Riggs Eckelberry is the founder and CEO of OriginClear Inc. (OTC Pink: OCLN), a leader in the global water crisis revolution. With an overwhelmed central infrastructure causing forced decentralization, OriginClear is on a mission to help businesses seamlessly take over their own water treatment.
Eckelberry is best known for turning struggling companies around after the dot-com crash, and that experience inspired his entrepreneurial journey. He started in the green space, extracting oil from algae to use in commercial fuels as a viable replacement for petroleum.
Then, they pivoted into the blue space when they found a way to extract algae from water, which also happened to be very effective for extracting sewage. Eventually, that became OriginClear. Eckelberry is launching a dual-coin system to unite the world in providing clean water while aggregating the resources to make it happen.
Please tell us a little bit about your company.
OriginClear Inc. (OTC Pink: OCLN), is a 14-year company that has been public for most of that time. We started in the green space, with a mission to make biofuels from algae; and over time we evolved into the blue space, which is water.
Our corporate headquarters is in Florida, and our main production facility is in Texas. That is where we build industrial water treatment systems that can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $5 million. On top of that solid custom expertise, we have built a fast-growing line of prefabricated, drop-in-place modular systems, a water outsourcing program that allows our clients to just pay by the gallon without paying for the machine, and even a digital currency now in the works to get everyone in the world involved in making water better.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I was raised as the son of an executive who was sent on assignment to multiple countries. This led me to become restless when it comes to learning more things, as I was given opportunities for personal growth at an early age. I loved the tech industry which was booming in the 90s; but by the early 2000s, I felt ready to become a CEO.
A fund agreed that I could be their CEO for a new company they were forming, to commercialize algae for biofuels. And that’s how we launched what was originally called OriginOil, meaning, algae: the “original oil”. That worked fine until the fossil fuel industry developed fracking, which completely destroyed the price of oil and made it impossible to pursue algae for biofuels as a business.
We found a way to pivot the company into water, when we found that our method for extracting algae from water, was also very effective for extracting sewage. Eventually, that became OriginClear.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
- The first skill I have learned is persistence. You have never failed until you have given up. Even when you’re faced with challenges that you don’t quite have a plan for yet, you still have to push through. Just having that point of view can help you overcome obstacles.
- The second skill is that you should really have the ability to adapt the environment to yourself, not the other way around! Create the marketplace you want. Create the opportunities you are seeking.
- The third skill you should have as an entrepreneur is being able to build a strong team. Often, as entrepreneurs, we want to have absolute control over every step. However, that’s just not possible. You need to be able to distribute the work to team members you trust to get the job done. And that is the only way to grow!
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
Again, four stages of our “water rocket” …
- First stage, our build-to-order business in Texas is booming. In fact, our booked sales for the year so far are nearly triple where they were last year! This kind of growth is very unusual in the water business, which sees growth in the 12-15% ranges each year.
- Second stage, Modular Water Systems, our revolutionary modular, drop-in-place Water System In A Box™ is becoming extremely popular with people who have to put in place on-site, prefabricated solutions to big water problems.
- Third, our planned subscription-type plans, which means a customer just pays by the month or by the gallon. No big capital expenditure upfront! That transforms us from “selling to blessing” our customers with a complete, outsourced solution to their water problems… Think how much business you could do if you didn’t have to ask customers for that million-dollar investment first! And, because we would continue to own these systems ourselves, they would remain our “owned” assets that eventually could help us uplist to the NASDAQ.
- Fourth, the cryptocurrency side of things which is meant to INCLUDE everyone in the fight for better water. We need a movement and our dual-coin system is designed to help bring that about. And eventually, a world marketplace for water!
So yes, we are excited about the way forward.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Large water companies focus on big central water systems. But that’s not the future of water at all! Because all the growth is in smaller systems operated by local businesses. We have the ability to work with smaller customers because we have less overhead, great modular technology, and increasingly, really creative solutions when it comes to financing. We think we are the first public company to work with smaller sites versus the big companies that work with large installations.
And then… no one is seriously doing a water coin. And the world needs a digital currency for every major asset class – from real estate, to energy… to water.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
- I tried to do it all by myself in the beginning, which was one of my biggest mistakes. But, it is actually a common mistake for entrepreneurs. You know, it’s easy to slip into the mindset of wanting to do everything yourself. Your business is your pride. But, it’s crucial to build a team even though it can be quite difficult. A quality team helps you get things done, which makes your life easier.
- Never do anything if you don’t have the funds to do it. Yes, it can be frustrating, but putting yourself in a hole financially (beyond a short period) is never the way to go. I had that experience in the eighties with an undercapitalized company, and it was something I have made very sure never happens again!
Keep things simple. Don’t over complicate things when it comes to technology, products, or really any aspect of your company. Keeping things simple allows you to streamline your products, your quality, and your ideas. Less is more.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
A couple of years ago, I started doing a Thursday afternoon briefing that was originally for brokers, as to what was going on with the company. In 2020, we started doing that as a Zoom event. So every Thursday evening, I get up on Zoom. We now have a major thing where we show a lot of new videos, have interviews, and we discuss new things that are happening within the company. We like to say we’re the most transparent public company in America because we discuss everything within the limits of legal disclosure. That CEO briefing has become one of our most vital marketing tools and allows us to connect with our audience.
Then, If you can get good PR coverage, then you get good visibility. Proper PR coverage has been paramount to our success.
We also do a lot of Facebook Marketing, which has been a great way of testing the waters with our audience. Our company also has an embedded culture of high responsiveness and communication. Someone can shoot me an email and it goes right to my inbox. I respond as soon as I can and I respect the time someone takes to contact me. We want to be responsive to our audience, always.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
There is always a simple way of doing things. I often went the more complicated route because I just assumed that’s what you had to do. There is always someone who will know how to make the path a bit easier for you. You shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel, especially for the most basic things.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs and authors?
- The book that I love the most is called Inside The Tornado by Geoffrey Moore. That’s really where I learned how the high tech adoption curve works for new technology. And it’s not just software or computers; everything is high tech these days, including water.
- The Sharkpreneur Podcast (Kevin Harrington and Seth Greene) is a really great podcast. Great content on that podcast about entrepreneurs and how to be a “sharkpreneur”.
- The most powerful Facebook marketer in the world, is the “Facebook Ninja”, my good friend Manuel Suarez,. His agency helped us redefine ourselves in 2020 and he remains a strong investor in the company. I always rely on Manuel Suarez for his in-depth knowledge.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
One way is to bootstrap the company and just use $1,000 to start an Amazon business. If you want to do something like a public company, you can use $1,000 as developmental money to get more money to then launch something more disruptive. Use $1,000 just to start buying and selling products, but you have to live on ramen or use $1,000 to develop a bigger source of funding. Those are your choices.
What is your favorite quote?
It’s by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
He said that your greatest luxury is your relationship with others. So, there is just one true luxury and that is our human relationships.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Don’t think and just do. At the Caltech commencement, Elon Musk spoke and one thing that he said was that it is very easy to do a PowerPoint and it’s harder to build a car. Even though it’s more difficult, you should go and build the car. Don’t keep planning and just get going. You will make mistakes. You need to make mistakes to learn.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can show up at my CEO briefing every Thursday night at 5 pm, Pacific Time. Just www.oc.gold/ceo to signup for live shows and replays. Available in Spanish too! You can also sign up for my newsletters and if you reply to one of them, they come into my inbox. I look forward to hearing from you!
Entrepreneur Interview: Laurie Sewell President and CEO of Servicon
