🤖 #16: Vivian's Deeptech Insider: Clarity Frameworks

Hello and welcome to #16 edition of the fortnightly Vivian’s Deeptech Insider.

In my last newsletter (Is Your Deeptech Startup Truly Scalable and Value-Driven?), I discussed the gap and misalignment between technical founders & their non-technical stakeholders, often exacerbated by issues like "language-market fit" and a lack of tailored frameworks for Deeptech startups, which have longer timelines and unique funding needs compared to sectors like SaaS or e-commerce. To bridge this gap, I’m sharing a scalable playbook I’ve developed for Deeptech startups across various sectors (AI, Healthtech/Biotech, Spacetech, Climatetech, etc.), offering strategies and frameworks to assess, accelerate, and commercialise innovations for greater value and impact.

From the 4 Ps to the 4 Cs: Translating Deeptech Challenges into Clear Business Narratives

One of my earlier and more popular posts introduced my 4Ps framework—Problem, People, Product, Profit—which I use to assess and advise Deeptech companies. I focus on how passionate founders are about the problem (not the product) by asking probing questions that reveal the depth of their research and engagement with it. This intense focus on the commercial problem, not merely the technical solution, sets exceptional startups apart.

When companies ask me how to define the Problem, I walk them through the specifics using both the 4Ps and another framework, the 4Cs (an overview of the playbook is below). For now, let's begin with the first step:

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 about more than identifying a problem—it’s about pinpointing your early adopters, refining market positioning, and clearly articulating the problem and customer definition to showcase potential to investors.

3. Champions → Communication
   Deeptech products can be hard to explain. I’ll help translate technical milestones into core features, benefits, and customer impact, ensuring they’re clear and compelling to investors and customers alike.

4. Communication → Clients
   I’ll provide guidance on tracking progress, communicating growth metrics, and updating stakeholders on the product's evolution to demonstrate how scientific advancements translate into tangible value.

Clarity around the Problem

In the early stages of a Deeptech company, amidst the complexity and chaos, uncertainty is everywhere. This is when providing clarity becomes crucial, a key insight I learned from my former CEO coach, Kevin Eyres.

To begin, the first area of clarity you need is around the commercial problem your startup is solving. This starts by answering a few key questions:

• What is the problem?

• Who is it for?

• How big of a pain is it?

• Why does this problem matter right now?

Here’s a made-up example with a clear understanding of the problem:

• What is the problem?

  • R&D managers are under constant pressure to keep the drug development pipeline moving efficiently. The traditional process is slow and costly, taking 10–15 years and requiring billions in investment, with a high failure rate (90%) in clinical trials. This long, drawn-out timeline makes it incredibly difficult for R&D managers to prioritize and advance the right drug candidates quickly. The challenge is to accelerate the pipeline without compromising the quality and rigor needed at each stage.

• Who is it for? (note: it doesn’t talk about what the product/solution is)

  • Our solution is designed specifically for R&D managers in pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and research institutions who oversee large portfolios of drug candidates in the development pipeline. These managers are responsible for ensuring that each drug progresses through the pipeline as efficiently as possible—managing budgets, timelines, and resources across multiple projects. They need solutions that can accelerate decision-making, reduce delays, and help them advance the most promising candidates faster.

• How big of a pain is it?

  • Managing a slow-moving pipeline means that R&D managers are losing valuable time and money. Every extra year in the drug development process costs pharmaceutical companies up to $1 million per day. For managers, this translates into mounting pressure to make informed, timely decisions to avoid costly delays and ensure that high-potential candidates don’t stagnate in early stages. With millions of patients waiting for treatments, the inefficiency of the pipeline exacerbates the challenge, especially for rare diseases where treatment options are limited.

• Why does this problem matter right now?

  • The need to streamline the drug development pipeline has never been more urgent. R&D managers face mounting pressure from both industry and patients for faster, more effective solutions. New technologies, such as AI and quantum computing, present an opportunity to analyse vast datasets and accelerate decision-making across the pipeline. By implementing these technologies, R&D managers can move drug candidates through the pipeline in record time, cutting years off development timelines and significantly reducing costs—helping them stay competitive in an increasingly fast-paced and resource-constrained industry.

For Deeptech founders, articulating the problem is often the most challenging step. The instinct is to focus on the brilliance of their scientific innovation or product. However, the real key to success lies in clearly communicating the commercial pain point that underpins the business. Investors, customers, and partners must first understand why the problem matters before they can appreciate how solving it creates value.

Once there’s clarity around the problem, the next challenge is translating what the company stands for, the values into a concise, compelling, and non-technical message. This makes the vision & mission relatable and actionable, helping to bridge the gap between technical breakthroughs and real-world impact.

Vision & Mission

Next, how a startup articulates its vision and mission says a lot about the founding team—their ambition, their understanding of the problem, and their transparency, which in turn reflects their confidence in executing the strategy. It’s important to distinguish between the two:

• A compelling vision communicates the long-term impact of your work.

• A strong mission defines the immediate steps you're taking to get there. This does include articulating your solution here.

Bad Examples

• Vision: To create advanced AI systems that help with the environment.

  • Why it’s bad: This is vague, lacks ambition, and does not describe a meaningful or specific long-term impact.

• Mission: We build smart systems for environmental issues.

  • Why it’s bad: This is too broad, lacking specificity about what the organisation is doing, the type of systems, or how they address environmental challenges.

Good Examples

• Vision: A sustainable future where cutting-edge AI and robotics restore ecological balance and combat climate change on a global scale.

  • Why it’s good: It clearly communicates a transformative and meaningful long-term impact, using deep tech to address a critical global issue like climate change.

• Mission: We create AI-driven solutions and scalable robotics to monitor ecosystems, optimise renewable energy deployment, and combat deforestation, using data to drive sustainable practices and environmental restoration worldwide.

  • Why it’s good: It’s action-oriented, specific, and clearly connects to the steps needed to achieve the vision, focusing on real-world applications of deep tech.

Though this may seem simple, it's often one of the most challenging tasks for technical founders. The key is ensuring your vision and mission connect your innovation to a clear business opportunity.

It’s okay if you don’t get this right or perfect straight away—building a company is an evolving process. However, if you’re not entirely clear on this yet, it’s important to recognise that and mark it as an area to revisit. Gaining clarity takes time, and that’s completely normal.

Always make space to step back and revisit these frameworks with fresh eyes. What feels unclear or overwhelming today might suddenly click and become straightforward tomorrow. Progress often comes in stages, so keep refining and adapting as you go.

Additional Points

One key point I’ll expand on in the next newsletter is the importance of saying "no." It's essential to be clear in your vision and mission about what the company doesn't do. In times of uncertainty, knowing what you don't want or stand for can help you eliminate distractions and focus on what you should say "yes" to.

After going through the previous steps, I always suggest founders try the "grandma test"—see if people can easily explain what problem you're solving and your vision. While your grandma may not be your target audience, the real goal is to get feedback from a trusted group who understands the challenges of building and scaling a Deeptech business.

This is where our expert network comes in. By connecting with peers who get it, you can test ideas, gather feedback, and make sure you're on the right track. With the right resources—like this playbook and our network—you'll get the clarity you need to determine if you're building or investing in a scalable, value-driven Deeptech business.

And remember, clarity is just the beginning. Once you’ve got that foundation, you can start applying frameworks that will help your Deeptech startup thrive in the commercial world. Keep an eye out for more clarity frameworks in upcoming posts as we work through the playbook step by step.

As always, get in touch if you want more tailored advice or access to the network.

- Vivian

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Jobs with Deeptech investors:

• Chief of Staff - Spacecadet Ventures (VC), Remote

• Investment Associate - Elevation Capital (VC), San Francisco, USA

• Fellowship - Menlo Ventures (VC), Remote

• Summer Associate - Vamos Ventures (VC), Los Angeles, USA

• Venture Capital Associate - S3 Ventures (VC), Austin, USA

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