States along the drought-stricken Colorado River, a source of drinking water for 40 million people, reached an agreement last month on water supply conservation with the Biden administration. California, Arizona and Nevada, states which make up the Lower Basin of the river, have agreed to save 3 million acre-feet of water by 2026, in exchange for $1.2 billion in federal funds. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Two weeks ago, a handful of western U.S. states (including Arizona, California and Nevada) reached a historic deal to keep the Colorado River from going dry, promising to cut their water intake by roughly 13%.
How does this relate to our Under 30 community, you might ask? (I know I did). Just take a look at 2023 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry lister Alex Rappaport, who sees the news as an opportunity both for his company and the larger water industry. Rappaport is the cofounder of Massachusetts-based ZwitterCo, which helps industries recycle wastewater with breakthrough advances in filtration. The startup builds membranes that are immune to clogging, even from oil and grease, and are used by clients like sustainable chemicals company Solugen and dairy ingredient manufacturer Milk Specialties Global.
“Most of the deals in our pipeline have water reuse as a component,” Rappaport told me this week. “The outcome of this legislation or this industry-wide effect is people are seeing the writing on the wall and want to get out in front of future-proofing their facility to challenges in water scarcity, changes in water costs or changes in the expectation of water allocations.”
The more that America’s biggest companies can get their plants off the water grid, the better they can control their costs, he says. That’s where ZwitterCo comes in. With $44 million in funding from investors like deep tech firm DCVC, the startup has more than 1 million gallons of wastewater treatment capacity set up to date.
Rappaport’s advice for fellow sustainability-focused founders trying to do good while driving profits? Make sure all of your stakeholders—investors, clients, employees—agree on what exactly the problem is, and agree on how to solve it.
“You need to have everyone feeling like they’re on the same team,” he says. “Then, you can overcome all sorts of adversity—timing, scheduling, logistical, there’s always going to be things to unpack—but if you have those relationships where people are aware of how genuine your interest in solving these problems are and see you as a credible source to help them solve them, you’re providing an amazing benefit.”
Inside The Rise Of A Fintech Startup Using AI And Human Insight To Fight Fraud
Fraud fighters: SentiLink Cofounders Naftali Harris (left) and Maxwell Blumenfeld.
CHAD KIRKLAND FOR FORBES
Seven years ago, two twentysomething data scientists spotted a novel phenomenon: synthetic identity fraud. The 2020 Forbes Under 30 Finance listers turned that discovery into fast-growing SentiLink, which had about $25 million in revenue last year, more than double that of the year before, Forbes estimates.
5 Minutes With . . . Will Pearson
Will Pearson, cofounder and CEO of Ocean Bottle.
Leigh Farmer Photography
We’re bringing you the scoop on a new Under 30 community member each week. Up this week: Will Pearson, the cofounder and CEO of Ocean Bottle, where each sale of his reusable water bottles funds the collection of 1,000 ocean-bound plastic bottles before they enter the ocean. Revenue in 2022 hit $10.5 million. Pearson appeared on our Under 30 Europe Retail & Ecommerce list in 2020 alongside cofounder Nick Doman.
Favorite app? Superhuman—if you hate emails like everyone else, this is an absolute game changer and probably saves me half a day a week. Hopefully AI will eventually save us all from emailing.
A staple of your morning routine? I am not one of those people that has a set routine—it totally depends on what I was doing the day (or evening) before. I try to get up as early as possible, fit in 10 minutes of meditation, a workout or some yoga and then throw myself into the day.
What do you think is overrated? Information overload is overrated. In today’s world we are getting bombarded with recommendations on how to live your life, what you should wear, the best routines, who you should date, what books you should read. Do what’s right for you. Live your life and try not to envy others! Even Jeff Bezos (who has everything) probably envies people who have less.
What do you think is underrated? Having the right team around you and people who are good at what you can’t do is a total game changer. We are very lucky to have Bianca, one of the best assistants going who always knows what we need to be doing, where we need to be and who we need to be getting back to at any given moment, as we are pretty bad at this.
What do you do to unwind? Unfortunately I can’t do this all the time but I like to escape city life as quickly as possible and get out to the countryside or, even better, on a boat. I personally find being in nature or close to the sea in particular incredibly calming.
Best piece of advice for young founders trying to balance building a profitable business with creating a sustainable future? Stick to your guiding principles and don’t waver if your investors or advisors pressure you to cut corners on your mission. I’d also say try and do everything you can to enjoy the ride, both the ups and the downs. It’s 100% going to be a rough ride, so you might as well enjoy it!
Lister Lowdown
-Startup Ecovative, which grows green packaging material out of mushrooms, announced a $30 million Series E funding round this week, bringing its total funding to $120 million. Cofounded by 2015 Manufacturing & Industry Under 30 lister Eben Bayer, Ecovative plans to use the funding to expand the regional availability of its plant-based bacon product MyBacon, as well as increase production of its foams and leather-like hides for the fashion and apparel industries.
-Hot off the heels of a $40 million Series B round in February, 2023 Enterprise Tech lister Jeremy Zhang announced this week that he’d scored $3.5 million in new funding led by Intuit Ventures for his startup Finch. The company builds tools that connect payroll, HR and benefits systems together, and serves hundreds of customers including Carta and Betterment.
-In new product news, 2022 Manufacturing & Industry listers Nikita Iliushkin and Linar Ismagilov launched their Skygauge inspection drone this week. Through their startup Skygauge, the pair have created a new type of drone that goes beyond visual inspection and can actually perform physical work, like painting and high-rise window washing. They recently secured a $1 million contract with Transport Canada, the country’s government transportation agency, to help bring the product to market.
-AAPI month in May left 2020 Food & Drink lister Leland Copenhagen, a second generation Thai American, feeling conflicted about his identity. The cofounder of Thai American food brand Yai’s Thai decided to share his experience in a candid take on AAPI month here.