Dr. Avi Baruch is co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Previsico. Spun out of almost 20 years of groundbreaking research at Loughborough University, the team has developed the Flood Intel Platform - the world’s first real-time, surface-water flood forecasting system. Their mission is to save millions of lives, whilst also helping governments and businesses to save billions on the cost of flooding.
Avi and the founding team have taken Previsico from academic research to securing over 200+ customers, operating in multiple geographies, closing over £10 million in funding and scaling the team to over 50 people.
2:02 - Intro to Previsico from academic research to spun-out commercial prospect
3:52 - What moment made you realise you had a unique solution to a big problem?
5:12 - What is the scale of the problem around surface flooding?
6:25 - What were some of the benefits of starting out being incubated in an academic environment?
7:53 - What challenges did you face moving from academia into being a first-time founder?
9:58 - How did you find your CEO?
11:45 - How did you commercialise what you’re doing, and what markets did you go after first?
15:33 - When did you know the time was right to branch out into international markets?
17:18 - What frameworks do you have in place to keep you focussed as a company and avoid distractions?
19:27 - What are the main tensions in building a product that is deeply technical but also has to have clear commercial outcomes?
22:00 - How was Previsico initially funded after spinout and how has fundraising progressed?
24:21 - What do you think made you successful in your fundraising?
26:05 - How do you feel the risk resilience market has changed in the seven years since Previsico started?
28:32 - How has the team grown, and what have you done well in that process?
30:34 - What have you learnt along the way about recruiting and retaining a team?
32:05 - At what point did you feel it was the right time to bring in your People and Culture Manager?
33:48 - How has the company culture developed?
36:09 - What practical things do you do with your team to allow for feedback and to help them feel safe enough to question and give feedback?
39:32 - What’s coming up for Previsico over the next year to 18 months?
41:54 - Avi’s advice for other founders
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