José Ignacio Galindo, Waterplan | Maximising Focus, Bootstrapping vs Raising, and Building in Climate Tech

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

Today I spoke with José Ignacio Galindo, who is building technology to help solve the water crisis at a global level.

Jose is CEO and cofounder of Waterplan, a software platform that helps large companies such as Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Facebook measure and manage the availability of water at their facilities and in their supply chain.

Waterplan has raised more than 20 million dollars of investment from funds such as Base10 Partners and Newtopia, and from celebrities such as Richard Branson and Leonardo Di Caprio.

In this episode, you will learn how to handle the pressure, increase your focus, and say no to opportunities

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:06] - Lessons as a Founder

How did he arrive at the fascinating world of startups?

Jose Ignacio was a university student who got into every student organization he could: Techo para mi País, Embajadores de Google, World Business Dialogue, etc.

Why did he do it? Was it influence from his family, friends, or something intrinsic to the way he is, and what did he hope to get from those organizations?

In 2019, he sells Herolens to Innovid. Initially his plan was to raise capital, and they received some investment offers.

José Ignacio took us through that personal decision and also that conversation with his partner in which they decide it was the right moment to sell their company.

He succeeded in selling Herolens for a significant sum of money, especially considering that it was bootstrapped.

Why did he lean toward the venture capital path for Waterplan?

José is a person motivated by impact, and at Herolens he always talked about the mission and the purpose.

But Herolens was technology for advertising, while Waterplan seeks to solve the water crisis.

Does he feel that this difference in mission influences his motivation to build a company?

[12:14] - Leadership

José is an expert in the EOS Entrepreneurial Operating System methodology

What was the step by step he implemented from the start at Waterplan to cement the important foundations of its culture?
How did Waterplan arrive at those values?

Guido Kuznicki de Lara described Jorge as “the pushiest person I know in my life”.

What is his criterion for being pushy and getting the best out of his team, without neglecting them? How do you find that balance?

Herolens was bootstrapped, they were in Argentina, and they served Latin America.

Today at Waterplan they have the best investors, including Leonardo Di Caprio; they are in Silicon Valley and they serve a global market.

Does he feel more pressure today than before? How does he handle it?
How has the José Ignacio of Herolens changed into the one who leads Waterplan, in terms of habits and customs?

It is very hard to get time with Jorge, and he always says he is focused.

What is his criterion for focus? How do you decide what to say yes to and what to say no to?

José Ignacio is an avid reader.

He told us about his reading habit. How does he choose which book to read?

[31:27] - Fundraising

Diego Noriega said that José Ignacio’s capacity for focus is admirable and that, for example, when he is raising capital, he practically forgets about all the rest.

When they entered Y Combinator, they were much more focused on customers, sales, and product, and then they did a sprint of raising capital.

What is the strategy and style of raising capital that has worked best for him?
How did he get to Leonardo Di Caprio, and how did he convince him to invest in his company?

[39:10] - Climate Tech

Jose Ignacio started to get interested in Climate Tech a year and a half before starting Waterplan, and he studied a lot during that time.

What things did he do in that process, and how did he arrive at the idea for Waterplan?
Did he at any moment feel that the market was pulling the solution more than he was pushing the solution?
What is the sales pitch like for a company that quantifies a return in water risk?

His vision is to accelerate the world’s transition toward water security.

What are the technical challenges behind a platform like Waterplan?

Rapid-Fire Round

If he could travel to the past and call himself on the first night before starting a company, to tell himself “you should know this”. What would he tell himself?
If he traveled 10 years into the future, what is the most extraordinary vision of what Waterplan is building?
What has been the most influential book on his path through the world of startups?