Aquagenuity won the "for consumers" category of Atlanta Inno's Fire Awards.
This data intelligence startup analyzes water quality around the country through test samples and aggregated public data. It provides that information to consumers in a contextualized way so they understand how their local water may affect them. The startup raised a $1.6 million seed round, has national recognition for its mission and has a partnership with Amazon.
Here's a Q&A with CEO Doll Avant.
Q: How are your company's innovations changing your industry's landscape?
A: Aquagenuity is on the front lines of making environmental data meaningful and accessible to the average consumer. With the impacts of climate change making headlines more than ever before, people want more information about their environment and how it's impacting their health and family in a post-pandemic world. Aquagenuity's data engine is the only one of its kind, transforming environmental-monitoring data (typically the domain of a chemist or environmental engineer) into information that helps consumers understand how changes in the environment are impacting them personally so they can make better decisions.
Q: What's your advice to future and current entrepreneurs?
A: My best advice to entrepreneurs would be to master the art of the pitch. A good pitch is one that causes people to remember you, connect with you emotionally, and take action. They call me "The Pitch Queen" because pitching is the one tool I have used to secure partnerships with the biggest companies in the world, plus access to almost $2 million in investor capital, world-class team members and influential advisors. I actually teach a workshop on my 5-Star pitch method because it's such a critical part of making your business and your mission stand out from the competition. Google even used my story on pitching as an example to other entrepreneurs. If you do nothing else, master the art of the pitch.
Q: What's been the biggest roadblock in your growth and how did you overcome it?
A: As founder and CEO of Aquagenuity, my journey building this business has been challenging, but my biggest roadblock has been not having as much time as I would like to focus on developing organizational readiness and internal infrastructure to respond to the major environmental challenges ahead and finding team members who can match the global scope of this vision. I’m looking to grow and expand a sharp team of leaders who understand the value of earning equity in a young company — especially a company like ours that has an arm of the world's largest private equity fund, SoftBank, as an investor. We're headed for big things! We’ve evolved our recruiting process to ensure we are positioned to get the best talent. As a part of our employee compensation packages, I reserve our stock pool for those rare gems who are matching or exceeding my intensity! Now, we really leverage partnerships and cash flow from operations to have the resources needed to attract bold thinkers, and I believe that this is how we’ll change the world.
Atlanta Inno's Fire Awards 2021
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