Andy Devaney
Charles Robinson never set out to follow the script. Just two weeks into his degree at University College London, the then 19-year-old found himself in a lecture on water quality—surrounded by chemical equations and grim facts about microplastics in UK tap water—when something in him snapped. “This isn’t it,” he thought. And with that, Charles Robinson stood up, walked out, and never returned.
It was a gutsy move, especially for someone with no product, no company, and no roadmap. But Robinson had conviction—and, crucially, a hunch that real change doesn’t come from the back of a lecture hall. That moment marked the beginning of what would become one of the UK’s most compelling startup stories.
His first venture, Gelcard—a slick, pandemic-era credit-card-sized hand sanitiser—flew off the shelves, racking up millions in global sales and catching the attention of giants like Google and McKinsey. It wasn’t just a win; it was a masterclass in fast-paced innovation and customer obsession.
But Robinson wasn’t done. He’d set his sights on something even more universal: tap water. In 2021, he launched Water2 with one mission—make tap water something people trust, enjoy, and actually want to drink again. And judging by the numbers, it’s working.
Now at just 24, Robinson now leads one of the UK’s fastest-growing consumer brands. His flagship product, the Pod 2.0, is a compact under-sink filter that users can install in minutes, plumber-free. It quietly eliminates 99.99% of microplastics, bacteria, and other nasties, leaving clean, great-tasting water on tap—literally.
There’s no splashy marketing budget behind Water2’s rise. The company’s momentum has come from the ground up—kitchen counters, group chats, and Instagram reels.
Over 150,000 UK households have now installed a Water2 filter. Customers film their installs, rave about the taste, and show off water tests like proud parents at a science fair.
Even Bear Grylls got swept up in the wave. What started as a personal purchase turned into a partnership; the survivalist loved Water2 so much, he bought in—joining Robinson not just as a co-owner, but as an active design collaborator.
SHM: Take us back to that moment in the UCL lecture hall. What did you read or hear that made you walk away from your degree just two weeks in?
CR: I was sitting in a lecture, and halfway through I just thought, “This isn’t it.” Not because the subject wasn’t important, it was. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could be doing something more useful right now than sitting in that room.
I had this quiet but very real conviction that I could make a bigger difference by actually building something, not just attending lectures everyday. Two weeks in, I left. I didn’t have a product yet, but I knew I could do more good out there than I could in a lecture hall.
SHM: What gave you the conviction, at 20, to believe you could change the way a nation thinks about water?
CR: The more I learned, the more absurd it felt that millions of homes were drinking water that could be so much better, and doing it without question.
I didn’t need to be a scientist to know the UK deserved better water. I just needed to build something simple and reliable. That belief snowballed into a mission.
SHM: What lessons from launching Gelcard did you carry into Water2?
Gelcard taught me how to test ideas in the real world, fast. I learned not to get caught up in making things perfect too early. More importantly, it taught me how to listen to customers in a way that actually shaped the product. Water2 exists because I stopped assuming and started asking.
SHM: You’ve built Water2 with no outside investors. Was that a conscious decision from day one?
CR: Yes. I didn’t want someone who didn’t care about water telling me how to build this. Investors often want fast returns. I wanted impact, and impact takes time.
Being bootstrapped meant we had to grow slowly at first, but it also meant we could focus entirely on our customers, not pitch decks. That being said, we’ve had a couple of impact-driven outside investors join us in the last couple of years, including Bear Grylls.
SHM: You’ve described Water2 as a mission more than a product. What is the mission in your own words?
CR: To help people enjoy their tap water again; without fear, without hassle. It’s not about “fixing” water; it’s about rethinking the way we treat it in our homes.
Our mission is to reconnect people with the most essential thing they consume every day, and make that better for the planet too.
SHM: How did you land on the design and function of the Pod 2.0, and what makes it different from everything else out there?
CR: We started under the sink because it’s invisible. Once it’s installed, it’s out of the way. But most under-sink filters are bulky, hard to install, or require plumbing.
Our pod is small, plumber-free, and installs in 5–10 minutes. What makes it special is the balance: real performance, everyday simplicity, and a design that doesn’t require rocket science to install.
SHM: Bear Grylls discovered Water2 as a customer. How did that initial conversation unfold, and when did you realise it could become a full-scale partnership?
CR: He had ordered a filter for himself, we had no idea it was him. A few weeks later, he reached out and said he loved the product. I honestly thought it was fake at first. But when we got on a call, what struck me was how aligned we were on the bigger picture.
He cared deeply about product, sustainability, and simplifying things that have been overcomplicated. He didn’t come in with a pitch.
He came in with questions, and a genuine desire to help. That’s when I knew this could be more than a one-off. It felt like the start of something we could build together.
The most remarkable thing? The first time we met in person to finalise our relationship, rather than a boardroom meeting with lawyers, we paraglided together off a Swiss mountain and sat on a bench and talked about the mission – that’s Bear for you!
SHM: From viral word-of-mouth to 150,000 homes, what’s been the biggest growth unlock for Water2?
Word-of-mouth. We never chased virality, we chased trust. Every time someone told their friend or filmed an install or compared their tap before and after, that did more than any paid ad. The unlock was letting customers speak for us, instead of speaking to them.
SHM: What’s your approach to leadership, especially as a young founder guiding a mission-led team?
CR: I don’t think of myself as someone who is above. I try to lead from within the team. That means being involved, not hovering above. I’m on the same group chats, I jump into customer support when we’re slammed. I help pack boxes when needed. It’s not about proving a point, it’s just how I think good teams work.
SHM: What does success look like to you beyond revenue or market share?
When a family switches to Water2, cuts out bottled water, and tells their neighbour, that’s success. When someone installs it for their elderly parents, or uses it for their newborn’s bottles, that’s success. If we can shift behaviour across a country just by being better, we’ve won.
SHM: At 24, you’ve built one of the UK’s fastest-growing consumer brands. What keeps you grounded?
CR: Every week we get reviews from people saying they didn’t expect to taste a difference, but then they did. Or parents telling us their kids are drinking water now without complaining.
Those messages are everything. It’s easy to get caught up in growth and metrics, but then you read something like that and remember why you started. It’s not just about filters, it’s about how something small can shift someone’s whole day.
Day to day, I spend most of my time in our office in West London, which is near the apartment I rent. I keep things simple.
SHM: What’s the one misconception people still have about water that you wish more understood?
CR: That if it comes out of the tap, it must be perfectly fine. Most people don’t realise that “legal” and “optimal” aren’t the same thing when it comes to water quality.
Just because something meets government standards doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for your body or your home. There are trace chemicals and microplastics.
I wish more people understood that better water isn’t about panic. It’s about care. It’s about noticing the things we usually overlook, and making them better.
For Charles Robinson, the mission is less about sales and more about the stories. Families using filtered water for newborns. Friends convincing each other to ditch plastic bottles. Kids drinking tap water without pulling faces. These are the moments that matter.
He didn’t need a lecture to tell him that.
