Kevin Gast is CEO and Chairman of VVater, an innovative hard-tech company tackling the global water crisis by cleaning water in a completely new way.

Their Farady Reactor uses precise electrical pulses to destroy cells at the molecular level, allowing them to remove contaminants like microplastics,  pharmaceutical residues, and PFAS (“forever chemicals”).

In 2025, they took home four major awards: CES Best of Innovation, Time Best Invention, Inc. Best in Business, and the World Future Award – the first company ever to pull that off.

They’ve landed investors like Tim Draper (one of Elon’s first backers too), and have been awarded millions of dollars in contracts – including a brand new deal at Mustang Ridge just outside town recently.

Up to this point, they’ve treated more than four billion gallons of water, including twenty-five million gallons of waste-water they’ve transformed into clean, potable drinking water (check out Kevin’s LinkedIn for some harrowing images).

Without further ado, enter Kevin…

1. Okay, tell us about your business! What's the backstory? And how did you get your first customer?

Water has always been part of my story. Growing up in South Africa, I saw firsthand what water scarcity does to communities, the desperation, the health consequences, and the way it holds entire regions back from prosperity. 

I spent over two decades building an international conglomerate spanning construction, civil engineering, property development, and pharmaceuticals across more than 30 countries. Throughout it all, one problem kept surfacing: water. Every project, every development, and every community we touched was constrained by the same broken system, which treats water with chemicals, filters, and membranes that create as many problems as they solve.

The turning point came when I truly understood that only 1% of the world's water is available to humans, and we poison it daily with the very chemicals we use to "clean" it. 

I thought: there has to be a better way. 

What if we could use electricity instead? That question drove my father, Dr. Kevin Gast, and me to co-found VVater.

When we chose Austin as VVater's home, people asked why not Silicon Valley or New York. 

The answer was simple: Texas builds things. 

The energy here, the business environment, the people, it felt right. 

I've always believed that where you plant your flag matters, and Austin felt like a city that rewards those willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work.

The same conviction drove me toward water. 

While the world was captivated by AI and energy, I kept coming back to a basic truth: none of it works without water. 

Aquifers are depleting. PFAS are contaminating drinking water systems nationwide. Municipalities are hitting capacity with no budget to expand. The EPA estimates that we need $630 billion over the next 20 years to modernize our water infrastructure. This wasn't a prediction; it was just paying attention. The crisis was already here; most people just weren't looking.

We developed the Farady Reactor and our proprietary A.L.T.E.P. technology, the Advanced Low Tension Electroporation Process, which utilizes small amounts of electricity to destroy microorganisms, alter mineral content, and eliminate contaminants like PFAS and microplastics without adding any chemicals.

Our first customer was a property developer in South Africa who was building a new city and wanted a 5-acre beach, but only had "black water" as a feedstock. 

Another developer in Texas faced a similar challenge, as the local municipality was at capacity and unable to issue water permits. Traditional solutions would have taken years and millions of dollars. We arrived with our mobile ALPHA unit, treated the water on-site, and delivered potable water within hours. That developer became our biggest advocate, and word spread fast. When you solve an "impossible" problem, people talk.

Today, we've treated over 4.3 billion gallons of water, conducted more than 8,000 laboratory tests, and served everyone from Fortune 50 companies, such as Nestlé, to municipalities and the Department of Defense. But it all started with one developer who needed water and one team crazy enough to believe electricity could replace chemistry.

2. What's one unconventional decision you made early in your business that you believe set you apart from competitors, and how do you think it shaped your trajectory?

Limit the use of chemicals, filters, or membranes.

The entire $630 billion water infrastructure market is built on the assumption that you need chemicals to treat water. Chlorine, fluoride, reverse osmosis membranes, that's the gospel.

But the conventional approach is fundamentally broken. You're adding carcinogens to remove contaminants. You're creating massive waste streams with membranes. You're building infrastructure that costs billions and takes decades to deploy. We wanted to solve the problem, not perpetuate it.

We said no.

Instead, we bet everything on electricity. We built our Farady Reactors from the ground up, investing years into R&D when we could have taken the easy path and just improved existing technology.

That decision shaped everything. It forced us to innovate relentlessly. It attracted a certain type of investor, such as Tim Draper, who backed Elon Musk in the early days of Tesla, because they recognized that we weren't trying to be incrementally better. We were trying to change the paradigm.

Today, when we walk into a meeting with GE, Kohler, Samsung, or Nestlé, we're not competing on price against legacy players. We're offering something they literally cannot replicate: chemical-free, membrane-free, and filter-free sustainable water treatment that actually works. That unconventional decision made us uncopiable.

3. What's one book most people have never even heard of that you think is worth reading?

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.

I know what you're thinking, everyone's heard of it. But here's the thing: almost no one has actually read it. 

They've seen the movie or know the basic revenge plot, but the unabridged novel is over 1,200 pages, and it's a completely different experience. 

Most people don't have the patience for it anymore, which is exactly why it's worth reading.

What struck me isn't the revenge, it's the patience. 

Edmond Dantès spends fourteen years in prison, then methodically executes a plan that takes another decade. 

In a world obsessed with overnight success and "move fast and break things," this book is a masterclass in strategic patience. Dantès plans. He waits. He positions. And when he moves, it's with precision.

As an entrepreneur, that resonated deeply. 

Building VVater hasn't been a sprint; it's been years of developing technology, building relationships, and waiting for the right moment to strike. 

The water industry is dominated by century-old incumbents. You don't disrupt that with impatience. You disrupt it by being patient, more prepared, and willing to go the distance.

The other lesson: Dantès nearly loses himself to his obsession. The book asks whether vengeance is worth the cost. For founders, that's a relevant question too.

Are you building something meaningful, or are you just trying to prove people wrong? I've learned that the best motivation isn't revenge against doubters; it's persistence, a white light that burns so bright that not even a black hole can dim it. That's what sustains you when the journey takes longer than expected.

4. What's one belief about entrepreneurship you held when you started that you've completely abandoned, and what made you change your mind?

I used to believe that if you build something truly great, the world will beat a path to your door.

That's a lie.

The world is full of brilliant technologies that died in obscurity because their founders couldn't, or wouldn't, sell.

What changed my mind was watching inferior solutions win market share simply because they had better storytelling, stronger relationships, and more persistent salespeople. I saw billion-dollar industries built on mediocre technology backed by world-class marketing. 

It was infuriating, but it was also educational.

Now I understand that building something great is just the entry fee. The real work is convincing the world it needs what you've built. That means relentless communication, strategic partnerships, and yes, selling. Not in a sleazy way, but in a way that educates, inspires, and creates urgency. 

Sales fixes all problems and small wins=more wins=big wins.

At VVater, we've won four major innovation awards in the last year: CES Best of Innovation, TIME Best Invention, World Future Award, and Inc. Best in Business. 

First company in history to achieve that. But those awards aren't why we'll succeed. 

We'll succeed because we combine that innovation with relentless execution and communication. The best technology only wins when people are aware of it and trust the individuals behind it.

5. What's one purchase of less than $1,000 that's made the biggest impact on your happiness, health, or wealth?

My wife's engagement ring.

I bought it back in South Africa when I had far more ambition than money. It wasn't expensive by any standard, nowhere near what the jewelry industry tells you to spend, but it represented everything I believed about the future. 

I was asking her to bet on me before I had anything to show for it. That ring was a promise that I would build something worthy of her faith and that of my three daughters.

I have upgraded it since, but I'm still reminded of that commitment when I see it on her hand. Not just to her, but to the version of myself I promised to become.

It's kept me accountable through every failure, every pivot, every 3 AM crisis. When you make a promise like that, you don't get to quit. 

It also reminds me of a saying that says life is like fighting a gorilla, you don’t quit when you are tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired. Quitting or giving up has never been in my vocabulary.

The other item I'd mention is my pocket knife. I've carried one every day for as long as I can remember. There's something grounding about having a simple, reliable tool with you at all times. In a world of complexity, an investor deck, board meetings, and regulatory approvals, a pocket knife is beautifully straightforward. It does what it's supposed to do, every time. No software updates, no complications.

6. (Optional) Are you married? If so, how'd you meet your spouse, and what role have they played in your entrepreneurial journey?

Yes, I'm married.

We met in South Africa, long before VVater, back when I was building my first companies and learning the hard way what entrepreneurship actually demands. She saw me at my worst, the failures, the 3 AM phone calls, the moments when everything seemed impossible, and she stayed.

Her role in my journey is simple but profound: she keeps me grounded. When you're a CEO, everyone around you has an agenda. Investors want returns. Employees want stability. Partners want deals. Your spouse is the one person who sees through all of it and asks the questions that actually matter: Are you happy? Are you healthy? Is this worth it?

She's also my harshest critic. When I come home excited about some grand vision, she's the first to ask, "But does it actually work?" That kind of honest feedback is priceless. Every entrepreneur needs someone who loves them enough to tell them the truth.

When I accepted Inc Magazine CEO of the Year Award last year, and the Best CEO Austin award in 2024, I made sure to thank my family first. 

VVater wouldn't exist without the team, the investors, the city of Austin, but none of it would mean anything without the people who were there before any of this started.

7. If you were to recommend one under-the-radar Austin spot to another founder for brainstorming or unwinding, where would it be and why?

Anywhere in Hill Country.

I don't have one specific spot, and honestly, that's the point. You drive out past the city limits, find a quiet stretch of road, pull over, and just walk. No destination. No agenda.

My mind never stops. I'm constantly running scenarios, playing sixty strategic chess games at once, mapping out possibilities, predicting outcomes, and seeing moves ahead. 

People have come to learn my saying, “Startup life is 7 days a week, 18 hours a day, puke in the shower every morning”. It's how I've always operated, and it's served me well. But that kind of mental intensity needs release. You can't run at that pace indefinitely without finding space to decompress.

What draws me to Hill Country is how much it reminds me of walking in the bush back in South Africa. The terrain is different, but the feeling is the same, the breeze blowing through the tall grass, the openness, the silence that isn't really silent at all. 

When you grow up in Africa, the land teaches you something about perspective. It's vast. It doesn't care about your problems. And somehow, that's exactly what you need.

When I'm out in Hill Country, I can forget about everything for a brief moment. All the responsibilities, all the decisions, all the people counting on you, fade. You breathe in freedom and exhale pressure. You just have to let the land do its work.

For any founder feeling overwhelmed: get out of the city. 

Not to a trendy coffee shop or a coworking space with good Wi-Fi. Get somewhere where the horizon is bigger than your to-do list. Hill Country and a roaring fire have saved my sanity more times than I can count. 

It reminds me why I moved to Texas in the first place, there's still space here to think, to breathe, to remember what actually matters.