The Next Wave of Water Innovation - BIV on the Make Water Work Podcast
Huge thank you to Megan Glover and Isaac Pellerin for hosting Tom Ferguson on the latest episode of the Make Water Work podcast to talk about his perspectives on investing in water. The trio dive into a fast-moving conversation on AI, founder market fit, and why water is one of the most overlooked opportunities in climate tech.
Tom shares how a pro bono project in London pulled him into water, how Imagine H2O shaped his view of startups, and what led him to launch a dedicated early-stage fund focused on water. He explains why public data for water is often “crap,” why that matters for generalized AI, and why the real opportunity sits in small, vertical language models built on proprietary utility data.
From portfolio strategy to predictions for 2026, Tom talks about what makes a great water founder, why fundraising is also advocacy for water, and where he believes the next wave of value will be created.
You can listen in here, or wherever you get your podcasts. The episode charts some interesting, ahem, waters:
In this episode, you will learn:
How water “found” Tom through the first water disclosure report for the Carbon Disclosure Project
Why the gap between water’s importance and how much people care became his life’s work
The path from Imagine H2O to founding Burnt Island Ventures and closing a first fund in a wild market
Why water is a $1.6 trillion and growing market, and how entrepreneurs can “lift up legacy spend and put it somewhere new”
How Burnt Island thinks about founder market fit and what separates ideas from real businesses
Why water is not uniquely “hard,” and what founders must understand about building in any complex market
How AI will change water: small language models, proprietary data, and why Google cannot build this without utility data
Why utilities are finally building real data lakes and what that unlocks for AI tools
How Burnt Island builds a diversified portfolio across geographies, sectors, and business models in water
Tom’s predictions for “winners” by 2026, including data platforms, incumbents, and emerging blue bond financing
Why fundraising is a form of evangelism for water and why every dollar into the sector matters
Enjoy, and all feedback welcome.