I thought success would make us safer. Instead, it made us easier to find.
The Ledger story brought a dozen calls. Some were serious. Others wanted free consulting, a discounted license, or a photograph with the founders. I answered the technical questions. Mara screened the offers.
One of the serious calls came from a coastal utility consortium. It wanted to fund a pilot installation in three towns, provided Breakwater could demonstrate that our system would operate through a full storm season.
The contract was larger than anything we'd handled. It would require a manufacturing partner, a team of field engineers, and a second test site.
Mara read the draft and circled the exclusivity clause.
"They want rights to every system we build along the coast," she said.
"For how long?"
"Ten
