Month: July 2024

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July 16, 2024

Introducing HG Ventures’ Entrepreneur-in-Residence

The Heritage Group’s New Venture Group—which includes HG Ventures and The Heritage Group Accelerator—recently appointed Mitch Black to the newly created role of Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Here, Mitch outlines his vision for that role, and how founders stand to benefit. 

When thinking about why The Heritage Group sought to bring on board an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, or EIR, the immediate questions that need answering are: ‘Why now?’ and ‘Why me?’.

First let’s cover the ‘Why now?’ and a little background on the EIR role and The Heritage Group to provide context.

Mitch Black
Mitch Black, Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Why Hire an Entrepreneur-in-Residence now?

Traditionally, the EIR role has been positioned in venture capital or private equity as a CEO-in-waiting or stepping-stone to lead a portfolio company or a new start-up venture. EIRs may also be temporarily placed inside portfolio companies to build, innovate and scale new opportunities or products. Recently that role has started to shift within VC and CVCs. Rather than being a temporary launching pad, the role of EIR is now being conceived as a permanent fixture within a firm, where value is created continuously by contributing to the success of its portfolio companies and investments.

Enter The Heritage Group’s New Ventures arm, which includes HG Ventures and The Heritage Group Accelerator. HG Ventures supports innovation and growth across The Heritage Group by investing in startup companies developing new technologies in both its core and adjacent markets. Since its inception in 2018, HG Ventures has invested in 35 companies. The Accelerator is entering its sixth year and is an intensive accelerator program designed to propel hard tech startups. The program offers investment and access to world-class corporate labs and mentors from seasoned entrepreneurs within and outside The Heritage Group.

Over the past six years, HG Ventures has not only added more portfolio companies, but those same companies have continued to evolve into various stages and ages of growth. The Accelerator has concurrently matured in its applicant acceptance process and overall program relevance in the competitive hard tech accelerator marketplace.

One of the primary investment theses of both HG Ventures and the Accelerator is to bring value beyond just capital investment. This value includes providing resources borne out of The Heritage Group including things like market insight, research and development expertise, pilot testing and market connectivity. Now an opportunity has emerged to expand that value further to the already-thriving venture capital arm, established accelerator program and emerging internal incubation efforts. This new value includes delivering commercial insight and mentoring those individuals–start-up Founders and CEOs–in which HG Ventures and the Heritage Group Accelerator has invested time and capital.

Why Me?

My professional objective at this stage of my career is to move from an operating role into an advisory/mentoring role, so the timing of the emergence of this EIR role has created a serendipitous opportunity for both of us.

I have enjoyed a long career as both an entrepreneur and executive with companies at various stages. For the past ten years, I have led venture and private equity backed companies that include two successful exits, multiple capital raises and yes, even a few unsuccessful outcomes.

Most of my career has been in the technology and software space, not hard tech. While I am learning every day more about the Heritage Group and its markets, The Heritage Group’s New Venture arm has a world-class team, seasoned in the industry. They do not need another chemistry PhD or professional hard tech investor, but someone that has ‘been there and done that’ as a startup founder and executive.

My passion lies now in enabling leaders and investors to move their business from one stage to another. This may include moving a startup from early stage to market fit into go-to-market acceleration or scaling a growth business to exit. I love helping businesses and leaders to plan, evolve, adjust and scale their businesses for success, which can also mean something different to the individual founder and its growing stakeholders, just as I did as an operator.

I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career as Entrepreneur-in-Residence here and driving value for HG Ventures, The Heritage Group Accelerator and its constituents.

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July 9, 2024

ZwitterCo secures $58.4m in Series B funding led by Evok Innovations

WOBURN, Mass., July 9, 2024 — ZwitterCo, which is transforming water treatment through advanced membrane technologies, today announced the successful close of its Series B funding round led by Evok Innovations. Evok was joined by DCVC, BHP, Munich Re Ventures, SiteGround, HG Ventures, and Blue Horizon Advisors. The oversubscribed $58.4 million round will accelerate ZwitterCo’s mission to unlock the potential of unconventional water sources, such as industrial wastewaters and more challenging surface waters or process streams, to meet the massive water demands of industries that underpin a low-carbon future.

“Climate change is simultaneously driving water scarcity and increasing demand for water in industries critical to the low-carbon transition,” said ZwitterCo Co-Founder and CEO Alex Rappaport. “This funding will allow us to rapidly scale our breakthrough membrane technology, empowering industries to reliably and affordably access unconventional water resources while ensuring the water used or recycled in these industries meets the highest purity standards.”

While membranes are ubiquitous in water treatment, there had been no breakthrough innovations in the field for half a century until ZwitterCo introduced membranes with novel zwitterionic chemistries. ZwitterCo’s technology creates unprecedented immunity to organic fouling, enabling ZwitterCo’s membranes to continue working efficiently and sustainably long after traditional membranes would have clogged.

The need for such advanced membrane technology is rising as the changing climate worsens regional water shortages. According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people globally lack access to safely managed drinking water services, and by 2025, half of the world’s population could be living in water-stressed areas. Additionally, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence sees a 20-50% rise in global water demand by 2050. As conventional freshwater resources become increasingly strained, the ability to tap into unconventional water sources will be critical for meeting the growing demand for clean water.

At the same time, water plays a vital role in the industries building the low-carbon economy of the future. From the production of hydrogen from seawater and the safe management of wastewater from critical mineral extraction to fluid management in renewable and low-carbon biofuels or precision fermentation applications, the industries driving global decarbonization rely heavily on water. ZwitterCo’s membranes will enable these industries to minimize their water treatment and associated operating costs, reduce downtime, and ensure that the water used in their processes meets the stringent purity standards required for optimal performance and reliability.

ZwitterCo’s Series B represents a partnership between the company and leading sustainability-minded investors who recognize the interlinked challenges of decarbonization and water scarcity that ZwitterCo is addressing. “The full spectrum of the energy transition – from power and next-gen fuels to mining and critical minerals – relies on clean water,” said Naynika Chaubey, Partner at Evok Innovations. “The increasing unreliability of global water sources could put many of our energy systems at risk. ZwitterCo’s breakthrough technology is critical and timely, making this investment a cornerstone of Evok’s portfolio.”

Global expansion and sustainable impact

ZwitterCo, which recently commissioned its Innovation Center at its headquarters near Boston, will use the funds from its Series B to strategically invest in international expansion and the rapid advancement of its technology platform, further solidifying its position as a leader in the water treatment industry.

Over the past two years, ZwitterCo’s products have been ordered or installed at more than 50 industrial facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia, helping customers realize significant cost savings and unlock new revenue streams. For example, a bioprocessing manufacturer in a water-stressed region used ZwitterCo’s technology to recycle 80% of their fermentation wastewater, enabling the company to expand production of a sustainable protein product. At one of the largest manure-based renewable natural gas facilities in North America, ZwitterCo’s membranes were integrated in a fertilizer concentration process that generated 400,000 gallons per day of clean water while also producing valuable byproducts. And a power plant in the Pacific Northwest replaced its existing membranes with ZwitterCo’s products, resolving cleaning, downtime, and maintenance issues while delivering 10% higher water production, even in the face of challenging upstream water conditions.

Jason Pontin, General Partner at DCVC and Chairman of ZwitterCo’s Board of Directors, said that as global temperatures rise and weather patterns are disrupted, ZwitterCo is well-positioned to make a significant impact on industries and communities worldwide.

“Long before the planet feels the worst of climate change, without new solutions and more efficient water markets, cities and farms around the globe will suffer severe water stress,” Pontin said. “Reusing unconventional water sources is the only way to achieve water resiliency, and ZwitterCo’s groundbreaking membrane technology is the key deep tech breakthrough that makes water reuse practical and economical. DCVC has invested in ZwitterCo at every stage from its last Seed round, because nothing is more important than the company’s work to secure a sustainable water future.”

About ZwitterCo

ZwitterCo is on a mission to solve the world’s most urgent water problems with its advanced zwitterionic membranes that combat organic fouling, the biggest challenge in filtration. ZwitterCo’s award-winning technology enhances membrane life and performance in high-strength industrial wastewater, surface water, and food process streams, driving sustainable water reuse and reducing chemical use. For more information, visit https://www.zwitterco.com/.

Link to press release.