The Business Leadership Podcast

You are listening to the Business
Leadership Podcast with Edwin.

Paul Newton: Hello.

Hello.

I am Paul Newton, creative producer
of the Future Narrator miniseries,

and I'm joined by Edwin Frondozo, host
of the Business Leadership Podcast.

And we're here with one of the finalists
from the Web Summit Vancouver 2025 pitch

competition, where we're exploring how
today's leader shape the future, not

just through strategy, but through story.

We believe that a strong point of
view is what inspires communities.

Builds movement and cuts through
the noise in uncertain times.

So let's dive into this conversation.

Joining us today is Carlin
CEO, and founder of Aqua Eye.

She's the inventor of Aqua Eye, a
handheld sonar sonar device that uses

AI to help first responders quickly
locate people missing in the water.

a background in engineering, and over
10 years as a lifeguard, Carlin created

a solution that is now used by hundreds
of rescue teams around the world.

Her goal is bold and urgent
to make aqua eye a lifesaving

essential in every water rescue.

Over to you, Edwins.

Edwin: Welcome to the
Business Leadership Podcast.

Carolyn, how are you doing, Carlin?

How are you doing?

Carlyn: Doing well.

Thanks for having me, and don't
worry, everybody does that.

Edwin: Yeah, I mean, it's, it's,
it's, it's a great name and, uh,

thank, thank you for joining us.

I guess just to jump right in, if you
could share with us about Aqua Eye

and specifically what is the problem
that you are solving when it comes to

water rescue and emergency response?

Carlyn: So in a typical scenario, so
we're in Vancouver, we're drowning

every summer if somebody goes missing
and a nine one one call is placed,

um, a lot of things happen at once,
so you're gonna have mutual aid.

Show up in the way of firefighting teams,
maybe police, maybe search and rescue.

There could be helicopters, there
could be boats, there could be divers.

Uh, everybody f floods to the scene.

Then once they arrive, it usually
takes time, like often an hour or

more for people to come up with an
action plan and figure out how to

get equipment in the water, whether
it's gonna be boats, whether they're

gonna send in divers, they're gonna
start asking bystanders for questions

to figure out the last scene point.

Um, this issue happens all around
the world, uh, and it, it takes

away from those precious minutes
what rescuers call the golden

hour, but really that, that first.

Time that you arrive on scene, you
have, it's a very critical window

where you can actually save a life
and it's being wasted by, by waiting.

Eye allows rescuers to get
in the water in instant.

Uh, they, you pick up the device, you run
in the water, you put it under, you pull a

trigger and you start scanning so seconds
and you're in the water and seconds before

you're receiving data, so you can scan the
area of a football field in one minute.

the location of the victim rather than
archaic methods where you're either

using people power to do some sort
of grid search pattern or a side scan

sonar device where you're, you're
getting the boat in the water and

you're driving this zigzag pattern.

Aqua does things immediately.

Edwin: Wow.

That's, um, well first off, thank you
for sharing and something that, you

know, I'm sitting here in Toronto,
um, and we have, we're beside a

big water source as well, but I.

I mean, it's almost a, a world
that is non-existent for those

who aren't accustomed to being on
the water, living in the water, or

even being part of water safety.

Um, so thank, thank you for sharing that.

And it's almost mind blowing
in terms of that, what you had

shared that before Aqua Eye.

It was, there was a lot of time wasted.

Do you have any like, um, stats
in terms of like, success rates

now and, and the changes that that
that the, the effect of, of Aqua.

Carlyn: I mean, I'm gonna
address two points there.

One, it is, it is a misconception that
you know, you gotta live next to a

lake or an ocean to need this device.

300,000 people drown every year.

And, and for every one person who drowns,
five others are injured, often suffering

stroke-like symptoms from brain damage.

Aqua has been used to recover people
in retaining ponds in ver 10 feet

bodies of water you just can't
see in rivers, in lakes, in ocean.

Uh, there's a lot of water
in our world and a lot of our

world lives or works near it.

So it's important to remember that.

Yeah, this is a global problem.

Uh, the WHO has called it silent epidemic.

For that reason though, we kind of.

over it a little bit or think that we're

Edwin: Mm-hmm.

Carlyn: as well as we can,
and that's totally not true.

our customers are seeing a
90% reduction in search times.

So we've

Edwin: Wow.

Carlyn: yesterday a news report came in
where a team had been out there for hours

searching with all standard equipment.

A new customer just trained on the device.

The day prior shows up.

10 minutes later, they
find the two victims,

Edwin: Wow.

Carlyn: and adult.

Who had been fishing nearby and fallen
in, and our argument, our frustration

is had that customer a customer that
was nearby, they could have been saved.

Um, and it's really time to execute that.

That's our issue right now.

We need more volume of our
product out there, so it's in the

right place at the right time.

Edwin: Oh, that's amazing.

And that's, it's like I said, for
me it's, it's uber mind blowing.

And you're, you're, you're correct.

I was thinking about all the times
I went fishing here in, in Ontario,

where we have hundreds of lakes too.

And you're right, there's, and
sometimes those are murky waters, right?

Like it doesn't have to be deep.

You, you're gonna lose, I could barely
see the fish at the bottom of the water.

So, um, it's, it's definitely something
that you're right, I don't think

about, especially those who are, are
in different areas of, of the world.

Um, car curious, you know, the
product that Aly is, you know,

what is your unique point of view?

Your POV went, you know, what
do you bring to this problem?

Carlyn: I think working

Edwin: I.

Carlyn: lifeguard taught me firsthand what
it feels like in an emergency situation.

Um.

I'm also married to a police officer
and get stories daily about the,

the time to make decisions and the
the way processes need to flow.

So my original vision was for this device
to be used by a 16-year-old kid on a

beach having the worst day of their life.

so while we are high tech,
simplicity is at our core.

'cause this thing needs to be
fast and simple and dependable.

I also feel that.

There is a lot of push to create better
imaging in, in all areas of tech right

now, you can't change the speed of sound.

And so you can go down the path of
making a, a highly, uh, defined image.

But if we really wanna harness
ai, we need to lean on in this

situation, AI can see things much
faster than we can with our own eyes.

So you don't need to
know what it looks like.

The thing that you're looking for,
you just need to know where it is.

And that's really where we're,
we're pushing, uh, the bar is, is

try to make this thing as fast as
possible, um, to, to save lives.

Edwin: And I, I think just, just to
what you're saying, and then when it

comes to technology, it almost sounds
like, yes, imaging is great and it

may catch up eventually, but the
urgency is now to save people today,

and let's use the, the technology
of it today coupled with ai right.

Paul Newton: You.

Um, so you, you have a lot of
experience as a, as a lifeguard and,

and then I guess I think I'm pro I
read something in a, a bio or that

you, um, you know, just being in.

Uh, in tech, and then you had some
time, uh, away, uh, from, from

work where you could focus on this.

And what, what made you decide
to, to do work in this, this area?

Carlyn: Yeah,

Paul Newton: yeah.

There you go.

Carlyn: So, uh, so I, yeah, you're right.

I, um, I was working for a
biomedical engineering startup.

Uh, I got my master's in
microelectronics, joined that company.

That was awesome.

Such a whirlwind, uh, boreal
Genomics here in Vancouver.

It was a biotech company.

Um, but we, a bunch of us were
laid off one day and this.

Idea had been in my PO
back pocket for ages.

Um, and I just thought, okay, I've got
three months of ei, like what can I,

can I like, can I get this thing off

Edwin: Yeah.

Carlyn: And so I tr I did and like
three months later it was like, okay,

I've got a worthy prototype here.

Um, let's for my, find my first customer.

And so I gave myself another three months
and then gave myself another three months.

And so I just kind of kept
holding myself accountable to.

To progress while working other odd jobs
as like a contract hardware engineer

to kind of pay the bills and stuff.

Um, but it was really that, like,
just felt, the big thing was is I

was in a company that was trying
to solve early, it was early cancer

diagnostics with, you know, 40 incredibly
intelligent people fighting this, um.

yet ingenious disease.

And made a lot of sense that
this was such a hard problem.

And on the flip side, I was
looking at drowning and I was like,

this is such a simple problem.

Why can't we fix this?

And so when I was kind of given that
gap in my career, I'm gonna say given

I was given a gap in my career, uh,
and I took it, uh, it just seemed like

the right time to, to give it a try.

Paul Newton: Oh, wow.

I, I love the way you talk about, uh,
about the, uh, the place where you got

laid off from and just the work that was
being done, but also just, um, you know,

like how fortuitous it was to that you
got to focus on, on a problem that you

always thought was like, really pressing.

And like in your experiences,
a lifeguard like.

you been in situations where, um,
where rescues were, were necessary

or were, you know, you could
see what was going on firsthand?

I.

Carlyn: like, I mean, I think
we, I worked in a pretty busy

city, but I, I think, I've

Edwin: But I.

Carlyn: do an open water
search in real life.

Um, but we would, you know, in
the summertime talking to friends,

one of them working at a nearby
camp and in a lake situation, and

she's like, I can't sleep at night.

I'm having nightmares because if I
don't count that head, if I don't, if I

miss one of my scans and I don't notice
somebody's gone under, she's like, how

in the world are we ever gonna find them?

And I think just sharing the horror of
our imaginations of what could happen.

Was enough to, to kind of propel me
into it was it was compelling enough

for me to try to find a solution.

then it was interesting 'cause that's
really where the product started.

In 2020, we

Paul Newton: Yeah.

Carlyn: for the purpose of camps
and lifeguards, and then COVID hit

and all the camps closed and all the
lifeguards were laid off and the world

Paul Newton: Yeah.

Carlyn: so quickly we pivoted to fire
and then all of a sudden this market

that I thought was, you guys can't
see me, but yay big, just exploded.

Um, we sell to the US Navy Seals.

Uh, we are, there is, you know,
we're talking to Border Patrol,

US Air Force, we sell to massive.

Um.

Military level organizations in
Indonesia and India, uh, you know,

statewide responses all over in Europe.

Um, this problem that I saw as a
lifeguarding issue actually became

just a humanitarian problem.

Paul Newton: Oh, well, I mean, there's
so many things to, to different people.

You know, like you're saying that, uh, to
a, like a camp counselor, it's peace of

mind, just like doing their head count.

And um, and I just think,
you know, like, oh, you know,

there's a water rescue and like.

Fire, ambulance, all these different
people like showing up and like, know,

how do you even start to coordinate that
and then you, the golden hour is wasted.

so, so tell me like what, like
how did, uh, so now what do they

do now that there's, uh, Aqua?

I like, what do they like?

Carlyn: Yeah.

So the next, so we've learned
a ton by having our product

in our customer's hands.

We've launched

Paul Newton: Yeah.

Carlyn: Pro, which is its superior,
uh, product in so many ways, most in

its ability to, uh, I mean it's just
the us much more usability friendly.

Can operate in many different environments
because unlike lifeguards who go to

the same place every day, our customers
are, are in wi varied environments.

Um, but the biggest thing
is its ability to network.

And so Command Hub is our,
our next launch, uh, will be

out this summer, which is.

Essentially it's a tablet, but
it's, it's a, it's a full system.

So now that you, you can have scanners in
the water and a commander on shore who's

getting these scans and they're being
overlaid on top of a satellite image, uh,

at the symmetry map, so they know depth
and they can coordinate and recognize.

know, this is what our customers
are doing in their heads,

okay, where have we scanned?

Where have we not scanned?

We've got three targets.

How do we prioritize
which ones we dive first?

Now they can see that all on a map.

Um, and we're also kind of working on
other projects to expand our product

line, to bring more pieces of data
into a, into a system and a platform

so that if you were, you know, a
statewide response handling a flood on

the coast of California, for example,
how do you mobilize everybody and

ensure that that communication line is.

Is one.

Um, because right now every team at
Mutual Aid that shows up, they're

either taking over the situation
or adding to the current search

and the communication lines.

I mean, if you look at the Baltimore
Bridge collapse, um, or the DC

plane crash, those are perfect
examples of situations where so

many people want to help, but.

How the heck do you coordinate them?

Whereas if you had first person on
scene clockwise in the water, in

seconds, that data's coming in as
the next track is arriving, they're

getting that information upon arrival.

Now they're making plans.

They can coordinate, they know what's
happening before they even arrive,

just to systematically layer, um,
information on top of information so

that that communication stream is called.

Paul Newton: I mean the changing the
face of everything regarding water,

water safety and water rescue, like it's.

It's, uh, it's Wow.

Um, uh, what's next?

Like, how do, how do you, uh, make
sure everyone knows about this?

Carlyn: yeah, we're, we're fundraising to
really help encourage the marketing push.

Um, we've, we we're trying
to create more video content.

We're trying to get more
news articles out there.

'cause we have so many testimonials.

Uh, you know, we're getting like weekly
information from when it's being used

Paul Newton: I.

Carlyn: But we really need
to amplify that message.

And I mean, I can see by the expression
on your guys' faces, some of these things

are like, oh, I never thought of that.

Most of the general public hasn't.

And I think that's, that's
why it's a silent epidemic.

It happens.

You hear about it in the news of somebody
tragically uh, drowning, but then it

kind of okay, and you put it aside.

Uh, I think general awareness is, is
critical because people need to know

that this exists and they need to support
their communities to, to get units in hand

and change the way they're doing things.

Status quo has been
around for a long time.

Uh, it's important to know that
we can do better and, and we are,

we just need more units out there.

So shout the word to, to whomever.

Paul Newton: Well, I, I only started
Open Waters swimming like three years

ago and just like, I love, but I
mean, I was always scared of water.

You know, it's just such
a big expense and like

Carlyn: very important

Paul Newton: helpless.

Carlyn: our waters in so many
ways, but yeah, to understand that.

Yeah, you need to, you just
need to be aware of the risks.

I mean, I think, um, that's another
kind of general public issue.

If you have any friends or you
yourselves do backcountry skiing, of

'em are gonna have safety equipment.

Most of them are gonna tell
a friend where they're going.

Most of them are gonna have a map a time.

They're gonna plan that out.

talk to a, anybody, a friend
going to the beach for the summer,

they're probably gonna know what
beverage is in their cooler.

That's about it.

Like the, the, there's a very drastic
shift in, in recognizing risk, and

I think that needs to be addressed.

Paul Newton: what do you see as
the, like, sort of the future?

Like how, how will do, do you see
our, our perceptions changing around

Carlyn: I think

Paul Newton: water safety?

Carlyn: that we actually can save
lives, that we can make this happen

instead of getting the whole,
there's no way you can do that.

Yes, we can.

You just need enough units out there.

They need to be in every lifeguard tower.

They need to be with every public
safety member and every fire truck ple.

They need to be everywhere
so that we're prepared and.

doing so, it will save us lives.

So much risk on our first responders.

We would love to eradicate
drowning by rescue.

So many people drown while trying to
save others, uh, or recover others.

And I think it's important that
we, we support people who do

that incredibly dangerous work.

Um, just having this unit everywhere
so that it can be actioned when it's

needed, be in the right place at the
right time, um, and in turn it will.

Save a huge amount of cost to our medical
system, um, and just as a global issue.

Paul Newton: So a lot of passion behind
this story and, uh, and the, uh, movement

that you're, you're starting and, uh,
we're, we're really honored to be able

to help spread the word with that.

Uh, Evan, do you have any,
uh, any other questions?

I.

Edwin: No, I think, um, what,
what was going through in

my mind, um, how inspiring.

The solution and how impactful it is.

And it's just, you know, for us to
collaborate and to be part of your story

and to help mobilize and share this.

'cause I'm gonna be at the
beach sometime this summer.

I mean like, oh man, I, I.

I interviewed Carlin of Aqua Eye and
it's, you know, what they could do.

Paul Newton: Yeah.

Edwin: I think part of it
is, part of it is like being

awareness of that type of stuff.

And the point I want to get at is like,
I come from the B2B software world, so

whenever I have the opportunity to talk
to entrepreneurs who are creating this

hardware and really integrating it into
industry and being very innovative,

it's just, it's just so fulfilling.

So I'm really.

I'm really proud of what you're
doing and what you're growing

and what you're doing there.

And before, before we we let you
go, I'd love it if you could just

what, first thing that comes to mind.

If you could share any thoughts,
recommendations, advice to those

business leaders or entrepreneurs
that are listening today.

Carlyn: I mean, I think you just need
strong belief in what you're doing.

Um, and try to push aside naysayers
until you've got something that

you're, you know, tangible.

I think, um, it's so much easier actually
in today's world to be doubtful and

negative than it is to be hopeful.

Uh, and I think, uh, if you've
got an idea that you think is

gonna help make the world a better
place, hold onto that and push.

'cause it's, um, you're needed.

needed.

Um, so I think just, yeah, surrounding
yourselves with people who can help.

don't hide your head in the sand.

Like it doesn't help to have an
idea that everybody's saying like,

Hey, well that's not gonna work.

You just drive ahead.

That's not what I'm talking about.

But I mean, if you have
an idea that you think.

Can get there, uh, just hone in
on it and, um, support yourself,

surround yourself with people who
are gonna gonna help you get there.

Edwin: Thank you so much,
amazing work that you're doing.

Um, thank you for your time and joining
us on the Business Leadership Podcast.

Carlyn: for having me.

It was, uh, really fun to be here.

You are listening to the Business
Leadership Podcast with Edwin.