Ep. 38: Anne Mushow -Building a Utility Data Dragnet
There is so much that is dumb in water, but easily one of the dumbest is that in the US - let alone the rest of the world - 60 percent of meters are offline and need to be read by hand in 2025. It is an insane state of affairs, and we have had our eyes out for teams to solve it for literally years. Anne Mushow is the driving force behind the solution to this problem at Subeca. Taking over from the exceptional Patrick Keaney, she is a superb leader: practical, experienced, thoughtful, and so determined to banish the schleppiest of schlep work that is meter reading to the past. She spent a lot of time in this market, both in water at Sensus and Xylem, as well as experiencing hypergrowth at Amazon. Please enjoy my conversation with Anne Mushow.
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Full show notes and links to mentioned content below.
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Anne Mushow highlights the slow adoption of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in the water utility sector, attributing it to factors like risk aversion and capital intensity. She emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making and customer-centricity, sharing insights from her experiences at Sensus, Xylem, and Amazon. Anne also delves into Subeca's innovative approach, focusing on low-barrier adoption and leveraging technologies like Amazon Sidewalk to empower utilities with efficient and cost-effective solutions.
00:00 - Why Most Water Meters Still Require Manual Reads
02:43 - The Real Barriers to AMI Adoption in Utilities
08:41 - How Cloud and Managed Services Are Changing Water Tech
11:01 - Subeca’s Low-Friction Approach to Smart Metering
16:04 - Eliminating Manual Labor with Plug-and-Play Devices
20:15 - Building a Strong ROI Case Without Infrastructure Costs
24:05 - How to Successfully Sell Into Utility Markets
31:52 - Applying Amazon’s Culture to Water Tech Innovation
36:17 - The Future of Water Data as a Service
39:55 - Leadership Lessons from Stepping Into the CEO Role
45:50 - Anne’s advice for current and future water entrepreneurs
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