Adam Tank's trajectory, from early leadership roles at GE to his entrepreneurial endeavors, offers a wealth of profound insights into the critical trilogy of water, technology, and entrepreneurship at the heart of this podcast. His experiences navigating the dynamic landscape of the water industry, as shared here today, offer valuable perspectives on the challenges, triumphs, and pivotal decisions that have shaped his extraordinary career. Together, he and Tom explore the importance of understanding customer needs, building trust, and effective communication in driving success in the water sector. They also review the strategic decisions, intellectual architecture, and relentless innovation which have propelled Transcend to its current role as an industry leader guided by the inspiring leadership of Adam and his talented team.

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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fundamental-molecule/id1714287205

Episode Highlights:

0:00 Start

0:49 Introduction

1:45 Adam’s work history

6:58 Key stage gates in his career

14:20 Working with utilities and consulting firms

22:49 Transcend and the value it provides

27:47 Adam’s role at Transcend

28:52 His thoughts on marketing

31:29 Speaking the customer’s language

33:52 Company building as a ‘spin-off’

35:18 Starting with the ‘why’

37:52 The power of foster parenting

41:20 Adam’s most important advice for emergent water sector founders

Links:

Burnt Island Ventures: https://www.burntislandventures.com/

Transcend: https://transcendinfra.com/

Water We Talking About?: https://www.wateronline.com/solution/water-we-talking-about

Quotes:

"I stumbled into water... It's just an unbelievably compelling industry for so many reasons."

"What you think may be the thing that's valuable to the customer may not actually be the thing that's most valuable to the customer."

"The presence or absence of water not only impacts how much food you can produce…but it also has a significant impact on the safety of the food."

"The worst thing that can happen for an entrepreneur is to spend a year, two years, three years and all of Burnt Island's money building this thing that no one is willing to pay for."

"We need more people from outside of the sector, no question. But I will say that part of the reason that innovation is a bit slower in this industry is that we have had people come in that are not water experts, that have said, 'I can solve all of your water problems,' but they're coming with a different lens."

"Listen to your customer.”