Women in Waste Management : From lawyer to water warrior

"I started off as an attorney but honestly, I never saw myself in that world," admits Virginia Szepietowski as we chat via video call. It is truly hard to imagine this energetic young woman as a wig-wearing London attorney. Much more fitting seems her wish to "solve a problem I profoundly care about". Her entrepreneurial family – father an attorney, mother in property– showed her that business ownership was possible. But it took the COVID pandemic to spark her first venture into entrepreneurship.

Together with her co-founder, engineer Chris Braithwaite, she founded a COVID diagnostics start-up. "It grew super-fast, and I learned so much in such a short time," the 30-year-old remembers. Going back to being a full-time attorney was not appealing any more. When the opportunity to join an innovation strategy consulting firm, Founders Intelligence, arose, she took it. During her time there, she had the opportunity to gain in-depth experience in a variety of industries, from FEMtech to veterinary diagnostics. 

When Founders Intelligence was acquired by conglomerate Accenture, she decided to try something new and joined a venture-backed research programme in London. That choice was quite deliberate. "At that time, I started open water swimming and sprint triathlons. And I realised that the water quality is awful at times. I had some really grim experiences," Virginia explains. Determined to work on something impactful, she spent six months diving deep into water treatment – studying management practices, treatment methods and existing tools. "I spent a lot of time talking to operators, just absorbing everything I could," she remembers. Her research revealed a crucial insight: the biological aspects of water treatment were both the most challenging and the most neglected part of the process. "The operators told me they lack both the tools and the people," she discovered.

An idea started to grow in her head: to build state-of-the-art technology tools for the operators who manage (waste)water every day. To give them real-time water quality insights and clear, actionable guidance. In 2024, she teamed-up with her former partner-in-crime Chris to launch Nyad. Named after the water nymphs of Greek mythology who guard rivers and streams, it connects to their bigger mission while also having "a cute little ring to it", Virginia adds with a laugh.

Armed with the problem, vision and mission, Virginia set out to build a team. She found like-minded people in Tuscaloosa, US, through the Techstars Founder Catalyst Program – a collaboration between the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority aimed at creating the "Silicon Valley of Water". Nyad is now part of that start-up ecosystem.

"I'm incredibly proud of the team I assembled to bring this vision to life," Virginia reflects. "Articulating our mission clearly has been crucial, especially with such a small team where everyone needs to be fully bought in and aligned on our shared goals."

Getting to the operators meant "literally pounding the pavement, knocking on doors and cold outreach". Her persistence paid off. She gained access to an industry that is notoriously closed off and conservative. "I spent months on site listening, watching and learning how they work. I didn't have a little black book of contacts. I had to build every single relationship from scratch, until people started to take us seriously. Step by step, we earned our way into the inner circle of an industry that takes decades to break into. That's actually what I'm most proud of – that we've done this as complete outsiders." This, and that "a half-baked concept in my head a year ago is now used and people are benefitting from it".

Nyad was originally planned as a digital troubleshooting tool. But as they dug deeper, they realised logging microscopic images is not enough – they need interpretation. They incorporated AI. A huge step for an industry notoriously lacking anything digital.

Their AI copilot, Nymph, works like having a microbiologist in your pocket. Operators upload microscopic images and chat with the software in plain English to get step-by-step recommendations for peak microbial performance.

This evolution reflects one of Virginia's key lessons: your final product will never match your original plan. Successful founders stay flexible.

"As a founder, you also have to be eternally, ridiculously optimistic. If you don't believe in what you're building, nobody else will," Virginia says. For her, failure isn't about hitting bumps or pivoting – "that's all just part of the journey".

She's seen other founders struggle when "they're married to the solution, not the problem". Her approach: "Love the problem." What they're building now is drastically different from their original idea. "The only way I could truly fail would be to walk away before giving myself a real chance to solve it."

Another key lesson for her: "Don't wait until you feel like an expert. If you wait until you feel ready, you will just never start. Get out there and just do it," she says – especially regarding women founders: "Women are particularly prone to waiting until we're overqualified and overprepared – we tick every single box before putting ourselves forward, which men generally do less," Virginia observes. Instead of waiting for the perfect plan, she jumped in and "cared enough about the problem to learn faster than anyone else" by talking to customers and listening "ten times more than I pitched, even when the product was still half-baked".

Virginia also emphasises the power of community. "Surround yourself with other women," she advises. In Alabama's start-up ecosystem, she found "real powerhouse women" who believed in her mission. "The founder journey is so intense – often too intense to do alone. Having other people in your corner makes all the difference in the world."

This intensity Virginia mentions, requires deliberate balance. Her daily non-negotiable is exercise. She got into fitness two years ago and encourages her team to hit their co-working space gym anytime. Her secret weapon? "Side quests" – the more ridiculous, the better. Past missions included mastering the perfect omelette ("I made more omelettes than you could imagine") and bodybuilding, where she actually competed.

Between quests, she pursues smaller joys like "the eternal search for the best croissant" or perfecting cappuccinos. "Little things that switch your brain off and allow you to be a normal person too."

This authentic, unconventional approach extends to how Virginia navigates her professional world. Being a young woman in this industry presented challenges, though she deliberately refused to frame it as a disadvantage. "Being a woman in this industry can actually be super powerful when you're not the same as everybody else in the room. People notice – sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. But either way, you have their attention, and it's what you do with that attention that matters," Virginia explains. She stayed completely authentic, never trying to be "one of them" – "Because I'm not!" But by delivering results, staying true to her vision and demonstrating real impact, the labels began to fade. "If my being in this space signals to other young women that there's a path for them here, that's a legacy I'd love to leave behind. I'd be really proud of that, because this industry is definitely male-dominated."

About: Virginia Szepietowsi, 30, is a British entrepreneur who has recently relocated to the United States. As co-founder & CEO of Nyad, she is building AI tools to help wastewater operators run their plants more efficiently and affordably. LinkedIn | Website