(don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

[Extract] "It's harder to Give Away Money than it was to Make the Money!" - Sean Davis - Merton Capital Partners


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Sean Davis is the founder and managing director of Merton Capital Partners, an adjunct professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University, and the Author of "Solving the Giving Pledge Bottleneck." Merton Capital Partners develops innovative investment strategies to unlock philanthropy's potential by incentivizing corporations to generate large-scale good in their core businesses.


What the heck is the link between philanthropy and water? That may be very obscure if you're like me before meeting Sean. Yet you'll see that it will make a lot of sense in just twenty minutes. 


I've often discussed with brilliant minds on that microphone how people without safe water or cities without wastewater treatment made little economic sense. We've talked about wrong pockets issues and highlighted all the reasons why we thought something could be done. 


Yet, I was long seeking the spark that could ignite the revolution, and I fear that I'm not the only one. In their "Worth of Water" book, Gary White and Matt Damon say nothing else: they have a proven path to scale to solve the water challenges within two decades, but they lack the seed money to get the ball rolling. 


Sure, we could all wait for states to walk the talk. But if we're still discussing SDG 6 or aging infrastructure at the end of 2022 in pessimistic or alarming terms, it's probably a sign that we should not have too high hopes from that path. 


So what's left? Tears and sighs? Well, that's where the new path Sean introduces today brings a bright new hope. Philanthropic money doesn't have to be spent at a loss - and there are significant pockets of investments that look for the right vehicles. 


This is how in a minute, we'll discuss evergreen investment strategies, blended capital, helping philanthropists to get the highest bang for their buck, and much more.


My conversation with Sean made me think of many new ways to connect the Water dots, so I'm pretty sure it might do the same for you! If that's the case, spread the word and share that episode with your friends, colleagues, or LinkedIn network.


And if you want me to dive deeper into the topic, I'd be honestly delighted to, now that I've got a bit more knowledge thanks to Sean's book (the link to it is in the show notes, check it out!)


Come tell me on LinkedIn, remember to share that episode, and I'll meet you on the other side!


How to Actively Invest Philanthropy and Save the (Water) World?


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