late stage startup, depending on how we want to call them, is it something which you would call as a very European to have those companies which are missing or is it something which you see worldwide? The reason why Iβm asking that is that on that same microphone I was discussing with the elemental accelerator. Well, not the accelerator, but with Kimberly Baker. And I had this impression that from a North American perspective, thereβs maybe a better network or itβs maybe more advanced or letβs again, use the big name. They might be in, in advance compared to what we do here. And it sounds to me like thereβs a full ecosystem topic because if you have many accelerators, many investment funds dedicating to this, well, probably you also have the companies which go together. And if we are missing various links in the chain in Europe, that probably you donβt have the companies. So probably thatβs what you aim to solve now with your venture. But how do you see this dichotomy between old school, Europe and North America? Or maybe Asia?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Yeah, no, youβre right. Certainly, you know, we can say that Europe is leading despite all the money injected. I mean, thereβs one thing we can dispute and Iβm going to answer your question, but thereβs one thing we can dispute is the find that thereβs a lot of public funding injected into water. And obviously one area which is very close to my heart is European funding. And you have a lot of money injected into new ideas, projects, and tech. I think the difference is between Europe and the U S and I will go back to Asia between between Europe and the us is the money injected. When a startup in Europe is looking for 1 million, they are so happy. You know, when they have managed to raise that, usually between 12 and 18 months in the us, itβs a range, you know, between five, 10, 15 millions.
So what you can do, you know, obviously within the 1 million and the 5 million is completely different. So, you know, itβs same industry, although itβs not set up the same way, obviously, you know, between Europe and the us, the money injected is not the same and thatβs what we are missing in Europe. And thatβs why we have set up the accelerator as well. And what I keep saying to the startups I work with, whether itβs in the accelerator or with my own company is go for the big numbers straight away, because that will be one way of scaling up. If you want to be the first you need to be quick, competition is there. And itβs not just competition from Europe. Itβs a global competition now, including from Asia, from Singapore, from South Korea, from China. So thatβs one thing I think youβre also absolutely right in saying, you know, we are missing this ecosystem.
The finishing is that you have many organizations working in the water sector. And again, you know, they are doing a good job. The gap we want to close is making sure that we have the right people with the right mindset within one, letβs say organization. And thatβs why we are trying to do. And what I mean by that is the right mindset is again, you know, looking forward, looking out of the box, being able, thatβs my favorite phrase, you know, having entrepreneurs, which are able to sell fridges to Eskimos. So we need to move from a very successful water sector because it has worked. I mean, you were talking about regulation. I think Europe is very much leading, you know, in this area and for the best. So I think, you know, we can be really, Oh, we can come back. You need to be a leader in the water sector because we have everything to succeed. We have the money, we have the public fund. I mean, private money, public funding, the startups, we have big companies, we are a big market, but I think what is missing now is the willingness to go to the next step.
Antoine Walter:
Thereβs something itβs just a weird idea, which is regularly popping up in my mind. You know, we are a tech driven sector, meaning that one major source of innovation usually is someone doing some very, very, very advanced research, nice research in university in high schools, sometimes in companies and coming with that incredible technology. And then youβre looking to a market, what could be a potential application of that crazy technology. And sometimes Iβm wondering if the other way round would be possible. You know, some kind of startup studios, you are out there in the market, you, you find problems. You have no clue how to solve them, but you just say, Hey, here, thereβs a problem. If thereβs a problem thereβs value to bring, please someone find a solution, but the market would be there and we would be looking for the solution. So we would be leveraging the technical know-how of that industry while just leapfrogging this market elements, because we would start with the market. Do you think thatβs utopic and impossible or could that be another way to look at it?
Gaetane Suzenet:
No, youβre absolutely right. And I think thatβs a brilliant idea, especially in Europe, because we always start, you know, with research and we donβt look at what the market needs. And thatβs why for instance, as the European Water Tech accelerator, I can tell you that from next month, weβre going to start also having half an hour conversations with market players, understanding what they need, because I know, you know, since the beginning of our conversation, Iβve been blaming the market, but at the same time, the market is sort of flooded with solutions. If I take an example, leakage detection, I mean, we looked at this area as an accelerator and we could not see the difference between one take and the other take, but one company wants startup has been very clever because they took it from the PropTech. So theyβve been looking at, you know, the, the working with property managers, you know, the PropTech area rather than the water tech area.
So they looked at what the market needed and they packaged it in a way that it responded to this need. And as a result of that, they managed to raise funds and their positioning is very clear. So itβs no longer on leakage rate reduction. Itβs very much, you know, managing water in buildings if, if I make it short. So youβre absolutely right. And thatβs one issue also within the accelerator that weβre looking at, weβre looking at what the market needs, what are the niche markets as well? Getting back to the issue, which is, you know, of interest to me is finance, you know, would FinTech, for instance, you know, be applicable to the water industry. Thatβs one thing we are looking at at the moment, you know, within the accelerator. So we donβt want to look at what the water sector knows already. You know, weβre not arrogant enough, although Iβm French, weβre not arrogant enough to say, you know, Oh, weβre going to teach you how to do it.
What we want to do is to prepare the startups, whether they are early stage, I mean, spinoff early stage, or letβs say, you know, not, not yet late stage, but in the middle to be ready to speak to the market, to be able to attract investment. And at same time, we want to open up opportunities for the market to say, precisely what youβre saying. You know, thereβs probably something that we donβt know yet, but we would like to know, and that we help us in meeting our challenges as well.
Antoine Walter:
About this leakage topic, because it reminds me of, you know, of this very old marketing analogy saying that you, youβre not selling a drill, youβre selling a hole in the wall and you could be going even further and say, youβre not selling the hole in the wall. Youβre selling them the nice painting. Thatβs no hanging in your, in your living room. So you have to have the end goal in mind. So jobs to be done. You, you touched it with a FinTech. And actually that was something which I found interesting as part of your call for entries is that you aim at various fields inside the water industry, but you also mentioned they might be good ideas that are outside in another sector. And that could be translated into the water industry. And the usual suspect here is generally energy because everybody keeps saying that the energy market is somehow the water market of the future. That if you look what energy is doing now, you know what water is going to do in five years? How do you balance innovation that will come from within the sector and innovation that would come from outside?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Well, you were asking me, you know, about the future. I think, you know, itβs a bet. I like risks. Iβve always taken a risk in my professional life. I like to think out of the box and obviously, you know, what you do usually reflects what you are. So I think itβs a balance between responding to what the market would want, but I mean, if you talk about digital water. You know, if we had had this conversation 10 or 15 years ago, Iβm not sure that, you know, all this discussion about digital water and applications of digital water would have been, you know, at the core of our conversation. So itβs the same, you know, for the upcoming sessions, I would say an upcoming topics. I think, you know, people can be open and you need to find early adopters who will be willing to test, you know, new ideas and same time.
Youβll have to listen to what people want, but sometimes also you need to not to force them, but to say, you know, look, if we want success, sometimes we need to take risks, balanced risk, but still risk. And if we can demonstrate benefits, then I think itβs a win-win situation for the sector, for the startups and also for the investment fund. And for the energy sector, youβre right. I would have a more balanced view. I think, you know, the energy sector is obviously probably ahead of us because they were forced to do it. You know, the deregulation of the sector, you know, introduced competition, the carbon agenda, you know, pushed for obviously new ideas, new tech, new products, new services. So it has been a good driver, which is not the case in water. Weβre still in the same industry, despite the fact that youβve got innovation around all of, around the sector. And this innovation has difficulties to enter this industry. Thatβs for sure.
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Antoine Walter:
You mentioned that we donβt have inside the sector, a Google or an Uber or a Facebook of water, which is probably linked with what you just said about the fact that itβs a regulated sturdy sector. You, you can just flip it on its head that easy. But if you look at the news recently, the fact that EQT has sold Innovyze to Autodesk and they turned a 250 million company into a billion company, meaning that Innovyze, enters the word of the unicorns. This magical 1 billion bar is the bar for the unicorns. And it turns out to be a digital water company. Does that mean that the future has to be digital or looking at all your tracks? I mean, there are many other topics that could be addressed that might be even absolutely low-tech, but how easy is it to tease and to pitch an investor with something which is not digital nowadays, which doesnβt mention any kind of the buzz words like artificial intelligence, machine learning IOT, and which instead would come with I donβt know the best trickling filters there is. There was, and there will be
Gaetane Suzenet:
No digital water is certainly, I mean, back to what you were saying about the long time, you know, for return on investment, digital water should be seen as an opportunity because again, you know, coming back to my point about scalability, usually, you know, digital tools or digital tech are much easier to scale up. So from an investor point of view, the digital area will be attractive because of the return on investment, because theyβre high margin because of the scalability, but thereβs still this issue about the market and whether digital water will be taken up by the market. So you have all the green lights, if you like, you know, from the start-up point of view and what is not known yet is whether digital water will be successful. On the other side of the coin,
Antoine Walter:
Itβs still a kind of chicken and egg here because it could be that this market is really highly conservative, which everybodyβs saying, or it could be that we have no clue how to sell and market to that market, which means that they just keep with what they have because they donβt trust. Or we donβt bring sufficient proof of value by chip. I mean, the risk benefits, isnβt that favorable to changing something which is working for 20 years.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Youβre right. But going back to our example on leakage reduction, youβll have new take for which, you know, you donβt need to dig, you know, a big hole in the road, you know, that would say time, money or resources, but now I am the water company. And if I donβt have, you know, a specific department dedicated to do due diligences in liquid reduction, why would I decide for one tech or the other? So itβs also, letβs say the provider, and Iβm not talking about the, the launch providers Iβm talking about the startups, you know, the area. I know, I know most also to make sure that theyβre not sending another leakage reduction technology or product, but theyβre sending the best one. And back to my phrase, you know, being able to sell fridges to Eskimos. So as you say, itβs a chicken and egg, but I think everybody has to work on practices to make sure that we move forward.
So we all agree that digital water is useful and weβve seen it with the COVID-19 situation. So I think thereβs no question about this. And you can arrange, you know, hundreds of articles about this. Now itβs about the implementation. Itβs about how you scale up. And actually, I wonder because I, I wrote an article for aquatic recently about this. There are not too many digital products. Now. I know itβs been very controversial when I say that, but I was deliberately provocative to see the reaction. And there is an issue about this as well, you know, coming back to my example of Likud reduction. So is it about having one or two news tuning out of the crowd if I want to be again, you know, provocative or is it, you know, the fact that there is a very big market and there is room for everyone,
Antoine Walter:
Itβs kind of a good analogy from the water sector, because when you look up at the biggest companies in the water sector own maybe two or 3% of the market share, itβs a highly distributed market. So it sounds pretty logical that when new innovation comes along, I wouldnβt expect the winner takes it all. You could see that as well. You know, when the, when DVD was over and that we went to blue Ray, actually blue Ray one, but they were like 20 competing technologies and 19 worth killed and blue Ray one, but in the water sector, we donβt have a traditional like that. You could debate for hours about what is the best treatment for your water. And still there might be 17 good answers to the question. So yeah, thereβs always a subjective matter in this industry, which is hard to grasp of course, but which makes it maybe different from other sectors. I know a bit better that sectors than the other. So itβs hard for me to compare, but I would guess that a, that makes it a bit special.
Gaetane Suzenet:
I think there is an issue actually, youβre bringing up a very important issue about demonstrating that the product or service works. I think one of the issues, again, you know, putting my market hat on, one of the issues has been that I think the sector has been open to try all many technologies and it hasnβt been always successful. So to be fair, I can see that they canβt always invest in something without knowing what the end result will be. So one area, which I think, you know, should be also probably taken up by public funding is de-risking innovation. Today. You can have this within European projects, for instance, you know, which can go up to TRL seven, eight, you can go to lab, you know, for instance, United utilities in the UK has a lab Anglian water has also the innovation window, but they take the risk and the money, which is missing is not so much the investment money.
Thatβs the money to de-risk the innovation. I think we have to learn from the past. We have to listen to what the water industry said to us, and we need to de-risk the innovation. We need to make sure that it works and not just from a tech point of view, which is the only thing that we want to do within the accelerator is also from a business model point of view. Up to very recently, it was just, you know, Oh, I have a take, you know, wonderful. It works. You know, the pilot is wonderful. I can save, you know, 20%, the facorite number, you know, 20% of the energy. Thatβs great. Okay. How are you going to sell your product? And thatβs when usually you get the big blank. So itβs also about training. You know, researchers, not every researcher will be an entrepreneur and weβre not asking that, but if you want to be an entrepreneur and you want to set up a spinoff, you need to ask yourself all these questions.
Usually the take is very good. You know, when we do due diligences in 90% of the cases to take is very good. What is missing is the market positioning the business model and how youβre going to get to the market. And just to give you, Iβm not going to name it anybody, but I, I go the examples of two startups, which came to me said, Oh, look, I have this very good take, not, can you help me get it to the market? Nope. Thatβs not the way it works holding. So itβs also about training and again, and you know, to be fair, itβs a new way. Itβs a new culture. So youβve got, I mean, when I started five years ago, you know, when I decided to, to go into this finance world, simply because I identified that there was a missing gap. So I said to myself, you know, letβs address it.
Nobody was talking about investment. Nobody was talking about investment in innovation. Everybody was talking about investment in infrastructure. Five years later, now we talk about investment. We talk about finance. So if you explain to people, if you train researchers who want to be spinoff, founders, or want to be entrepreneurs, then I think you can work, but we are working vertically. Weβre not working horizontaly. And thatβs what we want to do with the accelerator. So our core activity is very much to work with startups and make sure that they are successful. And itβs also to work on the missing gaps.
Antoine Walter:
You mentioned the business models, and that gives me a wonderful opportunity to catch your brain on something, which is, I keep asking. So listeners to the podcast might have heard the question before, but I still donβt have an answer. So maybe you have it. When I was discussing with Matthew silver, from Cambrian innovation, heβs selling water as a service, which is, Iβd say to our industry, still a pretty young business model. Heβs not the only one, but basically itβs something which is recent. And that would in my humble understanding and opinion, open a door to a hyper growth strategies. You could decide that you raise a huge investment. You place your containers everywhere in this world, and you start then selling a service, but much faster than you would if you grew organically putting one container. And once a, that one is paid back, you put the second container. On the paper. I donβt see the pitfall. I donβt see what whatβs not working. Yet, Iβm probably more, most than probably again, donβt have to be too arrogant and French too. I donβt think Iβm the best brain in these industries. So if I can come with such an ID, thousands of people have had that same Idea before. What is it that Iβm not seeing here, which makes hypergrowth difficult in the water industry? Do you think itβs possible to achieve hypergrowth? And is it desirable?
Gaetane Suzenet:
First of all, I would like to congratulate Matthew. I think what heβs done is great. And I think we should have more of kind of examples in the water sector. Again, the difference between the us and Europe is precisely risk. So if we had this type of money in Europe, and Iβm not saying about the amount of money, because we have it also in Europe, but itβs, itβs also this innovation in the business model, which is not really innovative when you think about it, but would be for the water. I think that would change considerably the way that we look at innovation as well in Europe. So I donβt think itβs crazy. I think we should do it as well. Iβve been looking at different business models. Is the traditional VC model that we all knew the right one for the water sector? Thatβs a question I donβt have necessarily the answer today, but I think, you know, if European startups were able to sell a service and not to take, and especially with digital water, that would change considerably the way of the success in the water sector. And I like your ambition about hyper growth, but if we had all, you know, just growth, always, I think, you know, I would be a very happy woman, you know, thatβs really important. I think we have, you know, like very good startups in Europe. Now we need the ingredients and one ingredient could be what Mathew has done, for instance, definitely for making sure that, you know, they, self-finance also their own growth.
Antoine Walter:
Whatβs the role there of the existing layer of water companies, because in Europe we also have the biggest companies worldwide. I mean, thereβs of course the two obvious, like, like SUEZ and Veolia, but if you look at the sensor market, for instance, all the big names are European be it Hach or Endress Hauser. I mean, and of course, if thereβs an existing base of big players, they might be reluctant to take the risk of being disrupted. And you know I was still with Suez when when she was boards, GE water. And at the time GE water was like, you know, the, the black duck within the GE world, they were the ones making the less money. And when they got acquired by Suez, they became the rockstars of Suez because they were the ones making the most money and the biggest growth. So those giants come with their intertia. And do they influence somehow the market there in a positive or in a negative way, by the way?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Most likely, most likely on the positive side, I would say that what you hear today is that, or what I, I heard, you know, from the, especially from the water take, not necessarily from the water providers, but from the water take providers, is that they see sort of the startups as a proxy to R and D. So in other words, you know, they want to remain competitive. They need to be quick in terms of bringing, you know, new stuff from the market. And in that respect, they are looking at, you know, what the innovation landscape looks like. At same time. If we talk about SUEZ and Veolia and these big water providers, you know, not just them, but I mean, letβs say, you know, the water providers, we were talking about regulation, one issue, which I think, you know, I would say two problems or two, two challenges donβt create problems.
Challenges. One challenge is culture. You know, we were talking about these engineers, you know, having worked in the water sector for some time and letβs be realistic thinking out of the box is difficult sometimes. And, and we can understand that, you know, you donβt make a revolution, you know, within a few years. So thatβs something which should not be underestimated in this whole debate, you have men and women, and thatβs sometimes also something we forget. The other issue is that this companies have as clients, municipalities. And as you know, since you worked for one of them, they have to go through tenders. One of the criteria is price. So if we donβt change this, if we donβt change the fact that innovation would become a clear criteria for the standards and that innovation is seen as a driver to improve water management in municipalities. And when I say municipalities again, you know, coming back to my environment, society, and economy, then it will be very difficult for these companies to innovate and to say, we are, we are a driver. So again, you know, we need to look at every single piece of the jigsaw to make sure that everything works at same time. And thatβs probably why also now they are turning to the industry and they go outside Europe for their growth.
Antoine Walter:
You mentioned the men and the woman, which is also something which is, which was intriguing to me when I was reading your, your call for entries. Because when you mentioned that youβre looking at those hidden nuggets, the, these companies, which are between early stage and late stage, those ones, which have the biggest growth potential. And what you mentioned straight away is that you are also helping them to align them for an exit. Is that the only horizon as a company, or do you think itβs possible within this industry to build the next big thing?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Exit actually can have several meanings. One is the one you described that they are eaten up by a big company for the best. And I donβt have anything against this because that brings also a long, you know, the innovation in these big companies. Yeah. And as I was saying to you, these big companies see now innovate all these startups as a proxy to R&D. So I think acquisitions trends, you know, will, will continue in the water sector. And thatβs fine. Exit can also mean that the investment fund, which has invested at the beginning can exit and the startup then become an SME and mid cap and a large company and youβre right. We donβt have many of these, thatβs something I would like to see. And I think there are many ways of doing this. I was, I was saying, you know, that digital water, now is flooded with platforms. We could have acquisitions, we could have exits and we could have consolidation. We could have consolidation of startups. You know, itβs not just, you know, like thatβs the fault of one part of the sector. I think what we want to do with the accelerator is to list, you know, the challenge is to learn from the past to learn from the present. And weβre not stupid in Europe. You know, we have very good people, very good start-ups, money, techβ¦ So we can do it as well,
Antoine Walter:
Element of, of skillsets, but above all of mindset, Iβve alluded to a couple of times on that microphone. But when I was in engineering school, it never crossed my mind to found a company. For me. It was just obvious there thereβs the, these big players one day Iβm going to be working for one of these big players and thatβs my career. And the next 40 years will be happy, happily doing that. And again, chicken and egg, is it because we have the big groups that we want to work in the big groups? Is it because we have, we donβt have that much of the entrepreneurship mindset, or itβs not as populated within that sector than maybe in others, but letβs say if I was to go back in time, you know, 10 years before, and given advice to myself, I would have some things to whisper to my ear and to say, Hey, keep an eye open, keep an ear open, unfortunately, time travel. Isnβt that popular yet? So I was wondering if you, maybe as a better knower of that field than I would ever be, have some, some advice that you would give to the wannabe entrepreneur in the water industry or to the people that didnβt even realize that thatβs a possible track, which is a potential win-win track for the sector and for, for them, what, what would be your advice?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Well, I would have a couple, first of all, I would say, believe in yourself. I know it sounds crazy, but believe in yourself and believe in what you do and take risk. And thatβs the difference between, and Iβm going to answer your question, but I think thatβs very important if you fail in the U S doesnβt matter, you start again, if you fail in Europe, like you said, it, I didnβt, so you talk about mindset. Itβs not so much, you know, I know we, when we talk about water, we talk about, you know, solving the global challenges thatβs right. But the first thing I would say, you know, like be prepared to take the risk, believe in yourself and convince people that what youβve got and what youβve done is the best. And I would strongly recommend, you know, to work on these three key skills we have to change our mindset as well as Europeans.
And I donβt think, you know, we should be apologizing for what we are for what we have, because no, your French and French and the βEcole FranΓ§aise de lβEauβ has been a reality, and it has been exported, you know, globally. And I think we need to make sure that people have this ambition back. You know, if we talk about the water sector, unless you have a very disruptive technology or service, then I would say, you know, before digging into an idea, look at whatβs around you and not just the market, but also, you know, the, the tech landscape. Does it exist? Am I changing, you know, something with the market? Be ready to buy it. Cause this uncle is sometimes missed. And if you can tick all these boxes, then you will get the finance.
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Antoine Walter:
You mentioned the finance, and that is going to be because at some point to be cautious of your time, because I could spend another hour on that topic easily. You mentioned the finance, Iβd be interested to have your personal vision there on the way finance looks at you. Is it like, youβre crazy. What are you doing with that sector? Thereβs so much more interesting to do. I donβt know, with it, with sending rocket to Mars, why the water sector, or is it seen as impact investing or w whatβs the vision of the general word of finance towards the water VC and the water investment company or accelerators?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Well, the feedback weβve had so far is very positive. So they see us as a good news reason being that we are able to do these due diligence because we operate as an investment fund. Investors can see us, and weβre not the only one, but they can see us as bringing to them a curated deal flow. They see that also as a hope for the future, because they can see that we are great believers in whatβs coming in terms of innovations and that we all addressing issues that they canβt address. You know? So all the discussion with just heart. So itβs not like a factory itβs addressing, you know, the key issues that hopefully will make the starters more investible in the future.
Antoine Walter:
Does that mean you do impact investing or you do investing
Gaetane Suzenet:
Whether itβs impact or impact investing or investing, itβs all the same even impact investment funds now are looking for return on investment.
Antoine Walter:
Okay. So thereβs a, both are coming to a common end. Yeah.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Yes, yes. Itβs exactly the same. Itβs exactly the same. So sounds like a good news. And again, you know, making money is not a big word.
Antoine Walter:
Yeah. Thatβs the point where I have to stop myself because if we, if we go into that to making money is is bad. And I can spend another hour because it is a big limit you have in your brain. And I could tell you so much stories from back in my engineering school, where, you know, even if youβre going to the private sector, youβre not go, I mean, water is a common good. How can you go to the private sector? And you, you alluded a bit to it in your introduction. But as I said, I have to be careful not to spend another hour. If itβs fine with you Gaetane, I propose you to switch to the rapid fire questions.
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Rapid fire questions.
Antoine Walter:
So my first one would be what is the most exciting projects youβve been working on and why
Gaetane Suzenet:
Probably the accelerator, but theyβre all been, I have always been starting up new ventures in my life. So itβs always been exciting, but the accelerator is particularly exciting.
Antoine Walter:
Sounds like a life lesson. Whatβs your favorite part of your current job?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Being at the edge that I am at, and I wonβt tell you how old I am. Itβs probably now helping funders of startup.
Antoine Walter:
What is the trends to watch out for in the water industry? And here we have to be cautious because if you give too much of a hint, people will only apply for that in your call for entries.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Iβm not going to give on purpose and try trend. I would say, you know, thinking out of the books,
Antoine Walter:
Thatβs a, I guess a very, very powerful advice. What is the thing you care about the most when youβre working on a new project and when is the one you care? The least
Gaetane Suzenet:
What I care the most is the impact that we make and the results that will bring. And the list is probably the time that Iβm going to spend on it.
Antoine Walter:
The usual answer I hear a lot about this least is often, you know we donβt care about how much money we spend when we are, because we have to spend, spend, spend as much as necessary to come up with the right thing. And I take the opportunity having someone working on the finance end, you know, that sounds like Iβm perfect and paper, but investment people would just hate you for that. You donβt have to burn money. You have to still use it for a purpose.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Iβm very cautious about this kind of statement that spending money. I think youβll have to spend money for the right objective. So you can probably, when you talk about basic research, you know, you can spend as much money as possible because otherwise, you know, we wouldnβt be where we are now in terms of scientific and technological progress. You know, letβs be fair, but I think for the next steps and if Jacob was with us, you know, you would tell you that Iβm the one doing the finance. No, I think you have to direct your finance to, to the right objective. So for me, itβs not just about spending money
Antoine Walter:
Sources to recommend, to keep up with the water in waste with the market trends.
Gaetane Suzenet:
The accelerator, of course, we have a LinkedIn, we donβt have any website because we donβt want to be spending money on website yet, but we have a LinkedIn profile, the European water tech accelerator, and we post I think good posts and we will be having spring conversations and summer conversation in the near future, as I was saying. So thatβs a very good source of finding trends out of the books.
Antoine Walter:
Perfect. And the, for listening to that right now, the link to the water tech accelerator is that, of course, in the description of that episode last question, would you have someone to recommend me to have on that same macro?
Gaetane Suzenet:
Well, some somebody really different from me, but Iβve known for ages, probably my co-founder Jacob Tompkins. Okay. Very different because we disagree on many things, but thatβs why weβve been working together for the last 20 years or something. We are very complimentary. He thinks also out of the box and says what he thinks despite the fact that heβs very British and, and I think heβs very unusual also in the water sector. Perfect. Thank you.
Antoine Walter:
It itβs been a pleasure and yeah, I wish you the best of luck into your companyβs the best of luck in your call for entries. And Iβm really looking forward to seeing where that is heading.
Gaetane Suzenet:
Thank you all. I wish you also the best of luck, you know, for, for your podcast and for your carrier ventures as well.