S10E4 - Why would Xylem grow 10 Wonder Kids from 5 to 50 Clients?

with 🎙️ xStorto - Lead Innovation Analyst at Xylem Innovation Labs 

💧 Xylem is one of the largest water and wastewater technology companies globally and follows the simple motto: "Let's solve water"

What we covered:

🤝 How the Xylem Innovation Labs explore partnerships with early-stage technology providers to enhance offerings and improve portfolio stacks 

🚀 What the main tracks within Xylem Innovation Lab entail, from the commercial accelerator focusing on client growth to the early-stage incubation program and open innovation ecosystem targeting specific water-related issues. 

⚽ How Max likens his role in scouting potential technology providers to a talent scout in sports, seeking the most promising innovations that align with Xylem's capabilities and customer challenges. 

🌍 What main challenges Xylem's customers face, such as decarbonizing the water sector, industrial treatment solutions, decentralized treatment, and addressing contaminants of emerging concern like PFAS and microplastics. 

🌊 Why Xylem is looking into areas like digital workforce solutions and flooding issues, aiming to find innovative ways to address these significant concerns in the water management industry. 

🎙️ How Max Storto's dynamic and multifaceted role at Xylem brings both planned goals and unexpected chaos into his daily life. 

🗳️ Why political work with the Iowa Democratic Party led Max to engage in grassroots conversations, touching on critical water issues in both local and federal contexts. 

🚰 How the state of water networks in the U.S., including boiling water notices, reflects challenges in infrastructure investment, public awareness, and income inequality. 

📊 How Xylem Innovation Labs aggregates customer-facing team information, interprets data, and involves business units to prioritize decisions, fostering a united approach. 

🚀 What makes Xylem's accelerator program unique: sourcing from grants, accelerators, internal recommendations, VCs, and conferences and inviting companies to apply, ensuring a focused approach to innovation. 

🤝 Why Xylem's relationship-building with startups is key: no equity taken, a mutual NDA, building trust, and aiming for long-term commercial agreements to foster a truly collaborative partnership. 

🚀 What distinguishes Xylem's process of carefully select from 3 to 400 invitations, leading to 40-50 applications for a handpicked 10-count accelerator cohort, ensuring alignment with innovation priorities. 

🧠 How Max's role as a market analyst at Xylem intertwines with engineering teams, aiding in financial analysis and business case development for revenue projections. 

🌍 What the Xylem Innovation Labs' role in global R&D is, including their part of the R&D package, and how they complement the company's existing product development efforts. 

🌱 How innovation with impact at Xylem is characterized by a focus on sustainability metrics and diversity and their efforts in alleviating water challenges and reducing carbon footprints. 

👔 Oxford Collar, Decentralized Work Environment, fostering long-term growth, mutual trust and partnership, commercialization over investment, selling solutions vs taking equity... and much more! 

🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥

🔗 Come say hi to Max on LinkedIn  

🔗 Check Xylem Innovation Website's website 

➡️ Check out the entire article on Xylem's weirdest move 

➡️ Reach out to me: [email protected] 

Suggested episodes:

🚀 My interview with Sivan Zamir 

🔋 My conversation with Austin Alexander 

👔 My short catch up with Patrick Decker