You don't often meet someone that you immediately know you'll remember where and when you met them for a very long time. That happened to me with my guest today, Alex Rappaport, CEO of ZwitterCo, at a conference in 2018. I was minding my own business when a coiled ball of energy introduced himself to me, and it was clear that this was a very talented founder indeed. Alex and his co-founder Chris have made remarkable strides in the last four years, and since we invested in April 2021, the pace of development has been remarkable. Alex represents a lot of good things that we look for in founders, but particularly the importance of entrepreneurial process, the thought process that goes into the systematic retirement of risk, the allocation of investment, the sequence of hiring. As an investor, what you're looking for is someone who makes structurally good decisions under conditions of uncertainty. Now, not all of those are going to pan out, of course, but if you have a good decision-maker at the heart of a company, it's a great position to be in, because at its core, building a company is just an endless sequence of decisions. That's why the person driving the bus matters so much. This episode covers a lot of ground and I think gives good insight as to how he thinks about company building and the development of a complex and highly impactful product. And it's insight that all entrepreneurs can draw on, particularly his observation in the final question about the cadence of learning. So please enjoy my conversation with Alex Rappaport.

Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule here: https://www.burntislandventures.com/the-fundamental-molecule

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fundamental-molecule/id1714287205

-----------

Alex Rappaport, CEO of ZwitterCo, shares his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of data-driven decision-making and adaptability in the business world. He highlights ZwitterCo's groundbreaking technology, addressing membrane fouling issues in water treatment, and the significance of strategic partnerships in the industry. Throughout the conversation, Alex shares valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs in the water technology sector, offering a unique perspective on building meaningful relationships and scaling solutions.

Episode Highlights:

Links:

Burton Island Ventures

ZwitterCo

This is a podcast about entrepreneurs. Given that, our guest today might be a little unexpected. Mirka Wilderer is the archetypal corporate innovator, having spent her career with some of the biggest names in the space. Until last year, she was CEO of De Nora and led the IPO of the Italian company. Under her tenure, De Nora evolved into a force in the water market globally, especially in the US and increasingly in Southeast Asia. She's a model professional and, as you will hear, deeply insightful on the science, management, team, motivation, and strategy. All company builders can learn from her example. 

Please note that at the time of recording, Mirka was still the CEO of De Nora, though she announced her resignation shortly afterwards, and is now the CEO of Bain Capital-backed AqueoUS Vets. Please enjoy my conversation with Mirka Wilderer. 

Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule here: https://www.burntislandventures.com/the-fundamental-molecule

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fundamental-molecule/id1714287205

-----------

On today’s episode of The Fundamental Molecule podcast, Mirka Wilderer, former CEO of De Nora Water Technologies, discusses her career evolution through the water industry. Wilderer offers her insights on topics such as innovation, hiring practices, emerging contaminants like PFAS, and the intersection of science and entrepreneurship. You’ll also hear about Wilderer’s passion for supporting the next generation of leaders, especially women, and fostering diversity in the business world.

Episode Highlights

1. Mirka Wilderer's Career and Influence in Water Technology: Mirka discusses her journey from childhood exposure to water treatment through her parents, to her leadership roles at Siemens and De Nora. Her career trajectory illustrates the evolution of water technology and her influence as a female CEO in this male-dominated field.

2. Innovative Leadership and Diverse Teams: Mirka emphasizes the importance of innovation in leadership, drawing on ideas from adjacent fields, and the value of cognitive diversity in teams. Her approach to team building focuses on varied backgrounds and experiences, aiming to foster innovation and adaptability within the organization.

3. Strategic Decision-Making and Company Growth: We delve into Mirka's strategic insights, particularly in decision-making and prioritizing opportunities that align with the company's core strengths. She highlights the significance of saying 'no' to opportunities that don't align with the company’s strategic goals.

4. Global Market Perspectives and Challenges: Mirka offers insights into different global markets, including Southeast Asia and Europe. She discusses the agility of the Asian market and contrasts it with the regulatory challenges in Europe, particularly in water technology and innovation.

5. Advice for Emerging Leaders: Always be authentic and self-driven, build strong relationships, stay true to your strengths, and continuously strive for personal and professional growth.

Links:

Burton Island Ventures

Mirka Wilderer's LinkedIn Page

It's always so fun seeing great companies being built for the right reasons. Bessie Schwarz, CEO of Floodbase, has been on a mission to help the world's most vulnerable people since her early 20s. Her company is not only the flood monitoring partner of FEMA and the United Nations, she is also building a quiet revolution in the insurance industry, helping to bring parametric flood insurance (long mooted but not feasible until now) to reality. Their announcement last year alongside one of the world’s leading reinsurers of the provision of parametric flood insurance for the rural farmers of Colombia is a world first. Alongside her co-founder Beth, they are building a company with enormous impact and commercial potential. Plus, she's awesome. Please enjoy my conversation with Bessie Schwarz.

-----------

This episode of The Fundamental Molecule podcast features an interview with Bessie Schwarz, co-founder and CEO of Floodbase (formerly known as Cloud to Street). Floodbase provides advanced, near-real time flood monitoring globally by combining satellite imagery and ground data. Bessie discusses how Floodbase got started, their work monitoring floods for governments and the UN, and their move into the insurance industry to provide parametric flood insurance. 

Episode Highlights:

- Bessie co-founded Floodbase with the goal of using information technology to help communities equitably adapt to climate change disasters like flooding. After meeting at Yale, Bessie and co-founder Beth Tellman created an algorithm to detect flooding from satellite images. 

- Floodbase is the flood monitoring partner for the UN, helping them with disaster response and relocation when floods threaten vulnerable communities. Their flood monitoring methodology was featured on the cover of Nature magazine.

- They are now working with insurance companies to provide parametric flood insurance that pays out when a flood event surpasses a given size measured by a combination of satellite and ground sensor data , expanding coverage to uninsurable areas and risks.

- In the podcast, Bessie points out that financing is one of the biggest challenges for climate adaptation. Insurance can help redirect capital to at-risk places and resilience projects, but the mechanism and data for insurance underwriting and payouts has to be there.

- Bessie and Tom discuss the importance of viewing climate resilience not only through a mitigation lens but also as adaptation. Adaptation is a lot more hopeful than long-term technological fixes.

- Bessie’s advice to founders - Effective storytelling requires using simple language, balancing fear and hope (2 doses fear, 5 hope), and focusing on solutions. 

Links:

Burton Island Ventures

Floodbase

Welcome to The Fundamental Molecule. This show explores the intersection of water, technology and entrepreneurship. Each week, Tom Ferguson, Managing Partner of Burnt Island Ventures, interviews innovators, experts, entrepreneurs and investors in the world of water, to help us understand where this trillion dollar industry is headed. These are the stories of the people building the future of the world’s most valuable and fundamental resource.

Explore all of our episodes and learn more at https://www.burntislandventures.com/the-fundamental-molecule