Some people are born to drive their own bus. They have an idiosyncrasy of outlook that makes building their own thing inevitable. When these people run into a problem that they find both annoying and ridiculous and decide to solve it, good things happen. Mick O'Dwyer is one of those people. Even before BIV started, the second check I ever wrote, and first real one, was into his company, SwiftComply, and for good reason. He is a very serious entrepreneur in its most core sense. He's a taker of opportunities with, as you will hear, a clear attitude to risk, who delights in the wrestle of getting the thing done. As anyone who has met or shared a karaoke room with him will attest, he's also a great person to spend time with. The man could sell, and indeed has sold, Guinness to the Irish. Please enjoy my conversation with the excellent Mick O'Dwyer.

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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

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Mick O'Dwyer shares his evolution from a young, ambitious engineer at Guinness to a water entrepreneur. He recounts his time at Dublin City Council, where the "ridiculous" and inefficient paper-based system for managing fats, oils, and grease in wastewater sparked the idea for his company. Mick details his journey of building SwiftComply, from developing the initial solution to moving to the U.S., making a high-stakes acquisition, and scaling the business.

00:00 - From Guinness Factory to Government Engineer

08:29 - Discovering the Wastewater Compliance Problem

12:38 - Building the First Version of SwiftComply

16:58 - Turning a Consulting Gig Into a Tech Company

20:32 - Going Global After a U.S. Conference Breakthrough

22:43 - Why Moving to Silicon Valley Was a Game-Changer

30:43 - Using AI to Improve Utility Compliance and Efficiency

33:31 - Rebuilding Product Velocity After Acquisition Challenges

41:28 - Scaling SwiftComply With Growth Investment

46:43 - Advice to Founders: Bet on “Mandated, Recurring, Painful” Problems

Links:

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

Mick O'Dwyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/odwyermichael/

SwiftComply: https://www.swiftcomply.com/

SM Material

Key Takeaways:

"I had this compelling thing that the world needed a solution for the problem. What I will say is I wasn't really built to be a passenger."

"The bus was leaving the station and had no driver, and I was like, well, I'm going to be the one to drive that bus."

"I was young and opinionated and bullish. You could say I'm now old and opinionated and bullish."

"I fell in love with wastewater treatment. I fell in love with the people in the plant, actually. Like, they're just like, you know, these men who are 40 years older than me."

"I was just using practical experience to solve the problem at hand.”

"I had to extract myself from that and had the trauma of giving up things. You don't need to see the company to be the one running payroll."

"I do have a core belief that people overestimate the downside of risk."

"Good investors invest in traction, and great investors invest in the future."