Out of 910 graduating students in the Class of 2014 from HBS, three went into water. Of those three, only Peter Brooks and I remain. And, meaning no offense to all our wonderful classmates, I'm glad it's him. Peter is just a really great guy. A former Marine, he worked across a variety of fascinating opportunities before setting up Sylmar Group. He and his partner Michael have been hard at work creating a compounding machine in water, building with an infinite holding period. And, as you will hear, it has developed exceptionally in the six years since it was founded. I have been looking forward to this for a long time because there are few people as thoughtful, practical, wise, self-effacing and talented as Peter. I was also amazed to find out that this is the first time he has talked about the Sylmar story on a podcast. So you're literally hearing it here first. Please enjoy my conversation with Peter Brooks.

Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule here: https://www.burntislandventures.com/the-fundamental-molecule

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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Peter Brooks details Sylmar's "compounding machine" strategy, advocating for patient, long-term investment, cultural integration, and network effects to create value. He explains their entrepreneurship-through-acquisition model, targeting small, high-quality water businesses, and emphasizes operational enhancements while preserving an entrepreneurial spirit. Peter shares insights on managing growth, recruiting talent, and his military-informed leadership. He also addresses the future water market, noting AI's increasing demand and the critical role of infrastructure, and urges entrepreneurs to pursue their "true north" for societal benefit.

00:00 - Peter Brooks & the “Compounding Machine”

02:30 - Equity, Culture & Network Effects

06:03 - Partnering with Mission-Critical Small Operators

11:27 - Listen, Prioritize, Fix Systems

17:02 - Operating System That Scales

21:24 - Disciplined Growth & Smart Capital Allocation

26:35 - Make Water a Talent Magnet

34:46 - Sales as Market Discovery

43:21 - AI Data Centers & Water

50:49 - Tech That Matters Now

1:01:27 - True North Leadership

Links:

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

Peter Brooks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterharringtonbrooks/

Sylmar: https://sylmargrp.com/

SM Material

Key Takeaways:

"Compounding is the consistent accumulation of small advantages that allow us to win."

"In water, patience is rewarded. Quick-turn investors often misunderstand this."

"We're building a compounding machine with long-term patient capital."

"Plans are nothing, but planning is everything. No plan survives first contact with reality."

"Water is the third pillar of public safety, critical behind fire and police."

"Embrace uncertainty. Entrepreneurship isn't for the faint of heart."

“Roughly every 5 million of EBITDA, you're going to have a different job description if you continue to...

It's always worth listening to someone's ‘why’ for doing something. What is their core motivation? Are they a tourist, or are they here for the long haul? When you combine a compelling ‘why’ with the right mix of technical brilliance, charisma, kindness, and energy, you get someone who looks and sounds a lot like Allan Adams. He is the founder and CEO of Aquatic Labs, who have made amazing strides in bringing lab chemistry into real time, eradicating one of the core monitoring problems that is profoundly bad in both water operations and ocean science. This is also the only conversation where the guest's idea of a misspent youth is teaching particle physics at MIT. He is genuinely amazing. Please enjoy my conversation with Allan Adams.

Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule here: https://www.burntislandventures.com/the-fundamental-molecule

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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Allan Adams joins Tom today to discuss how witnessing dying coral reefs after the birth of his son inspired him to leave physics and found Aquatic Labs. He critiques the inefficiency of slow, lab-based water analysis and details his mission to create real-time, scalable sensors. By first optimizing industrial processes, Aquatic Labs aims to commoditize its technology, making it affordable for vital future applications like verifying ocean carbon sequestration and tracking the true impact of climate change on our most fundamental resource.

00:00 - Introduction to Water Innovation and Entrepreneurship

00:49 - Allan Adams’ Journey from Physics to Ocean Science

02:29 - Fiji Expedition and Life-Changing Career Shift

05:25 - Passing Ocean Stewardship to the Next Generation

07:29 - Global Climate and Human Impacts on Oceans

11:12 - Founding Aquatic Labs to Scale Real-Time Ocean Sensors

15:43 - Industrial Use Cases and Aligning Profit with Conservation

19:42 - Lessons from Academia and Startup Realities

22:50 - Breaking Lab Bottlenecks with Real-Time Water Sensing

26:43 - Commercialization Journey and Market Pivot Post-Election

32:05 - Hard Lessons in Sales and Building a Mission-Driven Team

37:41 - The Big Vision: Aquatic Labs’ Role in Water and Carbon Markets

43:29 - Allan’s Advice for Water Entrepreneurs

Links:

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

Allan Adams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allan-adams/

The saying, "Those who tell the stories rule the world," is such a core truth that it is both a quote from Plato and a Native American proverb - two entirely distinct societies coming to the same conclusion. We in water know that our inability to tell our story is one of the most frustrating aspects of the sector and one of, if not the most, negatively impactful. So what happens when you put water's story in the hands of two of the best storytellers and creators on the planet? Matt Fitzgerald is the campaign architect of #TEAMWATER, which, after #TEAMTREES and #TEAMSEAS, is the third major campaign from MrBeast, the world's largest YouTuber, and Mark Rober, the world's most prominent science YouTuber. #TEAMWATER's aim is to mobilize $40 million in one month in order to provide two million people with clean, safe, reliable drinking water for decades. It is one seriously entrepreneurial undertaking, and Matt is a remarkable guy. We thought it would be fascinating to sit down with him and find out how he thinks about pulling off something this audacious, and we were right - it was. Please enjoy my conversation with Matt Fitzgerald.

Subscribe to The Fundamental Molecule here: https://www.burntislandventures.com/the-fundamental-molecule

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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Campaign architect Matt Fitzgerald discusses the strategy behind #TEAMWATER, the $40M clean water initiative with creators MrBeast and Mark Rober. He shares his philosophy on building successful movements like #TEAMTREES and #TEAMSEAS, focusing on harnessing the "attention economy." Fitzgerald explains the importance of simple, emotionally resonant narratives that make complex issues universal and inspire mass participation, turning viewers into heroes and creating tangible change.

00:00 - Power of Storytelling in the Water Sector

02:28 - What Makes an Effective Campaign

05:39 - Building Narratives That Inspire Participation

08:12 - Inside the #TEAMWATER Mission and Impact

11:05 - Leveraging Massive Creator Reach for Change

13:29 - Lessons from #TEAMTREES and #TEAMSEAS

20:44 - Competing in the Attention Economy

25:25 - Messaging Strategies That Resonate

28:57 - Balancing Grassroots and Grasstops Influence

36:17 - Matt Fitzgerald’s Career and Campaign Insights

42:12 - Using Emotion to Drive Action

43:20 - Shaping Philanthropy for Water’s Future

47:20 - Call to Action for #TEAMWATER Support at https://teamwater.org/

49:18 - Matt’s advice for water entrepreneurs

Links:

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

Matt Fitzgerald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattfitzgerald/

Contribute to #TEAMWATER: https://teamwater.org/

SM Material

Key Takeaways:

"Water is where climate and people meet. You either have too much of it or too little."

"The best campaigns build relationships, activate them, and provide a next step… a cycle of engagement."

"#TEAMWATER is a $40 million crowdfunding...