Philip O'Connor co-founded and led PAX Pure, an industrial water treatment startup where he developed thermal technology for purifying wastewater and scaled it from prototyping through field pilots, giving him hands-on hardtech operating experience before becoming a full-time VC. As an early member of The Biomimicry Institute with formal training in sustainable management that predates the current climate investing wave, he brings a conservation-influenced perspective that's rare among industrial VCs and focuses on technologies that align with natural systems and resource efficiency. Philip O'Connor co-founded and led PAX Pure, an industrial water treatment startup where he developed thermal technology for purifying wastewater and scaled it from prototyping through field pilots, giving him hands-on hardtech operating experience before becoming a full-time VC. As an early member of The Biomimicry Institute with formal training in sustainable management that predates the current climate investing wave, he brings a conservation-influenced perspective that's rare among industrial VCs and focuses on technologies that align with natural systems and resource efficiency.