The Innovation Showcase theater at WEFTEC 2025 is hosting a series of presentations and panel discussions this week on a broad range of technical innovations with meaning for the water industry. But Monday morning’s session on “The Dynamics of Water Innovation” focused on the business of innovation itself. That is, how entrepreneurs and other organizational innovators across the water landscape can most efficiently move their next idea into a new business and ultimately an accepted practice industrywide. 120 Water’s Megan Glover (left in image) and Xylem’s Sivan Zamir (right in image) were joined by Ecolab’s Brian Larsen in a wide-ranging discussion moderated by the University of Michigan’s Glen Daigger.
Fully understanding—and being able to articulate—the value proposition on one’s solution was one of the central recommendations of the panelists. “It’s too easy to focus on the technology and the engineering involved in the new innovation and not the specific return on investment it promises,” said Glover. “One also needs to understand capital market dynamics,” she added. “Entrepreneurs sometimes underestimate their negotiating power.”
And that can lead to an endless series of pilots that never realize the profits that are needed to make a business out of the innovation. “You can’t make a business out of selling R&D,” Daigger quipped.
“Make sure the price you establish for your innovation is based on value delivered, not cost incurred,” said Zamir. “Also, do your homework and know what personas are involved in deciding to give your innovation a try.” One especially useful tool is a pilot-to-scale agreement that specifies if a free pilot meets all promised KPIs, the buyer is obligated to invest in a full-scale implementation.
When it comes to finding an outside source of funds to grow your business, “choosing your capital partner is everything,” said Glover. Not only will they provide funding, they’ll be on your board—and they can have a huge impact, she stressed. “As an industry, we need more funds that understand the water business and appreciate what’s possible.”
“Sometimes there are ‘water curious’ investors that don’t understand the returns that are achievable in our industry,” added Zamir. “Also, remember that venture capital is not the only way to go.”
More established companies such as Xylem also have accelerator programs that provide funding as well as technical and business expertise and connections. “In general, innovators are looking to accelerate their learnings,” Zamir said. Accelerators and channel partners can be great sources of data points that confirm or contradict one’s own assessments with respect to one’s value proposition, she added.
“Value proposition will be specific to each customer, depending on the problem they are trying to solve,” added Glover.
“Don’t start with vague value propositions like percentage savings,” said Savin. You need to have specifics that may take the form of quantitative, spreadsheet-calculated impacts based on a particular customer’s production parameters. “You need to give them dollars and cents for their particular operation,” she explained.
“My company, 120 Water, was started as a provider of water testing kits,” said Glover. But what customers really found of value was the real-time data that the tests gave them. And that’s how 120 Water became a software company. “What you want to do is innovate on what your customers find of value.”
On the funding front, you need to make sure you’re not forever stuck in runway mode, added Larsen. “You have to get enough funding to get off the ground.” And when you find an investor, “oversubscribe if you can,” added Glover. This is especially important so that you can hire the leaders you need to get off that runway and really take off.