BIV Monthly Update XXXVIII
BIV Monthly Update – December 6th, 2023
“The best armor of old age is a well spent life preceding it.” Charlie Munger, 1924-2023
Highlights
We have finally launched The Fundamental Molecule, the podcast we hope will become the library of choice to accelerate the progress of every water entrepreneur.
Excellent to visit the Daupler team in Kansas City, and be reminded all over again of how big their opportunity is, and what a good job John, Ryan and the team are doing. Kansas City is great. Paul Rudd is from there, which kinda makes sense.
Ruki and I had 4 wonderful days in New Orleans before a great Thanksgiving in DC. The Big Easy has real layers, and Bacchanal and Hotel Peter and Paul before the Hot 8 Brass Band was a memorable evening.
Remembering Charlie Munger, who died on Nov 28th. I have used Munger quotes for a decade in presentations from MIT to Stanford to Berkeley to Singapore, and have generally been really boring to all my colleagues, family, friends, acquaintances, people on public transport about his worldview since I read Poor Charlie’s Almanack in 2014. People are bemused at the size of the tome when I give it to them. Some of them even end up reading it. None regret it. We have this classic on our website: “People are trying to be smart - all I am trying to do is not be idiotic but it’s harder than most people think.” 99 well spent years.
December Asks
Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule.
Sign up here to attend forthcoming BIV Sessions.
Point the smartest people you know to the BIV Jobs Board or talent network.
BIV Portfolio Updates
Shower Stream – LOI for a 5-building, 550-unit expansion with ESA. DoD contract officially commenced (125 units, largest hotel operator on the planet).
Spout – Preparing to initiate the manufacturing process. SAFE ready.
SwiftComply – Strong momentum into the end of the year.
Ziptility – Closed 15 accounts in Q4, moving well past $500k ARR. Interim round almost complete that will take them to cash flow breakeven.
ZwitterCo – Commissioned their Innovation Center, announced in Forbes. Will give them 21-day product R&D cycle times which is fast.
2S Water – Christine spent 2 days in the field with Anthea and the team. In a strong position, another grant confirmed, and will sign their first mining deal shortly.
Aclarity – Closing in on first commercial contract.
Aquafortus – Presented to SQM, and interest from the semiconductor world. Pilot will be up and running next week.
Beagle Services - They have hit the cashflow breakeven promised land, and can kick on from here.
CivilGrid – Sales starting to accelerate, +15% ARR this month. New implementation process with 2 new clients. Continuing CivilGrid 2.0 - UI/UX and backend redesign of the platform.
Daupler – Some remarkable inbound that indicate the depth of capabilities of the platform. Work underway on in-depth market sequencing and resourcing.
Floodbase – 3 new parametric partnerships in place, and some exciting announcements imminent. Strong progress ahead of 2024.
Irrigreen – November sales 5x last year. On target for $4m in bookings (2x) and 2000 systems sold in 2023. Excellent work.
LAIIER – Matt is riding the bronco at the moment, and just closed a(nother) $600k deal. Expansion with Grosvenor, AXA XL partner in N. America, Trustek partnership confirmed.
NLine Energy – Final stages of DD for the round. Big year ahead.
SewerAI – Very strong 2023, and pipeline for 2024 increasingly healthy.
Work with the Burnt Islanders
All open roles with the Burnt Islanders are advertised through the BIV Jobs Board which is accessible here
Company Pipeline
Overall Pipeline: 845 (+47)
Moving close to papering the next cohort of deal(s). Still seeing real strength and the volume has remained elevated which is a good sign.
Team
We have added a world-class Head of Operations who we will announce next month. She’s wildly great, and will embody a step-change in our maturity as a firm.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, among a zillion other things I am so grateful for the BIV team who elect to spend their one non-renewable resource (their time) on what we’re trying to build. We only get a few clips in the punch card of our professional lives, and they’ve chosen to use one of theirs here. It’s not lost on me.
BIV Insight/Visibility
A busy month, but all of these are worth reading and listening to, obviously.
The first two episodes of The Fundamental Molecule with Bessie Schwarz of Floodbase and Mirka Wilderer (now) of AqueoUS Vets.
Our BIV session with Gary White, who got some guy called Matt Damon to work with him on Water.org and WaterEquity.
Interested in philanthropy in water? Why Our Giving Should Start With Water.
A great time talking about storytelling in water and entrepreneurship with Jim Lauria and Adam Tank on Water We Talking About.
Much more on the BIV Blog.
If you'd like to hear more about upcoming BIV events, please add events@burntislandventures.com to your address book.
We’re Reading/Listening/Watching
Biden announces plan for all lead pipes in US to be replaced within 10 years.
Texas voters unlock $1 billion for water projects.
Murder at the End of the World (just this side of silly) and A Haunting in Venice (interestingly hard-edged from Branagh)
Rice, Rice, Baby. Doom doom doom doom dah dah doom doom. Rice, Rice, Baby.
Things to Work On
Reflecting on 2023, and laying the groundwork for 2024. “Tis time to plant them now if they shall bloom in Spring.”
