Eric Roy – Wild Business Growth Podcast #240: Water Optimizer, Founder of Hydroviv

You’re going to fail – a lot. It’s best to accept it and use it as a learning experience. That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Eric Roy. Eric is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Hydroviv. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 240: Eric Roy – Water Optimizer, Founder of Hydroviv

Eric Roy, the Founder and Chief Scientist of Hydroviv, joins the show to share his journey from wanting to help out with the Flint Water Crisis to creating the water filter that customizes to your home’s water. Hear how to study your customers, hire your first employee, make your company acquirable, apply the scientific method to entrepreneurship, and Eric’s adventures in Antarctica. This episode covers everything from water filtration to balancing a baseball bat on your nose. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What was the coolest thing Eric did in Antarctica
• How do you get to Antarctica
• Where did the idea for Hydroviv come from
• How does it work
• Is Eric ever able to unplug from being a scientist and entrepreneur
• How do science and entrepreneurship overlap
• A Podcaster Slip
• What’s a city in the U.S. with great water quality

Connect with Eric at Hydroviv.com, LinkedIn, and Instagram @EricRoyPhD.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Antarctica
  • [0:34] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:44] Connect with Eric at Hydroviv.com, LinkedIn, and Instagram @EricRoyPhD
  • [2:24] How does he keep warm when it’s freezing outside
  • [2:41] Very cool
  • [2:50] What is Sensor Science, Engineering, and Informatics (SSEI)
  • [3:21] Data Science
  • [3:38] What keeps Eric excited about science, math, and engineering
  • [4:45] How did he start studying Oceanography
  • [4:52] Colby College
  • [5:04] UMaine (The University of Maine)
  • [5:58] How was Eric’s experience in Antarctica
  • [6:22] Ozone Hole
  • [6:34] How do you not get sunburnt in Antarctica
  • [6:57] What was the coolest thing Eric did in Antarctica
  • [7:09] Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton
  • [7:19] Penguin Rookery
  • [7:40] How do you get to Antarctica
  • [7:48] Christchurch, NZ, Royal New Zealand Air Force, McMurdo Station
  • [8:05] C-130 Hercules (aka Herc)
  • [8:49] Delta
  • [9:16] How do you get yourself to stay calm flying to Antarctica

• The Hydroviv Story
  • [10:45] Where did the idea for Hydroviv come from
  • [11:08] Tech (Technology), Product Development
  • [11:29] Flint Water Crisis
  • [13:08] TOMS Shoes
  • [13:54] How do you optimize filters for different areas
  • [14:58] Internet
  • [16:08] Ayayay
  • [16:17] What did Eric learn from ethnographies with Hydroviv customers
  • [16:28] Podcaster Slip
  • [18:16] How does Hydroviv work
  • [20:48] How do you hire your first employee
  • [21:01] Bootstrapping
  • [21:38] Shoutout, Matt (Not Max)
  • [22:34] How did Hydroviv come up with line extensions
  • [24:18] How did Eric make Hydroviv acquirable by Culligan International
  • [25:19] Direct-to-Consumer (DTC), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
  • [26:10] Shark Tank, Ocean’s Eleven
  • [27:34] Recurring Revenue
  • [27:42] Amazon
  • [28:21] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Inspiration & Creativity: Science & Entrepreneurship
  • [29:30] How do science and entrepreneurship overlap
  • [29:44] Scientific Method
  • [30:19] Applied Science
  • [31:53] What else from the science world applies to entrepreneurship
  • [32:19] PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
  • [33:04] Is Eric ever able to unplug from being a scientist and entrepreneur
  • [34:00] Netflix: Are you still watching?
  • [34:56] When does Eric solve the most problems

• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [35:58] What is Eric’s favorite type of puzzle to do
  • [36:38] Will Shortz – Wild Business Growth Podcast #97: The Puzzlemaster, Crossword Editor of The New York Times
  • [37:28] What position did Eric play in baseball
  • [37:39] What’s the biggest difference between college baseball and high school baseball
  • [38:21] What’s a Weird Talent Eric has
  • [39:05] Time Management
  • [39:40] What’s a city in the U.S. with great water quality
  • [41:23] Connect with Eric at Hydroviv.com, LinkedIn, and Instagram @EricRoyPhD
  • [42:04] What are Eric’s Final Thoughts
  • [42:37] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [42:50] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [42:53] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [42:56] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [43:01] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Eric Roy on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And filter some water with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!