Ep. 40: Pierre Côté - The Art of Useful Invention

Pierre Côté is arguably the most successful inventor and technologist in the industrial wastewater space. He has two ubiquitous technologies under his belt - the hollow fiber membrane and the membrane bioreactor, or MBR - and a third technology well on the way to becoming ubiquitous: the membrane aerated biofilm reactor, or MABR. Pierre is not only brilliant and a wonderful person, he is totally focused on finding practical solutions to persistent problems that are affordable and implementable. Pierre is now at it again with a new technology for dealing with nutrient pollution via an inexpensive algae biofilm process being brought to life through AlgaFilm, our 7th investment in our Second Fund. He is a profoundly thoughtful, modest, and wise man, and his advice for technical founders is particularly on point. Please enjoy my conversation with the great Pierre Côté.

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Inventor Pierre Côté discusses the iterative process of invention, stressing that ideas arise from real-world problems and pressure. He details the origin of his latest venture, AlgaFilm, which evolved from failed prototypes into a novel biofilm system, and advises technical founders to focus on solving a customer's whole problem rather than just their specific technology. For success, he says entrepreneurs must build strong, diverse teams, find a market "wave" (like new regulations) to ride, and have a bit of luck on their side.