🤖 #15: Vivian's Deeptech Insider: Is Your Deeptech Startup Truly Scalable and Value-Driven?

Jobs at Eckuity Capital, First Round, Plug and Play Tech Centre, Outsiders Fund, M13

Author

Vivian Chan, PhD
January 16, 2025

Hello and welcome to #15 edition of the fortnightly Vivian’s Deeptech Insider.

In my last newsletter, we delved into the theme of New Year, New Opportunities in Deeptech Markets. As we step into 2025, I’ve been reflecting on how to better serve the Deeptech community through this newsletter. Rather than continuing with separate investor and founder series, I’m shifting the focus to deliver actionable frameworks and practical insights for the entire Deeptech ecosystem. I’m currently at capacity with my board advisory work, so I thought it would be more scalable and beneficial to share the playbook I’ve been developing—one that I use to assess and accelerate Deeptech companies.

The central question? How Do You Know If Your Research or Deeptech Startup (or the one you’ve invested in) Is Truly a Scalable, Value-Driven Business?

I’ll be sharing how to transform scientific innovations into value-driven, commercially viable entities. However, the devil is in the details. My approach is specifically tailored for Deeptech companies—distinct from SaaS, e-commerce, or other traditional models. It focuses on frameworks, methodologies, and strategies designed to equip technical founders, investors, and stakeholders with the tools needed to assess, accelerate, and commercialise innovations, ultimately driving both value and impact.

Looking ahead, I’m considering transforming these practical insights into a comprehensive programme with a broader vision—stay tuned for exciting developments!

For now, I’ll focus on delivering practical, value-driven insights while continuing to share job opportunities only from Deeptech investors. If you’ve found the startup job listings valuable and would like them to continue, feel free to reach out and let me know!

Bridging the Gap in Deeptech

In the Deeptech space, technical founders often face a unique challenge: how to communicate complex scientific innovations to non-technical stakeholders, such as investors, clients, and partners, in a way that aligns priorities and drives value. Misalignment between these groups is all too common—technical founders are often focused on scientific advancement, while investors and non-technical stakeholders are looking for market-ready solutions that generate revenue and measurable impact. This gap can lead to frustration, confusion, and missed growth opportunities.

A key challenge is achieving language-market fit. Technical founders are accustomed to communicating with peers using technical jargon, with success often measured by the number of high-impact research papers published—work reviewed by other technical experts and tailored for a niche audience. This makes it difficult for them to present their innovations in a way that a broader audience can understand, engage with, and contribute value to.

However, the gap extends beyond just language. There are well-established frameworks and playbooks that help test, validate, and assess startups, but these have never truly been adapted for Deeptech startups. In Deeptech, the timeframes and funding requirements are traditionally longer than those of software businesses like SaaS or e-commerce, adding complexity.

Through my experience investing in spin-offs from universities, being a 2x founder, and working with Deeptech startups, I've observed common patterns, mistakes (including those I’ve made myself), and misalignments. These challenges often add additional layers of difficulty on top of the already demanding requirements for Deeptech companies to succeed—especially those that need to create new markets or develop groundbreaking products that replace existing ones.

I am compiling strategies that have worked over the years through trial and error, adapting existing frameworks to suit the specific needs of Deeptech. The order of prioritisation is also critical in Deeptech, and I will dive into this in upcoming newsletters.

I strongly believe that using the right tools at the right time, combined with the right expert guidance, can ultimately close the gap and empower founders and stakeholders to align more effectively and drive value and impact—much quicker.

Who It's For

Designed for Deeptech founders, researchers, and non-technical stakeholders—such as investors, partners, and team members—this approach is ideal for those looking to accelerate research, evaluate their current portfolio, or bridge gaps in language, expectations, and timelines.

Founders are working hard to push the boundaries of scientific innovation, but without a clear, structured way to communicate and align that work with business goals, it becomes a struggle to demonstrate progress, gain buy-in, and drive value.

Investors, on the other hand, are looking for tangible value and want to understand not only how a company is advancing scientifically, but also how that progress translates into revenue and market success.

Why It Matters

In Deeptech, over-communication isn’t just important—it’s essential. These companies often face longer timelines, numerous milestones, and require substantial capital. The clearer and more effectively you break down and communicate these steps, the more buy-in you can secure from stakeholders. More importantly, it helps you identify how others in your network can contribute value and eliminate roadblocks. Aligning everyone on the same page is crucial for success.

Recognising how busy you are building or investing in businesses, I aim to make your life easier by providing ready-to-use frameworks. These will serve as a foundation for communicating effectively without adding unnecessary complexity.

The Straightforward Deeptech Playbook

Here's a high-level overview of the transformational playbook so far:

  1. Complexity → Clarity
    Founders need to translate complex technical problems into business challenges that resonate with non-technical stakeholders. I’ll help you clearly communicate the significance of your solution, making sure everyone understands the problem you’re solving and why it matters.

  2. Clarity → Champions
    It’s not just about identifying a problem—it’s about knowing who exactly has the pain you're solving: your early adopters, aka champions. I’ll guide you in identifying the right customers, refining your market positioning, and articulating the problem and customer definition so that investors can see the potential.

  3. Champions → Communication
    Deeptech products can be difficult to communicate. I’ll help you break down the technical milestones required based on problem and champion/customer definition, into its core features, benefits, and customer impact, making sure it’s easily understandable by stakeholders—whether they're investors or potential customers.

  4. Communication → Clients
    In Deeptech, it’s not uncommon for the journey to an “MVP” to take significantly longer. During this time, it’s crucial to scale market demand alongside development, ensuring the MVP aligns with broader market needs—not just the first few sales. I’ll provide guidance on tracking progress, communicating growth metrics, and updating stakeholders on the product’s evolution. This ensures everyone can clearly see how scientific advancements are being transformed into tangible value.

Why It Works:

The playbook provides the structured, repeatable approach and clear communication needed to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders. Whether you're explaining research to investors or iterating on your MVP, I’ll help you break down technical complexities into market-focused strategies. Additionally, our expert network is a powerful tool that supports validation, testing, and assessment at each stage, which is why I’m on a mission to round up the Deeptech mafia.

I’ll be sharing more details in my upcoming newsletters, so make sure to read the next edition and spread the word to others who could benefit! With the right tools and guidance (this playbook + our Deeptech network), you’ll gain clarity on whether you’ve built or invested in a scalable, value-driven Deeptech business.

As ever, reach out if you want more tailored advice or access to the network.

- Vivian

P.S. Move my emails to your primary inbox so you see the next edition!

Jobs with Deeptech investors:

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