🤖 #24: Vivian's Deeptech Insider: Is Your Story So Clear Even the Janitor Gets It?

Jobs at SpeedInvest, Techstars, Omers Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Team8

Author

Vivian Chan, PhD
May 22, 2025

Hello and welcome to #24 edition of the fortnightly Vivian’s Deeptech Insider.

If you’ve stayed with us through this series, chances are you’ve already got some team champions, a few pilot customers, and a solid sense of momentum building.

But before you hit the gas, pause for a second.

Ask yourself: can anyone on your team - yes, even the janitor - explain what you’re building, why it matters, and what comes next without checking in with you first?

If not, your company’s still running on founder intuition. And trust me, that doesn’t scale.

In last issue, Tracking Progress Like a Pro, we dug into OKRs and KPIs—the rhythm that helps your team track what truly matters. But here’s the thing: those metrics only work if everyone’s actually on the same page about what you’re trying to prove.

That’s what this issue is about: building a simple, scalable internal alignment loop — so your team stays clear, fast, and focused as you grow. It’s also the final instalment in the Champions → Communication arc of the 4Cs Framework. 

  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.

🎯 Clear Inside, Loud Outside: The Communication Formula

In Deeptech & Healhtech, you’re not just building difficult things — you’re explaining them to people who don’t speak your language.

That’s why internal clarity must come before external comms.
Founders who skip this step waste 6–12 months rewriting their narrative mid-flight.

Without alignment, your team won’t convince:

  • Investors

  • Customers

  • Strategic partners

  • The press

And that misalignment? It doesn’t just slow you down. It compounds into narrative debt.

Clarity, on the other hand, compounds in your favour.

📣 The Internal Alignment Loop

This is the checkpoint I give founders before they:
— Raise a round
— Hire a GTM / Sales lead
— Pitch an accelerator/demo day
— Expand beyond their core technical team

It’s a reset button. A strategic briefing. A clarity accelerator.

1. “What We Believe” — Strategic Thesis in 3 Bullets

This is your North Star. Repeat it until it's muscle memory.

  • What problem are we solving?

  • Why now?

  • What’s our technical edge?

✅ If your Head of Product and your newest engineer can’t say this on a Zoom call — you’re still in founder-reliant mode.
📌 This is one of the first things we nail in my board advisory sessions.

2. “What We’re Testing Now” — Prioritise What Matters

This is where alignment meets execution. Every team moves fast — but if they’re not clear on what they’re validating, they’re just busy, not effective.

Ask yourself: if I stopped five team members right now and asked what we’re testing — would I get the same answer?

You want everyone pulling in the same direction, even across functions. That means being crystal clear about two things:

  • What’s the biggest technical unknown we’re trying to de-risk right now?

  • What’s the riskiest customer assumption that could break our commercial path?

If the answers are fuzzy, it’s not because the team is confused — it’s because leadership hasn’t named the priorities. This step isn’t about micromanaging; it’s about giving people something to rally around.

Alignment here means fewer wasted cycles, sharper stand-ups, and faster iteration loops.

3. “What Success Looks Like (Next 4 Weeks)” — Drive Short-Term Focus

You can’t build long-term confidence on vague short-term plans. “Make progress” sounds good in a team meeting — but it’s too soft to guide action.

Instead, define what success actually looks like in the next sprint or month. Paint a finish line that everyone can see:

  • Are we shipping a live prototype?

  • Securing three signed pilot agreements?

  • Locking regulatory pre-approval?

  • Landing investor term sheets?

This isn’t just about performance. It’s about morale. When people see clear wins stack up, they stay motivated — and investors start to pay attention.

The tighter your short-term clarity, the stronger your long-term momentum.

⚙️ Where OKRs/KPIs Fit In

This model doesn’t replace OKRs (that we discussed in the last edition) — it enables them.

  • “What We Believe” informs your company-level OKRs

  • “What We’re Testing Now” filters into team-level OKRs

  • “What Success Looks Like” becomes your weekly planning pulse

  • KPI dashboards track whether you’re delivering on it all in real time

This loop lays out the bigger picture - it’s how you set direction and make sure everyone understands where you’re headed. From there, OKRs help you translate that vision into clear, actionable priorities for teams to focus on. And KPIs? They give you ongoing feedback, showing whether your efforts are paying off and where you might need to adjust.

💡 Bonus: The Best Onboarding & Reset Tool You’re Not Using

This internal clarity loop isn’t just about keeping everyone on the same page - it’s one of the smartest tools you can use for onboarding new hires and fundraising.

Especially in Deeptech and Healthtech, where the learning curve can feel like a mountain, this beats the usual slog of drowning in endless docs, scattered Slack messages, and half-baked roadmaps. Instead, new team members get instantly plugged into:

  • A clear sense of what we’re building and why it matters

  • The key technical and commercial bets we’re testing right now

  • How their work directly moves the company closer to its next big win

And here’s the kicker: you can run this loop monthly with your exec team, too. No reinvention needed — just slot it into your leadership rhythm to catch misalignment early and keep everyone pulling in the same direction.

If you’re fundraising, this loop makes your investor updates a breeze - as you’ve already done the work! Fundraising isn’t just about a pitch deck — it’s about building trust, step by step, by showing investors you’re the best team to solve the toughest problems. It proves you understand the business deeply, can break down milestones clearly, and celebrate wins — no matter how big or small. And it does all this fast.

The payoff? A team moving together, faster and smarter.

✍ Try This Today

Ask your team to write down:

  • 3 things we believe

  • 2 things we’re testing

  • 1 thing that defines success this month

Then compare notes. If the answers don’t line up, that’s exactly where the work begins.

📬 Want to Chat?

I’m exploring a new program to help technical founders align their teams, secure funding, and scale — all without burning out.

As part of my market research, I’m chatting with 10 Deeptech & Healthtech CEOs (5 early-stage, 5 growth-stage) who are ready to make 2025 their biggest, most profitable year yet. If that sounds like you, let’s connect!

As a thank you for 20 minutes of your time, I’ll offer a free 20-minute 1:1 board advisory session to pinpoint exactly where to focus your efforts for growth in 2025. 🙌🏼

No pitches. Just honest market research.

👉 Interested? Book a quick call here: https://calendly.com/vivianchan2/20min

Let’s make your company as clear as your vision.

— Vivian

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