Everybody remembers their first. When I was with Imagine H2O, I had the great fortune to meet Greg Floyd, who needed a small check for an early prototype of their shower head, which was crucially different from the litany of shower heads that were coming out at the time. They were all neon and internal drives and control panels and all this crap that totally overlooked that when people are having a shower, they want one thing and one thing only: plentiful, usually hot water to help them get clean and feel relaxed. Do not introduce complexity or unreliability into this equation.

Greg and his team really got it. And as importantly, had identified a gigantic market where the value prop of their shower, and I am leaving the explanation of that to him, really hits. Showers are a giant pain in the ass for hotels, and Shower Stream essentially deletes the source of a whole lot of trouble. There are now 400+ live devices across five hotel chains, 150,000 showers taken with zero complaints, paybacks measured in weeks. It's an unusual story in an overlooked market - the kind I love. And as you will hear, Greg has built deliberately into a fascinating position.

Please enjoy my conversation with Greg Floyd.

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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

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Greg Floyd is the Co-founder and CEO of Shower Stream, an Austin-based startup transforming water and energy efficiency for hotels. Using IoT-enabled smart shower technology, Greg helps properties reduce resource consumption by 20% while maintaining guest satisfaction. With a B.S. in Computer Science from UT Austin, Greg brings a strong technical background from his decade-long career as a software engineer at Silicon Labs and AMD. An expert in embedded systems, he has successfully led Shower Stream through elite accelerators like Imagine H2O to scale sustainable property technology.

00:00 - Introduction

02:59 - The Hidden Costs of Hotel Shower Misuse

09:55 - Building a Smart Shower Guests Never Notice

15:24 - Proving Water Savings with Real-Time Data

21:49 - Creating a Hardware-as-a-Service Business Model

30:05 - Winning Enterprise Customers as a Startup

34:11 - Reaching Product-Market Fit with a Lean Team

40:25 - Why Passion Drives Startup Success

Links:

Greg Floyd

Shower Stream

SM Material

Key Takeaways:

"The first layer of reliability here is designing the thing to be non-intrusive. It's not a nanny telling you to turn off the water when you're done using it."

"We give the hardware to the hotel owners for free. . . and then we're going to charge you $10 per month per room. . . we typically come in at $25, $26 of savings per room per month."

"We can divert over a gigaton of CO2 emissions. Again, because there's a heating component here and then all of the energy that goes on the back end of water."

"In hardware startups, it takes seven years to become an overnight success."

Building any organization is hard. Building a nonprofit, community place-based organization in an industry you are new to, and then doing it so well that the government gives you well into nine figures to lead a regional economic engine over the next 10 years, is really hard. But Alaina Harkness is genuinely that impressive. And it's super clear she's only just getting started.

After stints at the MacArthur Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and RW Ventures, she took over Chicago-based Current, where our very own Steve Kloos chairs the board, in 2019. And from the very first time I met her, it was clear they had a very talented leader indeed at the helm. This conversation shows you why I thought that and that I was 1,000% right. She's awesome. Please enjoy my conversation with the wonderful Alaina Harkness.

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

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Alaina Harkness discusses her transition into the water sector to lead Current, emphasizing the value of "interstitial" organizations that connect innovators to complex water problems. She explores the Midwest's shift from taking water abundance for granted to treating it as a vital economic asset amid growing industrial demands. Alaina also breaks down the strategy behind winning a $160M NSF grant for Great Lakes RENEW to build a circular blue economy, the importance of hiring "T-shaped" teams, and the unique realities of leading a nonprofit scale-up like a startup.

00:00 - Introduction

02:33 - Why Alaina Harkness Joined Current

06:02 - How Chicago Became a Water Innovation Hub

12:01 - Why Connectivity & Collaboration Drive Better Innovation

15:12 - Leading Current Through Rapid Growth & Industry Change

17:07 - Why Water Security Is Becoming an Economic Priority

19:52 - How Data Centers Are Reshaping Water Infrastructure

24:14 - The Strategy Behind Current’s $160M NSF Grant Win

29:55 - The Startup Lessons Behind Building a Water Innovation Ecosystem

35:56 - Inside the NSF Regional Innovation Engine Vision

42:41 - Long-Term Thinking, Investment & the Future of Water

48:01 - The Best Advice for Water Entrepreneurs

Links:

Burnt Island Ventures: https://www.burntislandventures.com/

Alaina Harkness: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-harkness/

Current: https://currentwater.org/about-us/

Great Lakes RENEW: https://greatlakesrenew.org/

SM Material

Key Takeaways:

"Fall in love with the problem. Let it motivate you every day. Don't be seduced by one solution."

"There's a humility in knowing nothing. Valuing the expertise to ask the right question is crucial."

"Regional economic development is not a thing. It's fundamentally competitive, a zero-sum game."

"We have to confront the physical and material realities of our world. It's starting to get priced into banking."

"The number one skill in fundraising is to clearly and authentically speak to the vision."

"We have a paradox of abundance. It's easier and cheaper for us to use our drinking water for industrial purposes."

As you may have noticed, I really like unusual routes into entrepreneurship, where someone with an unfair advantage in and around some area of the world decides to solve something dumb within it. Ravi Kurani is ground zero for that paradigm - the scion of the pool monarchy of Southern California. He will explain. He went from shop assistant to pool boy to impact investor to founder to exited founder, and is now bringing his considerable talents to the roll-up game as well as the streets of New York. He's also the host of the podcast Liquid Assets, which is excellent. So this is me shamelessly trying to steal his tricks. One of my favorite things about Ravi is his insistence on understanding the reality of markets and his commitment to the work it takes to get there. He's awesome. Please enjoy my conversation with Ravi Kurani.

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

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Ravi Kurani is the President of Standard Water Corp, a company digitizing the world’s most critical asset. A mechanical engineer who started as a pool boy, he founded Sutro, a robotic water diagnostics platform, which was acquired in 2019. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, holds three patents in water monitoring, co-authored a book on hardware development, and hosts the Liquid Assets podcast. Ravi is passionate about building products that help society and the environment.

00:00 - Ravi Kurani’s Journey From Pool Boy to Water Tech Founder

02:57 - Building Sutro and the Case for Affordable Water Sensors

05:04 - Why Storytelling Drives Startup Funding and Distribution

13:13 - Pivoting Into the Pool Industry to Validate Water Technology

15:59 - Designing Human-Centered Hardware for Pool Owners

18:12 - Scaling a Hardware Startup From Prototype to Global Shipping

22:21 - Rolling Up Pool Service Companies With AI and Field Tech Tools

28:37 - Why Wastewater Reuse Is the Next Big Water Opportunity

29:53 - Private Equity vs Venture Capital in Water Innovation

31:18 - Liquid Assets: Explaining Water to a Broader Audience

39:36 - The Most Important Lesson for Water Entrepreneurs: Know Your Customer

Links:

Burnt Island Ventures: https://www.burntislandventures.com/

Ravi Kurani: https://ravikurani.com/

Standard Water Corp: https://www.standardwater.co/

Liquid Assets: https://www.liquidassets.cc/

SM Material

Key Takeaways:

"Storytelling is key. Founders often have great tech but struggle to convey it. You need to distill your message into a compelling story."

"Live in your user's shoes. Understand their needs and behavior. That's the secret to creating a product that truly resonates.”

"In hardware, problems are inevitable. Water gets everywhere, and electronics hate water. You must anticipate and solve these issues."

"The Silver Tsunami is real. Older experts are retiring, and there's a shortage of younger replacements. We need to transfer knowledge effectively."

"The Feynman curve shows that true mastery allows for simplicity. But getting there is a knife fight."