The water industry doesn't have a marketing problem. It has a conversation problem.

After ten years owning and operating a water technology company — and now running a fractional CMO practice dedicated to this space — I've watched brilliant engineers build incredible solutions and then struggle to explain them to the people who need them most. I've sat across the table from founders who genuinely believe that if someone just sees their product, the sale is inevitable. I've watched companies pour their trade show budget into a 30x30 booth and walk away with the same leads they already had.

These aren't bad companies. They're just operating in an industry where the marketing playbook hasn't kept pace with the technology.

That's why I created Below the Surface with Paul Balsom.

What This Show Is About

Below the Surface is a podcast built for the people who keep the water industry moving - CEOs, founders, operators, marketers, investors, and the service providers who support them. Each episode is a real conversation with someone who has a stake in how water companies grow, compete, and go to market.

This isn't a show about theory. It's shop talk between people who've lived it.

In early episodes, I've already had the privilege of sitting down with fractional CMOs in adjacent industries like climate tech and electric utilities, a UK-based water industry recruiter who sees hiring trends before anyone else, a former startup founder now acquiring companies in the space, a deep tech CEO building genetic sensing tools for water systems, and an engineer-turned-marketer in Germany who shares my frustration with the gap between technical brilliance and market clarity.

What strikes me every time I record is how much common ground we share across these conversations. The same patterns keep surfacing - the "silver bullet" myth that one tactic will solve everything, the tension between engineering-led teams and the need for clear messaging, the long sales cycles that punish impatience, and the persistent underinvestment in marketing by companies that desperately need it.

Why Now

The water industry is shifting. Consolidation is accelerating. Private equity interest is climbing. Companies are being asked to adopt new technologies while operating under tighter budgets than ever. And the competition for attention - at trade shows, on LinkedIn, in a prospect's inbox - is only getting louder.

In that environment, the companies that communicate clearly will win. Not the ones with the biggest booth or the most buzzwords, but the ones who understand their customer's pain, articulate real value, and show up consistently.

Below the Surface exists to help those companies - and the people running them - think differently about how they go to market.

Who Should Listen

If you're a water or environmental technology company founder wondering why your website isn't generating leads, a CEO trying to figure out when to invest in marketing, a sales leader tired of creating strategy by committee, or a marketer who wants to be more than "the PowerPoint person" at your company - this show is for you.

New episodes drop regularly. You can find Below the Surface wherever you listen to podcasts, and I'd love to hear from you.

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