The Drinkable team is making the process of water testing easier and more convenient for their customers through the world’s first affordable, effortless and accurate water testing device, to help people determine if their water is drinkable or not. 

The device is saving their customers the time and effort that it requires to test their water by reducing the legwork that usually goes into the process. 

Typically, if someone wants to test their water, they need to go to an accredited lab – which isn’t always easy to find. Then, they would have to figure out what package they would want, before filling up an empty sample bottle, and waiting for results from a technician. The whole process can take upwards of two weeks. 

Drinkable is wrapping that entire process into one package. 

“You can put a device in water, press the button, and it lets you know what’s in there; and you can pair it with your app to get a breakdown of what it means for your health, and the steps you can take to mitigate those challenges to find out what treatment option is best for you – and it’s all there in real-time. So the whole thing should only take about five minutes, as opposed to that two-week process,” Matthew Mizzi, CEO of Drinkable, said. 

Their idea to implement a handheld water testing device came after conducting research that concluded that half of Atlantic Canadians rely on well water, while one in three wells are dangerously contaminated in the Maritimes.

Their team is working hard to finish their device to help out people that depend on well water, and they are hoping to get upwards of 500 units or so developed by the end of 2022. 

“That milestone we’re all thinking of is to get out there with our products by Christmas, and find money along the way to fuel our company and to spread our wings,” Mizzi said.  

Starting out as a virtual Volta Resident company at the beginning of February 2022 – Drinkable has continued to see success and receive validation in the regional startup ecosystem, winning various competitions; including Dalhousie University’s Ready2Launch Pitch Competition in September 2021, and Volta’s quarterly Pitch Competition in February 2022. 

So far, their experience as a virtual Volta Resident company has been beneficial for their continual growth and progression. 

“We’re hearing exactly what we need to hear and we’re being connected with exactly the sort of folks that we need to dial in some of our waitlist and pre-order problems. So it’s been a great experience so far,” Mizzi said.   

“I used to work at Volta a lot when I was in Venture Grade… so it’s always to some extent felt like home to me.”

Mizzi has come a long way since working as an Associate at Venture Grade – Canada’s Best Student Venture Capital Fund – in 2020, and has picked up a lot of key tips and takeaways along the way. One of the takeaways he has learned is how supportive the Atlantic Canadian ecosystem can be for companies and entrepreneurs that are just starting out and looking to gain traction. 

“This is a very doable ecosystem. You can go out there, and you can focus on a problem, and go and ask total strangers for money, and get grants from the government and actually start to solve it. And it’s a real thing – I just wish more people were aware of that, and went out and utilized the education or experiences that they’ve had, and tried to turn that into solutions for other people’s problems,” Mizzi said. 

Another key tip that Mizzi recommends for early-stage entrepreneurs is to learn about venture firms and venture capital – which is pivotal for Founders to continue growing their startup.  

“They’re a customer as well, and you need to build your company to be a product for them. So you need to do your primary or secondary research on that group of people as well. It’s not just the product that’s solving whichever problem that you’ve identified – it’s the company that needs that attention as well,” Mizzi added. 

While Drinkable is continually learning and growing throughout their startup journey, they have several projects and milestones that they are working towards in the next few years – including determining water quality in minority populations within the Halifax area, and a pilot project in the United States to detect lead in their water.

These initiatives have made the work that Drinkable does in water testing and cleantech incredibly rewarding.

 “It’s a very easy problem to attract the right people for – and I think that’s why this has been a bit easier for me versus some of the other Founders out there, is that this is an opportunity to make investors a lot of money, and it’s an opportunity to help a lot of people – and no one seems to be upset about that.”

You can learn more about Drinkable at: https://drinkable.tech/.

Tags: cleantech, drinkable, startup_journey, Volta_residency, water_testing

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