Potomac River Watershed Event Models Shark Tank

March 25, 2015

Featured, Technologies

Businesses pitch innovations during the Potomac Piranhas Pitch 
 
Seth Brown, Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) stormwater staff member, speaks during the Capital Panel at the Potomac Piranhas Pitch event. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC (Alexandria, Va.) and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC (Washington, D.C.).

Seth Brown, Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) stormwater staff member, speaks during the Capital Panel at the Potomac Piranhas Pitch event. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC (Alexandria, Va.) and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC (Washington, D.C.).

Many innovative, business solutions that may help improve the Potomac River watershed were presented at the Potomac Piranhas™ (Alexandria, Va.) Pitch on Jan. 30–31. More than 120 entrepreneurs, business representatives, investors, engineers, environmental professionals, and community leaders gathered to attend this inaugural event, which modeled ABC’s television show, Shark Tank.

Event participants heard presentations from innovation, capital, and entrepreneurship panel experts. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC.

Event participants heard presentations from experts on innovation, capital, and entrepreneurship panels. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC.

“I think the event was extremely beneficial to the community. It served to define and start to fill in the gaps that exist in the marketplace between investment and planet initiatives,” said Gore Bolton, chief executive officer of Bolton Investments (Alexandria, Va.) and founder of Piranha Branding LLC (Alexandria, Va.).

Potomac Piranhas organized the event and chose five businesses to present during its Piranha Tank Event. Company representatives showcased innovative technologies and described how these technologies will help improve the local watershed. The companies included

  • Triea Technologies (Frederick, Md.) which has a patent-pending system that recovers heat from composting animal waste or other organic materials, and delivers the heat energy to poultry houses, swine production barns, and greenhouses;
  • Micronic Technologies (Wise, Va.), which produced an advanced water treatment technology designed to clean water from any source such as hydraulic fracturing;
  • Earthbound Innovations LLC (Muskegon, Mich.), which developed a system designed to increase infiltration and equalize soil moisture by establishing a connection between the surface and soil environment;
  • 3PM™ Tech (Chantilly, Va.), a Humaxx (Chantilly) company founded by ARCTECH (Chantilly), which produced a portable system designed to transform chicken litter into organic fertilizer; and
  • Sonic Cavitation (Houston), which developed a generator that uses mechanical ultrasound technology to quickly produce high temperatures and aid in desalination.
Gore Bolton, chief executive officer of Bolton Investments (Alexandria, Va.) and founder of Piranha branding, gives opening remarks during the event. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC.

Gore Bolton, chief executive officer of Bolton Investments (Alexandria, Va.) and founder of Piranha branding, gives opening remarks during the event. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC.

“If we can work together to figure out actual business models that produce a profit in terms of cash and a profit in terms of the planet, we will have benefited all 7 billion of us,” Bolton said.

The event included an opening reception on Jan. 30, followed by keynote addresses, an innovation panel, a capital panel, an entrepreneurship panel, and the Piranha Tank event on Jan. 31. Participating companies did not receive funding but made business connections, contributed to an important discussion, learned more about watershed issues, and heard about other technologies, Bolton said. Presentations from the event can be viewed on the Potomac Piranhas YouTube site.

Attendees learned about various watershed and water sector issues. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC.

Attendees learned about various watershed and water sector issues. Photo courtesy of Piranha Branding LLC and The Umbrella Syndicate LLC.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) is a Potomac Piranhas partner and WEF stormwater staff member Seth Brown serves as member on the nonprofit’s organizing committee. Brown moderated the Capital Panel during the Potomac Piranhas Pitch.

Potomac Piranhas plans on holding a Hackathon, which is a brainstorming and workshop event designed to build partnerships that promote watershed-focused innovations, April 23, and another pitch event in July. The nonprofit plans on rotating between these two events on a quarterly basis, Bolton said.

Jennifer Fulcher, WEF Highlights

, , , , , , , ,

Comments are closed.