DAY 01

Monday
May 4, 2026

"PREP DAY"

10:30am-3pm Check-In, Coaching & Clinics, Expo Setup at DC Water's HQO

* Early CHECK-IN (Badges & Playbooks Available)

* 12 AMAZING CLINICS by Experts in Entrepreneurship, Investing in Startups, and Work with Water-Related Clients provided at 11:00am, 12:00pm, 1:00pm, and 2:00pm (Topics & Presenters TBA)

* Presentation Coaching available (must sign up) for all Pitch & Reverse Pitch Presenters in the rooms where they will present on Pitch Day (Day 2)

* Expo Setup for Exhibitors

* Sponsored Lunch provided for Registered Participants

3:00-5:00pm Sponsored VIP Expo Preview Reception at DC Water's HQO (NEW!)

New This Year! Congressional, Federal Agency, Nonprofit Organization and Association, Think Tank and University, and Other Leadership with an interested in, authorization or oversight of programs impacting, Water and Water-Related Issues & Sectors and/or Entrepreneurship & Small Businesses to be invited to a Reception to "see, touch, and play with" innovative technologies and other solutions and get to know the WaterPreneurSHIP(TM) Community and how they can be Champions for WaterPreneurSHIP!

5:30-8:00pm Presenters' Dinner

Presenters' Dinner (Guests Welcome) at a Restaurant within Walking Distance of DC Water (Pay On Your Own or Sponsored)
Location TBA - RSVP Required for Venue Info

DAY 02

May 5, 2026

"PITCH DAY"

AKA

THE WATER STARTUP MATCHING EXTRAVAGANZA!

120 Pitches and

Reverse Pitches

in One Day!

All Sessions at DC Water's HQO

7:30am-8:00am Registration
(Light Breakfast/Coffee)

8:00-8:45am Opening General Session
and Keynote Speaker (TBA)

Don't be late for our Opening General Session! This is where you'll learn THE RULES OF THE GAME and how to get the most of your WaterPreneurSHIP(TM) Experience! You won't want to miss our Keynote Speaker (TBA) providing the latest on the State of WaterPreneurSHIP!

NOTE: We are reviewing several possible Keynote Speakers, with our final Keynote Speaker selection to be announced during our Water Innovation Nation New Year's Celebration Virtual Summit!

For ALL Pitch and Reverse Pitch Sessionshear from up to ten (10) 5-min Presentations Per Session. Follow along and take notes in your Playbook. Provide feedback and requests for follow-up meetings after every Pitch or Reverse Pitch - including VOTING FOR BEST PITCH AWARDS at the end of every Pitch!

8:45-9:00am Sponsored Break:
Find Your Next Room & Network!

9:00-10:00am Startup Pitches Round I

Room A: Heavy Industry, Manufacturing, Extractive Industries' Water/Wastewater Management & Reuse, Hard-To-Treat Wastewater, and Environmental Remediation

Room B: Point-of-Use Water/Wastewater Treatment, Global/Domestic WASH, Decentralized Water Services, Consumer-Focused Sector & Residential Systems

10:00-10:15am Sponsored Break:

Find Your Next Room & Network!

10:15-11:15am "Voice Of The Customer" Client Reverse Pitches

Hear directly from top Water Sector or Industrial, Commerical, and Consumer-Facing Clients on:

• What Is Their Most Pressing Water Challenge?
• What Solutions Are They Seeking (with Drivers & Constraints)
• How to Work With This Client (how to get in the door & who your internal champions will be!)
  

Room A: Water Sector Clients
For this Client Session, we will hear up to ten (10) 5-minute "Reverse Pitches" on critical water-related challenges from several Water Sector Clients.

We are seeking up to ten (10) Reverse Pitch Presenters representing a variety of demographics; hydrologic, hydrogeologic and weather conditions; organizational structures; political, permitting, legal, financial constraints and opportunities, including:

• Water/Wastewater Agencies, Utilities, Districts, Conservancies, Investor-Owned Companies, Public-Private Partnerships
• Stormwater and Flood/Floodplain Agencies/Districts
• Groundwater, Aquifer, Contaminant Plume and Seawater Intrusion Management
• River Basin/Watershed Management and Aquatic/Riparian/Coastal Habitat
• Combined Water and Irrigation and/or Hydropower (particularly if Federal funding/administration is involved e.g. US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineering, US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture)

This session includes requests for support with water technology as well as other functions within Water Sector organizations (e.g. Customer Service, Outreach & Communications, Billing/Accounting, Financial/Economic, Policy/Legal, Engineering, Construction, Materials, Operations & Maintenance, Planning)

Room B: Non-Water Sector Clients

For this Reverse Pitch Session, we have Reverse Pitches from up to 10 Industrial, Commercial, and Residential Clients who are seeking Solutions to Water Challenges - including high-water-use / high-water-impact industries as well as those where specific water-related needs are essential to a component of their business operations - and where changing weather and hydrologic conditions are impacting their businesses and communities they serve.

Specific industries we are considering for this session include:

• Extraction/Mining, On-site Processing, Separation, Waste Disposal, and Conveyance/Shipping of Non-Plant/Animal Based Raw Materials including Oil & Gas, Mining/Critical Minerals;
• Production and Shipment of Raw Materials from Agriculture, Livestock, and Forestry/Timber and Other Materials Grown/Raised for Consumption OR Other Uses including production and harvesting of Food/Beverage Products (including Breweries); Pulp, Paper & Packaging Products; Textiles; Leather/Tanning; Pharmaceuticals & Beauty Products; products as well as other grown materials used to produce goods and energy;
• Data Centers & Other Artificial Intelligence (AI) Infrastructure, Advanced Manufacturing (e.g. electronics, silicon chips), and Associated Energy/Power Sources to support increased use of AI and other Electronics;
• Other Manufacturing Processes Water Use, Treatment, Reuse, DIscharge, and Flood/Weather Issues - use of water/steam/vapor/ice in manufacturing for heating/cooling, mixing/separating, slurries for bonding/lubrication/moving/thickening, sanitizing
• Workforce, Landuse, and Associated Protection of Public Health & the Environment Water Use, Management, Treatment, Protection for Workforce, Human Health & the Environment throughout the Industrial Facility Lifecycle (construction, operations, decommissioning & restoration)
• Water-Related Transportation & Associated Infrastructure e.g. shipping/ferries; navigation & dredging; bridges, ports and harbors; coastal and offshore infrastructure; associated water quality/ecosystem impacts
• Water-Related Impacts on or by Land/Air/Space Transportations e.g. impact of salts and de-icing chemicals on stormwater, impacts of floodings and changing weather/hydrology on transportation infrastructure
• Military-Specific Water Transportation and Other Water Needs Ships and Boats (Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps as well as specialized Army and Air Force Watercraft) and MIlitary Water Logistics
• National Security & International Stability Water Considerations
• Buildings and Land Use, Real Estate and Insurance and Associated Water Rights (where applicable)
• Healthcare, Hospitals and Pharmaceuticals
• Fisheries, Seafood, Habitat, Aquatic Recreation, and Other Stream/River, Lake, Coastal, Ocean, Arctic/Antarctic Resource and Ecosystem Management & Restoration
• Hydropower (All Scales) and Associated Uses of Dams and Reservoirs (e.g. Recreation)
• Non-Hydro Power Production, Distribution and Associated Cooling and DIscharge Issues
• Commercial Water Uses, Wastewater, and Weather-Related Impacts particularly for high water use, high water quality requirements or impacts, high risk from flood/wet weather, sea level rise, or drought
• Community/Economic Development in Water-Dependant Communities/Economies e.g. coastal and riparian commercial activities, fisheries and agriculture, tourism, vacation & retirement real estate, parks & recreation

11:15-11:30am Sponsored Break:
Plan Who To Have Lunch With (including Hackathon!), Visit Expo and Find Your Next Session!

11:30am-12:30pm WaterPreneur Pitches Round II

Room A: Water Supply, Drinking Water, Reuse, Watershed Planning & Weather/Disaster Planning & Recovery

Room B: Residential, Commercial, Food & Beverage, Aquaculture, Water Recreation/Tourism

Hear Pitches from up to 10 Startups per session - follow along and take notes in your Event Guide - VOTE and provide feedback and requests for follow up after every Pitch!

12:30-1:30 Sponsored Lunch & Hackathon/Reverse Hackathon

Connect over lunch with Presenters from the first 2 Rounds of WaterPreneurs and Clients you heard this morning as well as with the Investors/Funders, Entrepreneur Support Programs, and Round 3 WaterPreneurs while refueling for the afternoon sessions! Box lunches provided to ensure you can quickly get your food, get seated and start connecting!

We deliberately do NOT have a luncheon speaker in order to maximize opportunities to connect over lunch. We also arrange seating for Startups interested in connecting with specific Clients to "Hack" the Challenges they have presented! Use this time to discuss the morning sessions, exchange ideas, and build connections that extend beyond the event!

NOTE: There is no scheduled break before the afternoon sessions - make sure you allow time to take care of yourself before the next sessions start!

1:30-2:30pm "Show Me The Money" Investors/Funders Reverse Pitches (From Ideation to Exit!)

Room A: Venture Capital & Angel Investor & Corporate Ventures (Later Stage/With Traction)

Room B: Federal Funding/Innovation Contracting & Foundations (Earlier Stage/Pre-Traction/Pre-Seed)

Find the funds you need to start and build your company!

• Investors share their "thesis" or investment strategy (what they fund, how they decide, what they offer Startups, when and how to get considered)
• Federal Funding/Innovation Contracting and Foundations share their focus, selection process, and how to get started!

2:30-2:45pm Sponsored Break: Connect with Investors/Funders and Show (or Visit) the Expo!

2:45-3:45pm Start Pitches Round III

Room A: Municipal Wastewater, Stormwater, Reuse/Desal, Floods, Disaster & Emergency Prediction/Preparation/Recovery

Room B: Water Resource & Ecosystem Restoration, Rural & Remote Water Systems, and BlueTech & BlueFood (Oceans, Arctic Regions and Coastlines, Maritime/Navigation, Seafood & Fisheries)

Hear Pitches from up to 10 Startups per session - follow along and take notes in your Event Guide - VOTE and provide feedback and requests for follow up after every Pitch!

3:45-4:00pm Sponsored Break: Our last break of the day! Get Ready to Hear from Ecosystems of Support

4:00-5:00pm Ecosystems Of Support: WaterPreneur Support Programs

Find those Startup Incubators, Accelerators, Innovation Hubs and Communities that can support you through your development and growth, getting you ready and opening doors to investors, funders, and clients! Also includes Pitch Competitions, Challenges, and Prizes. These include local/regional, national/international, Water-Specific and Water-Related as well as Deeptech, Smart Systems, AI and more! Supporting WaterPreneurs From Ideation to Exit!

Room A: Later Stage Accelerators, Prizes and Challenges (Companies with Traction Through Exit)

Room B: Earlier Stage Incubators/Accelerators, Entrepreneur Training & Support Programs, Hubs and Clusters, and Initial Pitch Opportunities

5:00-5:30pm GRAND FINALE!
The Future of Water Entrepreneurship & Best Pitch Awards!

Stick around for the GRAND FINALE with a presentation on The Future of Water Entrepreneurship & Best Pitch Awards for each of the 6 Startup Pitch Sessions!

5:30-7:00pm Sponsored Reception!

Time to build those deeper connections over food and beverages before heading to dinner at one of the many restaurants in DC's Ballpark Area and The Yards!

DAY 03

May 6, 2026

"POLICY, PARTNERSHIPS & PERSONNEL DAY"

8:00-9:30am Washington Insiders Breakfast (Capitol Hill Venue TBA)

Sponsored Breakfast with Washington Insiders providing perspectives on the latest Congressional and Federal Agency Policy Developments related to Water and Entrepreneurship PLUS a quick review of how to conduct a meeting with policymakers and regulators

10:00am-12:00pm WaterPreneurs Congressional Briefing (Capitol Hill Venue TBA)

Join us on Capitol Hill for a special Congressional Briefing by Water Startup Founders on innovative approaches to America's Greatest Water Challenges and Support for Startups (Sponsored Lunches May Be Available - Must RSVP)

1:00pm-5:00pm WaterPrenuerSHIP(TM) Goes Global! Forum International-Focused Venue TBA (NEW!)

New this year! For US WaterPreneurs who want to bring their Solutions to other countries, and to International WaterPreneurs who want to bring their Solutions to the US, what are the rules of the game now? We'll address such issues as:

• Tariffs and Supply Chain
• Visas for Founders and Co-Founders
• Buy American Act (BAA) and Trade Agreement Act (TAA) Requirements
• Opportunities for Partnerships and Distribution/Licensing Agreements

5:30pm-8:00pm WaterPrenuerSHIP(TM) Career Opportunities (i.e. Fed-To-Tech H2O) (NEW!)

New this year! Back by popular demand, we are planning to bring back our WaterPreneurSHIP(TM) Career Opportunities and Intro to WaterPreneurSHIP(TM) Program for Water and Other Professionals seeking to enter the world of WaterPreneurSHIP(TM) by joining a Growing Water Startup as a Team Member, Co-Founder or Advisor.

Originally produced under the title "Fed-To-Tech H2O," this program includes opportunities for Growing Startups to "Reverse Pitch" on their Company, Culture, and Current OR Upcoming Hiring Needs (e.g. when they receive new money from Investors or Funders, or a new Client Contract/Customer Order). We also share opportunities available to support Growing Startups to expand their teams.

This program includes opportunities for (but is not limited to) Former Federal Employees, Contractors, and Grant Recipients - including all ages and career stages!