Ravi Kurani

Solving Water at MySutro.com | Forbes 30 Under 30 | TEDx

Water is an underinvested market, yet it’s one of the most crucial resources we have. But I believe that through better storytelling and innovation, we can shine a light on the water industry’s challenges and opportunities. 

In 2014, I founded Sutro, a robotic water diagnostics platform designed to improve water chemistry and safety. I sold Sutro to Sani Marc in 2019 and am currently leading day-to-day operations.

Today, as President of Sutro (a subsidiary of Sani Marc), I oversee the development, marketing, and sales of smart water monitoring devices. Our technology is trusted by some of the biggest brands in the industry, and we are the only NSF-certified autonomous device for water safety. 

I’m proud to lead our team in revolutionizing how people interact with water, ensuring it's clean, safe, and accessible. 

🌊 Host of “Liquid Assets: The Business of Water,” a podcast about water through the lens of business, technology, and policy. 
➡️ https://www.liquidassets.cc/

🌊 Co-author of “Story-Driven Smart Products,” a practical guide to launching smart hardware products. 
➡️ https://a.co/d/1Bbd11r

🌊 Delivered a TEDx Talk on leveraging technology to improve water safety.
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwuJnr-iWcY

Other Ventures:
⚙️ Leading the “Street to Home” project to address working capital gaps for the Future Communities Institute.

⚙️ Founded ImpactSpace, later sold to ImpactAlpha (the TechCrunch for impact investing).

⚙️ Advisor to various startups, including a software development agency (Incodeks) and a health navigation company (Juniper).

⚙️ Engineer in Residence at Future Communities VC, focused on tools to track climate solutions through the IRA (Inflation Redux Act).

Founding Member

Hampton is a dedicated group of digital-first founders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs of fast-growing startups who just get it – and make the crazy world of startup life a little easier to navigate.

I love Hampton dinners. Why? Because you meet some of the coolest people. It’s casual, it’s a dinner… we all need to eat dinner. 

I was sitting across Jeremy Johnson CEO of BoxHouse Co, who has sat in court for 86 federal indictements (an episode on this in the comments) to running a super successful prefab housing company. 

Many folks in the U.S. rent and don’t have the capacity to own a house, Jeremy is changing that. 

Making housing ownership accessible to all. 

To chatting with Tom Stefaniuk founder of SmallScreen, who understands YouTube and video to the tee. 

He’s built a successful influencer platform, and gave me some of the best advice for my water podcast, Liquid Assets: The Business of Water. 

Always good to see the rest of the crew, and thanks so much for hosting Elizabeth! 

I continue to say this. If you’re a founder. And you’re not getting out there. 

Do it. 

Meet folks in person, grab coffee, grab a beer.  Go for a walk, a run, whatever. 

Meeting over a table, in person, entirely changes the dynamic of connection. 

Humans are social creatures. 

Video conferencing is great for hacking out limited conversations but meeting IRL is a world in its own (it’s the one our ancestors used to live in).

President of Standard Water Corp | COO @ Poolify | Founder of Sutro (sold to Sani Marc) & ImpactSpace (sold to ImpactAlpha)

No alternative text description for this image

We’ve been running a swimming pool route for more than a year. It’s had its “growing pains”, but we’ve learned a ton. 

2 things: 

(1) Pool owners are simple (we knew this from Sutro). They want to know that you’ve come, the work that you’ve done, and that the pool is clean (which for them, many times, means clear). Our motto: just do good work. 

(2) You need to build with the times. With agenticAI, how can we utilize clawdbot or other tools to increase our service level and take work off the hard working guys that are cleaning the pools. We’re coming at the business from a different lens. As product folks, just building a better experience. 

At the end of the day, we know it’s not rocket science. You’re cleaning a swimming pool, measuring and treating the chemistry, but how do you take an age old buisness - see it through a different light, and make the service better? 

We’re raising a small debt round with friends and family. If you’re interested shoot me a DM! 

Couldn’t be more excited to build Poolify  alongside Anthony, Rahul, and Partin.

Why was it so hard to get a lab test for your tap water? The business model was the barrier. 

I sat down with the CEO of SimpleLab, Inc., Johnny H. Pujol, to discuss why water data has been so inaccessible for so long.

Why?

Because labs were built to service government contracts & city scale developments. 

They didn't have the infra to sell to people at home.

Thats changing. We are witnessing the democratization of environmental testing, and supported by folks like Johnny! 

Dug this episode out of the archives, and it's a must listen, check it out. 

https://lnkd.in/e5vpc8ew

I sat down with Rich Sloan, a guy who went from Flint, Michigan to the Las Vegas desert to build a company that pulls drinking water out of thin air. New episode of Liquid Assets drops tomorrow. 

Rich is the CEO of WAVR Technologies, and what he's building is crazy. Inspired by the skin of an Australian tree frog, he's developed a membrane that  a wicks water vapor out of the atmosphere. 

No fans, no coils. 

Just biomimicry. Lina - you may want to check this out. :) 

Here's what stuck with me: Las Vegas grew its population by 50% and actually decreased total water consumption. 

But even that isn't enough. 

A semiconductor company recently wanted to set up shop in Vegas and was told no... they'd use too much water. 

Real jobs lost, because infra can't keep up. 

The next decade is going to be the Decade of Water. Full episode tomorrow, subscribe at liquidassets.cc

Most international water projects fail because they’re designed for donors, not the people using them. James Leitner and I sit down to talk about his work at MissionCleanWater. 

We talked about why we need to treat rural water like a professional utility and not volunteer side projects. 

Mission Clean Water shifts the focus from just building wells to managing them like professional utilities to ensure they actually stay running.

They provide clean water access in rural Uganda by rehabilitating broken infrastructure and training local communities on long-term maintenance and financial sustainability.

We also talk about: 
- Why "quantity over quality" is killing sustainability.
- Using mobile payments (the Venmo of Africa) for water fees.
- Moving from iron pipes to stainless steel to stop the rust.

Liquid Assets: The Business of Water episode isn't live yet, but hit the link below to subscribe so you catch it the second it drops.

Are you buying premium water, or just a cool bottle? I got to sit down with Clara Sieg from Loonen, and she pointed a glaring truth about the water aisle: 

for years, we’ve paid "premium" prices for great marketing and plastic packaging, not better water.

"You don't necessarily get a premium product for the price... I don't think anybody ever set out to fill the world with plastic... but now that we know better, we can do better."

In the latest recording of Liquid Assets: The Business of Water we sit down to talk about how water is not organic, how the beverage industry is just catching up, and what really is in your water. 

Subscribe at liquidassets.cc to get the episodes right in your email.

Leslie Venetz

Outbound sales strategies, processes & skill sets for 15-50M SaaS & service orgs that need revenue-generating pipeline | Keynote Speaker | Top Sales Voice ✨#EarnTheRight to your buyer's time & attention ✨

🔥 Discover the Power of Effective Sales Training & GTM Strategy with Me 🔥

As a corporate sales trainer and sales-led GTM consultant, I am dedicated to transforming the way your team engages with prospects. Say goodbye to one-sided conversations and hello to meaningful interactions that drive results. 

Want your team to talk WITH prospects instead of AT them? Reach out to learn more today.

✉ Let's Connect! ✉

📰 Newsletter:
https://lnkd.in/eBYGfiNZ

📚 Business Book Club: 
https://patreon.com/BusinessBookClub

📺 YouTube:
youtube.com/@leslievenetz

📲 TikTok:
https://lnkd.in/ePQv7sTH

🤳 IG:
https://lnkd.in/ep5xSgX9

💡 Why Choose The Sales-Led GTM Agency? 💡

🚀 Extensive C-Suite Enterprise Selling Experience: With 15 years spent in C-suite enterprise selling, I have opened doors and penetrated the biggest logos, including AT&T, KraftHeinz, Walmart, ExxonMobil, JPMorgan, Verizon, and Target. I understand the intricacies of navigating high-level negotiations and building fruitful partnerships.

🚀 Accomplished VP & Head of Sales: Thriving in leadership roles, I have achieved remarkable success as a three-time Head of Sales. My strategic vision and ability to inspire teams have consistently led to over-achievement and revenue growth.

🚀 Early-Stage Startup Smarts: As employee #1 in a business intelligence startup, I fueled rapid growth by ramping up revenue from zero to 412K & 21 logos within 9 months post-MVP launch. I possess the expertise to guide startups through critical stages and drive substantial sales momentum.

🚀 Stellar Track Record: By nurturing SDR, BDR, ISR, AE, and CS teams, I have consistently surpassed targets and elevated overall performance. My proven ability to build high-performing, buyer-centric sales teams has resulted in tangible results and increased customer satisfaction.

🎯 Specialties 🎯

 B2B Sales & Sales Management | C-level Fortune 1000 Sales | Blue Chip Sales | SME Sales | Sales Collateral & Materials | Sales Training & Coaching | Sales Presentations | Cold Calling | Lead Sourcing | GTM Strategies | Email Sequence Creation | Outbound Campaigns | Sales Coaching | Pipelines | Business Development | Sales Strategy & Leadership | Sponsorship Sales | Marketing Campaigns | Social Selling | Content Creation | Recruitment | Onboarding | Customer Success | Account Management | Account-Based Marketing | HubSpot | SalesLoft | ZoomInfo | Prospecting | SDR & BDR Management | Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in a B2B Sales Culture

GTM  Partner

Follow Leslie Venetz, Founder of Sales Team Builder at @SalesTipsTok for daily sales tips and inspiration. 

Leslie is here to help you reach more people, build more value and close more sales.

Go from 0.02% to 30% reply rates by stopping one habit: 
Treating every signal like permission to pitch.


The signals they used did not change. 

Their sales messaging did.


Most reps get a notification, a job change, a webinar attendance, a pricing page visit, and they send the same outreach. 

Different trigger, same email. 

That mismatch is what kills trust before you ever earn the meeting.


I use a framework called POV to fix this. 

It sorts every signal into one of three buckets based on where the buyer actually is, not where you want them to be.

Join me for a live convo on how to decode signals here: https://bit.ly/3OKgMFy



📌 POV SIGNAL FRAMEWORK:

P is for Problem Unaware. 

A new job title, a funding announcement, a leadership change. 

These signals tell you something has shifted in their world, not that they are ready to talk to a vendor. 


O is for Option Aware. 

Your prospect downloaded a white paper or attended a webinar. 

They know a problem exists but they are still figuring out what solving it even looks like (or even if it’s worth solving). 

This is where most reps blow it by jumping straight to a pitch. 

Instead, keep educating and become a trusted resource while you have their attention.


V is for Vendor Aware. 

Pricing page visits, direct product questions, competitor comparisons. 
Now they are evaluating options to move from the status quo. 

Your job is to remove friction and provide answers that make it easier to buy from you.



The wrong message at the wrong moment does not just underperform. 

It actively destroys trust you already worked hard to build.


📌 I am going deeper on this with Mixmax AI on March 18th. 

Join Heath Barnett 🤙 & Melissa Gaglione ⭐️ and me  LIVE to learn how to decode your signals and use them to build and close pipeline: https://bit.ly/3OKgMFy

Leslie Venetz 

USA Today Bestselling Author | Keynote & SKO Speaker | Sales Strategist for Orgs That Outbound ✨ #EarnTheRight ✨ 2026 Goals: Read More Books & Pet More Dogs

Open article: Live Webinar: the difference between market signals and engagement signals for sales by bit.ly

Live Webinar: the difference between market signals and engagement signals for sales

I guest on 100 podcasts a year.
3 things I do to be a good guest + 2 unpopular opinions that get me rejected: 


1. I keep the most requested assets on a google doc. 

It contains all of my social links, bio options and my approved headshots. 

Those are the 3 things hosts ask for every single time so I make it easy for them to access. 

👉  You can easily make this for $0 in under 30 minutes. 



2. I am clear on where I can deliver value

I want their audience to get value so I always sense check the topics with a host before agreeing to ensure my talks tracks will benefit their listeners. 

If I am unclear on who is in their audience, I'll ask before we go live to make sure I can pivot my answers to be especially relevant to the audience. 

When I first started guesting on pods a lot of folks said I needed a 1-pager to sell myself. 

I've found that I get so much inbound / have a large enough social presence that I've not needed a 1-pager, 

BUT if you are planning to outbound with asks to guest on pods, I'd suggest you combine the above ^^^ with a section that highlights the top 5-6 areas where you'd contribute experience.

I don't think it needs to be fancy, but it should be easy to scan for relevance.



3. I batch my recordings to show up as my best self 

I like to record 3-5 podcasts on a single day. 

The night before I go to bed early and get a great night's rest. 

I wake up early so I can clear my inbox and reduce/remove any distractions before I start recording to help me be fully present. 

Batching keeps me in a flow state. These conversations really fill up my cup so I am locked in and look forward to recording days. 

This may not be accessible to you today, but I highly encourage folks to find ways to batch as much of their work as possible. 



📌 Unpopular opinions that make some hosts reject me: 


1. Unless we are friends, I don't want to be your first guest. 

Most podcasts don't make it past 3 episodes.

3 episodes also gives the host a chance to find their flow and iron out any kinks.

SO I politely decline guesting until the podcast has published 3 episodes. 



2. I don't do pre-calls 90% of the time 

At 100 podcasts a year, if I did a pre-call for each of them that would be an extra 50 hours a week on calls + the admin time of scheduling. 

I work a 4-day workweek so that would literally add almost 2 weeks of additional work each year. 

That is not the right way to spend my time.  

Unless it is a BIG deal pod & a pre-call is mandatory, I always ask to work async.




📢 What's your favorite podcast? 


Right now my absolute fav is Hidden Brain.

taplio

The Battle

Ravi Kurani

Leslie Venetz

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreRavi Kurani's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreLeslie Venetz's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Ravi Kurani

Leslie Venetz

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ravi Kurani's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreLeslie Venetz's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRavi Kurani's LinkedIn Performance