Enterprenuer
Riggs Eckelberry, founder and CEO of OriginClear Inc. (otc pink: OCLN), is a pioneer in fighting the global water crisis.
OriginClear was founded in Florida by Riggs Eckelberry.
OriginClear is a Texas-based company that manufactures in Texas.
Eckelberry found that the same method his company developed for eliminating algae could also extract water waste.
OriginClear was born from the pivot, which is now OriginClear.
Its mission is to enable businesses to take control of their water treatment.
Eckelberry will also launch a dual-coin system that will unite the world to provide clean water and aggregate the resources necessary to make it happen.
OriginClear: Where did it all come from?
Our company was founded to make algae the next fuel.
This was very exciting but was eventually overtaken by low crude oil prices.
We decided to pivot and use our algae separation technology for removing solids from sewage.
This allowed us to enter the water industry.
We have been working hard to disrupt the water industry since then.
We believe we are on the right track to make significant changes in water.
How do you stay productive?
There are always many fires to put out. As a CEO, you are constantly aware of unexpected events.
These are things you have to deal with, but it is equally important to identify the root cause of the fire and fix it.
A CEO who fails to understand why they are getting so many emergencies will eventually fail.
It’s an essential part of my job to build the business model.
People don’t realize how rapidly business models change.
We saw the rise of Airbnb in 2020. Later, the CEO stated that ten years of work was completed in just ten weeks.
This was as they adjusted to COVID. The CEO must facilitate the adaptation and communication of new strategies.
We have a solid four-layer system that is now firmly in place.
But it was not always this way. The last thing we need to do is make sure we are constantly improving our business processes.
We want people working together, better systems, and best practices to become more efficient.
This is what I do most of the time.
How do you bring ideas to life?
To bring ideas to life, you must be open to the world around you in your company and the economy.
It is vital to keep updated with all trends and have listening posts.
We discovered that water projects were in great demand and that it was possible to finance them without customers having to pay the capital.
This led us to create the Water On Demand program, which is currently being implemented.
This program allows customers to sign up for water equipment at their location without paying upfront.
This idea was born out of the fact we saw so many projects.
There were 47 potential customers at one point for one division of our company.
They averaged a quarter of a million each.
Many of them didn’t have the financial resources to move forward.
The need to accelerate these deals led to removing the most significant barrier to entry, which was capital.
It’s about being connected to the world around you.
What’s your favorite trend?
Decentralization is the most exciting trend in the world.
We are seeing it on two levels that matter.
The first is decentralization in water, as the central infrastructure is deteriorating.
Fort Lauderdale residents know that the sewage system has serious problems.
Unfortunately, these funds are not coming, and billions of dollars are not being spent to fix the sewage system.
More businesses, industries, and agriculture must perform their water treatment.
This results in more water being treated at the source of the problem.
It also reduces the burden on the central system and reduces the cost to fix the municipalities.
There are 150,000 municipal systems across the country, many of which are inefficient.
However, they can still cope with less work through the decentralization of water.
Decentralization of finance is the second major trend.
We are seeing rapid inflation. This is evident in the rise in water rates, which is becoming unsustainable for many businesses and consumers in the country.
The US dollar is in serious trouble. We are now seeing decentralized finance or digital currency replace it.
It’s starting to happen, even though people have dismissed it as crazy.
We are creating a cryptocurrency to help water, eventually becoming a reality. These are the significant trends.
What habits make you productive?
To be faster than others, speed is the key. When I have a problem, communication, or another task to solve, I can move quickly to get ahead of others.
It not only makes people faster, but it also gives me a competitive edge.
This was 1996 when I started to learn it. I used email as a marketing tool and corporate weapon to control outcomes.
I was the first person to respond to emails and resolve problems.
It all comes down to speed and quick turnaround.
I doubt I would be able to survive for even one minute without that.
What’s your advice for the Noob?
My younger self would say, Don’t assume you know everything. An apprenticeship is an excellent idea to enter a new space or business.
Please do not assume that you can figure it all by yourself.
You might be smart enough to figure it out. However, it can lead to wasted time and money.
It is essential to learn from someone who has experience in the area.
Let’s suppose you want to sell your product. Instead of learning it all yourself, find someone knowledgeable about the subject.
This is the key to any activity. It would have been better for me to do this in my youth.
What is one thing we can all agree on?
All media can indeed be manipulated. This does not mean that media can be controlled in one way or another.
Once you have this understanding, you will understand how to assess the information you receive daily from all sides.
Again, I am not comparing Fox News with CNN, but I am saying that all media is controlled by their sponsors.
This understanding will allow you to evaluate the media and use it to your advantage.
You can harness the power and influence of media to have a voice.
But it would be best if you recognized that media is only a tool.
Media is not an inherently truth-telling tool.
What do you recommend as an entrepreneur?
My mantra is that when I say something must happen, I will make sure it doesn’t disappear.
I am like a dog with its bone. Let’s suppose that I say, “Okay.
We’re going get a specific type of video done by Thursday.” You’ll hear all about it from me, and I won’t let that stop you.
It will keep happening until you hear about it, which does two things.
It gets it done. Number 2: People need to understand that they will have to do it if I give them something.
They’ll hear from me repeatedly. The key to being a good listener is not being stout or antagonistic.
Be patient and remind them. What is the result? What are they saying? What is the matter? Are you able to escalate it to a telephone call?” This constant reminder is for me because I have to do this stuff all the time. AKA, herding cats.
Your team must be able to quickly and easily learn from you.
They won’t hear it repeated 12 times. This is a fundamental operating principle.
What’s your rich strategy?
Constant adaptation. Water is a challenging area. You can either be a small family business or a large water company.
It’s challenging to succeed in the middle. We had to create a plan to break out of the very conservative and structured environment in the water industry.
This meant we needed to find a way of financing the development of OriginClear, which we believe will be Water Company 2.0(TM).
It could also mean that OriginClear might become a billion-dollar company. It’s like Tesla.
They were built over the most extended period and were losing money every step of the way.
They were doing it because they believed in it and eventually became highly profitable.
It is essential to be persistent and adaptable to achieve success. This is probably the most important thing.
How do you overcome Failure?
In the 1980s, I opened a New York City business that quickly grew to 12 employees.
I had no capital. Our company was doing extremely advanced work.
We put a lot of companies on computer-based systems, which were not available for paper accounting systems.
It was very pioneering work and was extremely difficult.
We just had terrible times. It was a nightmare trying to make payroll every week.
I did it, but it wasn’t enjoyable. I finally lost my faith and decided that this was ridiculous.
It’s not worth the effort I put in to become the first paper-based company implementer.
I handed my client list over to my best friend, and we moved on.
It was years later that I had to file for personal bankruptcy.
I didn’t realize that my successor told me five years later that he still had all his customers.
This was five decades later, and he was a multi-millionaire.
I didn’t realize the power of these clients’ ongoing revenue streams.
I had only considered the inefficient first implementation.
I didn’t think about the monthly, ongoing payments these companies make.
This is what makes a business like this profitable.
I realized that I could have kept going, and there was no reason for me to stop.
Since then, I have learned that failure is not an option. There’s no need to give up.
You can’t fail if you don’t give up. This is what I have been doing ever since.
Can you share a business idea?
Transportation as a service is a growing trend. Robotics is becoming a significant part of transportation.
It will be common to call a robot cab in five years, and it won’t be driven.
The same goes for trucking. There will be lots of it.
Because it requires a lot of computer intelligence to run these things, I think this will be the domain for some prominent players.
Is there a way to build a business in the new transportation as a service market? There are multiple fleets.
Multiple fleets will be competing for your business.
There should be ways to optimize this to have a search engine call the one you need.
This would be an independent judge who would handle your call.
There will be Uber, Lyft, Tesla, and Mercedes.
Another possibility is an app that rises to the top, similar to Yelp for transportation. There is something to be done.
What’s your recent best buy?
I have extensive research to learn that many excellent supplements are available.
I started investing in C60. It is not expensive and is a powerful antioxidant.
We live in highly toxic times. The right accessory can help you get rid of these toxicities.
As we age, it is essential to know what can counteract the harmful effects of industrial pollution.
This is the best money I have ever spent.
I must be at 100% for this company for very long.
These are essential things to be aware of.
What are your favorite Softwares or Apps?
Our company has adopted ClickUp aggressively to manage all tasks.
It has proven very useful, particularly when it comes down to managing external partners and vendors.
It allows you to track who, what, and to whom.
We tried different platforms, but none of them were quite right.
ClickUp is imperfect, but it’s what we use to keep our company in mind.
Without good task management, I believe there is no mind, no memory, so you can’t rely solely on email to remember everything.
Which book would you recommend?
Books about technology disruption are my favorite.
The best book about technology disruption is “The Innovator’s Dilemma.”
It was written by Clayton Christensen, who is a brilliant influencer.
The book discusses how innovation is often suppressed in large corporations and can escape finding a new opportunity.
It usually ends up destroying the company that it comes out of.
This is very interesting. I highly recommend this book.
It is effortless to read and talk about real-life history.
What’s your favorite quote?
Saint-Exupery, the French writer who wrote “The Little Prince,” used a quote that said, “Your greatest luxury, human relationships.”
I kept that quote in French in my wallet for many years throughout my teens, and it still resonated with me.
Human relations are the most important thing. All the other things are necessary to make them happen.
Remember that paying attention to others is the most important thing. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t.
TL;DR by Riggs Eckelberry
- You are a CEO and are constantly worried about unexpected events.
- To bring ideas to life, you must be open to the world around you. This includes the business and the economy.
- I am able to solve problems faster than others when I have a communication or problem to address.
- Apprenticeship is a good idea if you are entering a new space or business. Do not assume that you will figure it all by yourself.
- “Human relationships are your greatest luxury.”
