This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Katie Kollhoff Mouat, director of innovation programs for the Water Council.
The group recently announced the latest cohort of companies taking part in its BREW 2.0 Post-Accelerator program, which helps startups ramp up development of their water-related technologies.
Kollhoff Mouat shares an overview of the program and its latest group of participants, discussing the importance of driving innovation across sectors where water is heavily used.
BREW 2.0 — which stands for Business, Research and Entrepreneurship in Water — is meant for entrepreneurs that have already gone through early-stage business development processes and have gone to market. The hybrid virtual and in-person program is “really focused on expert-led sales and growth training” for water tech companies.
“It is crucial to be driving innovation, especially in the water space, because it is such a ubiquitous resource and the problems are global but also deeply local,” she said. “We focus on water innovation in freshwater, because we’re here in the Great Lakes region … all of us in these communities feel deeply the impacts of challenges to the water.”
That can include issues around water quality and quantity, as well as climate resilience and contaminants such as PFAS, she explained. The BREW 2.0 program has strong ties to industry partners of the Water Council, that are interested in the next stages of innovation within their own industries.
“What’s at the forefront, and how can we help those innovations see the light of day?” Kollhoff Mouat said.
Company leaders that join the program participate in tailored sessions with subject matter experts, ranging from branding and marketing to water-specific sales and legal considerations when growing a company and expanding internationally.
“We have participants from six different countries participating in the BREW, and so, there’s really an opportunity to look at what it means to be not only a growing company, but a global company as well,” she said.
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
