🤖 #32: Vivian's Deeptech Insider: Your 2025 Wake-Up Call

Hello and welcome to #32 edition of the fortnightly Vivian's Deeptech Insider.

September has arrived. Schools are back here in the UK, summer holidays are a memory, and suddenly the reality hits: there are only 4 months left in 2025. Your calendar is exploding with "urgent" conferences, board meetings, and investor pitches.

Everything feels critical. Nothing feels optional. But here's what 18 years of working with founders has taught me: September is when champions get made or broken.

The Brutal Reality Check

The macroeconomic headwinds aren't disappearing. In the UK, the median time to close a Seed round in 2024 stretched to 6+ months, with many founders grinding through 9+ months before funds actually land. Investor expectations are higher, processes slower, and the margin for error has never been thinner.

Most advice skips over these messy realities. What actually works requires a different approach—one focused on revenue and where that revenue will ultimately take you.

Your 90-Day Mission for 2025

Remember the Exit Vision exercise I shared in an earlier edition (#30)? Now it's time to tie that end goal clarity into what your next 90 days should look like.

By forcing you to work backwards from your ideal exit, it helps you stay on track building value and assets that align with your end goal, rather than just chasing revenue or new directions that look 'shiny' right now.

Most founders I work with discover they're spending 80% of their time on activities that won't impact their exit value. The Exit Canvas cuts through this noise by asking the hard questions:

• What exit value are you targeting, and by when?

• What milestones need to hit to support that valuation?

• Which 3-5 critical assumptions underpin your entire business model?

• What's the ONE assumption that, if wrong, kills your exit prospects?

Once you have that clarity, your 90-day focus becomes obvious. Use those crucial last months in 2025 to really prove your ONE assumption. How are you going to prove this assumption? Is it right? Is it wrong? The startup becomes a lot more de-risked if you tackle the biggest risk first.

Why Most Founders Get This Wrong

The hardest part isn't identifying what matters most—it's saying no to everything else and sticking to it.

I've watched founders kill themselves attending every conference, chasing every partnership, exploring every "strategic opportunity." They mistake activity for progress while their focused competitors quietly ship products, close customers, and raise their next rounds.

The founders who emerge stronger from this final quarter won't be those who did the most—they'll be those who did what mattered most for their exit trajectory.

Focus isn't about doing less. It's about doing what matters more for where you're ultimately headed.

If you don't already have a copy of the full Exit Canvas, simply reply to this newsletter and I'll send you the complete framework template.

Because in the final sprint of 2025, clarity isn't just helpful—it's essential.

Speak soon,

Vivian

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