I’ve learned many lessons during my first six months here at Aquagga, but I’d like to focus on one particular lesson: Community. Specifically, having the right community makes navigating the long and difficult hard tech road much easier - and fun! More specifically, I wanted to highlight two communities and one event Aquagga is particularly thankful for.

The 2025 ImagineH20 Program

Imagine H2O's 2025 Accelerator provides early-stage companies with tailored support, from mentorship to pilot opportunities. They’re all about ecosystem access and visibility, which helps companies like Aquagga navigate the complexities of the water sector. This year, Aquagga was one of 10 companies selected from 350+ applicants to participate in the 2025 program. In the challenging world of water tech, ImagineH20’s alumni companies have a 71% success rate - that’s unheard of!

‍The World Economic Forum Uplink Program

‍The World Economic Forum (known to many as the folks who run the Davos Conference) is running a five-year initiative through their Uplink Program, where they pick 10 early-stage ventures addressing critical water-related problems. We are incredibly fortunate to be among the 10 companies selected out of 273 applicants for the 2025 cohort, which all recently met up in Amsterdam. Spending a week with leaders from the other nine companies taught me so much about the journey of taking hard tech to market in the water space. And, it was fun! Thanks to Anna Huber, Michael Atkinson, and Megan Gerryts from Uplink for making the week a success.

‍The 2024 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

At the 2025 NREL Industry Growth Forum, I saw the power of convening. With nearly 1,000 attendees and nearly 3,000 one-on-one meetings, the forum was an awesome platform for connecting startups, investors, and industry leaders. NREL did a great job promoting community and highlighting shared goals. The practical connections were helpful, but the best part was the community. Being part of an early-stage company can be tough, and meeting folks who are (or have been) in the same spot was reenergizing. 

The Lesson

Yeah, you need to be heads-down and charging forward to make an early-stage company go. However, take the time to find yourself a community. From a practical standpoint, it’s a wonderful thing (connections, mentorship, etc.), but it’s also a powerful tool for finding the energy to keep going. It’s also a great avenue for helping others in your same situation, which is gratifying alone, and it always seems to come back around eventually.