Case Study: Epiphany Water Solutions

Strategic Market Repositioning & $2M Capital Unlock

The Original Vision

Epiphany Water Solutions was founded to address the global water crisis by deploying purification systems in underserved villages across Africa.

The mission was compelling.

The capital strategy was not yet aligned with investor appetite.

The Challenge

To move forward, the company required angel funding and corporate sponsorship to validate the technology in-market.

However:

• Local investors in Pittsburgh showed limited interest in early-stage ventures targeting international markets.

• The business model lacked near-term revenue visibility.

• The investor positioning did not align with regional capital priorities.

The company needed more than funding.

It needed strategic market repositioning.

Strategic Market Repositioning & Business Model Pivot

Rather than abandon the global mission, we executed a disciplined business model pivot grounded in regulatory and economic reality.

We identified a pressing domestic opportunity:

Fracking wastewater treatment — a major environmental and regulatory market opportunity in the United States.

At the time:

• Natural gas extraction faced public scrutiny.

• Regulatory pressure around wastewater disposal was increasing.

• Energy companies required scalable purification solutions.

The same purification technology originally intended for African villages could be redeployed to treat fracking wastewater.

This growth realignment transformed:

• A mission-driven international play
  into

• A commercially viable domestic revenue strategy.

Revenue Strategy & Capital Strategy Alignment

The pivot created immediate advantages:

• Clear domestic demand

• Identifiable enterprise customers

• Defined regulatory drivers

• Monetizable industrial use case

This enabled:

• Credible revenue modeling

• A fundable pilot structure

• Investor positioning aligned with regional capital networks

The new market expansion strategy positioned Epiphany not as a humanitarian startup — but as an environmental technology solution operating inside a regulated U.S. market.

That shift was decisive.

Results

Within three months:

• $2M secured in private and corporate funding

• Consol Energy purchased a $500K minority stake

• A live pilot validated purification of fracking wastewater

The pilot established commercial credibility and unlocked sustained growth.

Epiphany credits that first repositioned pilot with catalyzing its long-term trajectory.

Strategic Significance

This case demonstrates how:

• Strategic market repositioning can unlock capital where mission alone cannot

• Business model pivots require disciplined revenue strategy alignment

• Capital strategy must reflect investor psychology and regulatory opportunity

• Growth realignment accelerates funding momentum

• Market expansion strategy depends on credible revenue logic

Fresh vision launched the company.

Disciplined commercial repositioning funded it.