“We're working on real-life big problems here, and they're getting bigger every year,” says Dryad Networks CFO, when talking about the appeal of working for a technology company focused on wildfires and their early detection. says one Stephan Beyer. Dryad's technology uses a platform with solar-powered sensors sensitive to specific gases, low-power wide-area networks, and ML algorithms to “sniff” a fire early in the smoldering stage. can.
Organizations such as Mada, a communications provider to the Middle East and Africa, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the United Kingdom's National Trust are in various stages of piloting and implementing Dryad's systems. But there are also many other geographic markets and opportunities, such as monitoring forest health and growth and preventing illegal logging and deforestation.
Mr. Beyer's mission as CFO is to ensure long-term financial stability and prepare the company for expansion, while also emphasizing that the larger company and its team remain focused on their chosen path. I am.
How would you characterize the lifecycle stages of a company?
We are in a growth phase. We have over 100 pilot deployments, so we have proof that our system works. A typical small-scale pilot installation costs between $50,000 and $200,000, while a “first” installation that covers a large area with sensors costs between $1 million and $5 million. So we're reaching that threshold and moving towards full commercialization.
We've raised $22 million in equity and have great investors, including A-round venture capitalists and companies like chainsaw manufacturer STIHL and Canadian carrier TELUS. We will be starting our next fundraising campaign soon, and I think we will receive a large number of applications. Let's take a look.
What are some of the challenges of becoming a CFO of a company at this early stage?
Get your company ready and structured to scale. The company has established subsidiaries in the United States and Australia. So the finance department still has some craftsmanship to do.
Operationally, in the early stages of industrializing your product, you need reliable suppliers who support your ideas and tolerate any engineering challenges. Build the hardware yourself or, in our case, work with EMS. [electronic manufacturing services] Providers who build it for us.
Another issue is what to do with working capital. Large municipalities and corporations tend to have long sales cycles and are reluctant to pay immediately. That always puts some pressure on liquidity. You always have to pay attention to that… Having enough cash to cover day-to-day operations is clearly important and an ongoing challenge for small and medium-sized businesses with small balance sheets.
Do you need to keep your hardware products in stock?
You need to have a certain amount of hardware in stock. Each EMS only has a certain production capacity (for example, 5,000 sensors per week). If you have a large installation, perhaps an order for 100,000 sensors, demand can peak. That means going to multiple EMS. A second and sometimes a third source is needed to cover the demand. We are still a young organization, so [the supplier] Upfront payments may be required, increasing the burden of day-to-day working capital.
How do you decide which opportunities and markets to pursue and which not to pursue?
As a CFO, I work with CEOs to look outside the current framework. What are the opportunities for growth? Where are the right markets? I always tell people that they need to be able to say “no” to a lot of things. We tend to get distracted by investors, customers, and other people who come up with great ideas. Probably a great idea, but not for us at this stage. Saying no is very, very important.
So, what is your core market, the market to which you would say YES, and what is it based on?
We look at the North Star. We hope to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by more than 1 billion tons by 2030 [equivalent to preventing three million-plus hectares of forest from burning]. This is what we are selling to investors. We're building our organization around that goal. That's the big story. But you also need to make money. Must show revenue. We need to be commercially successful.
To do that, we have to go to countries that unfortunately have a lot of wildfires, that have enough money to invest in our technology, and that are receptive to new technology. It's a simple standard, but if you apply it to this, you'll end up with the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Other countries also have big problems with wildfires, such as Africa, China, Mongolia, and some parts of Southeast Asia, but they are not open to this technology or have programs to fund projects. You may not have one. Therefore, they are not our priority. We can't do that. It is important to clearly define what you want to achieve and draw a conclusion.
