Ep. 39: Oliver Lawal - Sunburning Water is a Good Idea
At BIV, we have huge admiration for people who call their shot and are right. For all you hockey fans out there, it's people who ‘Gretzky’ to where the market is going to be and so are there when it arrives. Oliver Lawal is a fascinating entrepreneur. He saw something obvious - his words - and just went and built the thing and has made so many smart moves along the way. He's a truly thoughtful person, and there is a lot in this conversation for fellow entrepreneurs - from what ‘focus on the customer’ really looks like to how to build a team that never wants to do anything else. He also uses a phrase which has now entered the BIV lexicon: “There's a big difference between what I think is cool and what is actually helpful.” Never a truer word. It almost makes me forgive him for being a Spurs fan. Please enjoy my conversation with the excellent Oliver Lawal, CEO of AquiSense.
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Oliver Lawal discusses UV water treatment, detailing its history and AquiSense's UV-C LED innovation (analog to digital shift). He explains entrepreneurial strategies like controlling the LED supply chain by becoming a key customer and enabling customer validation with affordable lab units. Oliver emphasizes solving real problems ("cool vs. helpful") and building a strong team culture focused on shared vision, respect, and practical problem-solving rather than blame.
00:00 - Why Water Innovation Needs Entrepreneurs
02:52 - How UV Disinfection Works and Its Origins
04:42 - Why UV Beats Chemical Treatment in Water
06:57 - Transitioning UV from Mercury Lamps to LEDs
10:47 - Spotting Market Shifts and Acting Early
13:44 - Building Trust Through Scalable UV Tech
18:44 - From Petri Dishes to Multimillion-Dollar Utility Deals
23:03 - Building What’s Helpful vs. What’s “Cool”
27:06 - How Strong Co-Founder Dynamics Shape Success
31:06 - Designing a High-Performance Technical Culture
35:31 - Balancing Startup Leadership with Real Life
39:43 - Final Advice: Solve Real, Not Just Interesting, Problems
Burnt Island Ventures
