Deep Tech Catalyst - Special Edition!
Celebrating a Collective Intelligence Helping Turn Breakthrough Scientific Discoveries into Investable Deep Tech Startups.
Dear Community,
Welcome to this special episode of Deep Tech Catalyst!
As we find ourselves in the midst of summer, we've taken a moment to reflect on our journey so far. 🏖️ 🧠
Deep Tech Catalyst was born from a simple insight: not all scientifically intensive entrepreneurial projects fit the traditional venture capital mold, and there is a huge informational gap between the scientific and venture capital worlds.
This misalignment limits the creation of what we started calling "investable startups" last year, consequently bringing fewer breakthrough innovations to the real world.
So, we spotted that gap and launched Deep Tech Catalyst with a clear vision: to serve as a touchpoint between science and venture capital, catalyzing opportunities for cutting-edge projects and helping aspiring founders meet investor expectations.
Nearly a year in, our continuously growing schedule has confirmed that we're not just another educational channel. We're collecting your feedback and pioneering a unique global intellectual hub that connects VCs, scientists, and technologists—a space that didn't exist before, online.
We're incredibly grateful to our international guests who have shared their insights and helped make this platform a treasure trove of knowledge and inspiration.
Our commitment is stronger than ever to ensure aspiring scientific founders worldwide can access this unparalleled collection of strategies and enthusiasm for creating something new.
And—🚨 spoiler alert 🚨—we are working on making this valuable content even more mainstream to streamline the conversation between science and venture capital.
To celebrate our guests and inspire you during this summer break, we've curated a special edition packed with some of the most insightful moments from our conversations.
Thank you for your trust and support. It means the world to us. 🙏🏻
Stay inspired,
Nicola and Giulia
Academic Commitment vs Entrepreneurship
I think when you are in Deep Tech and you're a founder or part of the founding team, you don't have to leave science. You need to stay on top of your science. But you need to develop additional skills. Maybe not all of them. […] You need to be self-aware to surround yourself with the right people and probably grow some additional skills on top of your science expertise.
- Julien Fredonie, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Venturing Europe & Africa at Honda Xcelerator Ventures
The Job of a CEO
The CEO [...] it's a very simple job. You have to keep the lights on, and you have to recruit people who are smarter than you. That's it. There's no other job for the CEO. Make sure that you have enough money so that you don't run out of it.
- Anil Achyuta, Managing Director at TDK Ventures.
The Importance of the Founding Team in Pre-Seed Startups
Especially at Pre-Seed, it's all about the team. [...] That's the raw ingredient of a startup. And that's the first thing we're going to look at Pre-Seed. So, are these the right people to build this, now? That's always the big question. People never emphasize enough and never spend enough time talking about themselves and their team.
- Quentin Calleja, Senior Associate at Atlantic Labs
Crafting a Vision for the Future
[In Deep Tech], you need to have a longer vision, which means you're selling into a future that's even deeper than just your market entry.
- Calvin A. Cupini, Director of Investments at Activate
Cost Optimization and Scaling Up
So how much are you able to optimize costs compared to a conventional material or process that's in the market? In order to get that cost parity, what are the steps you need to do to get there? [...] In many cases, it's a pure discussion about scale. So by reaching 100x volume from now, you might be able to read that unit economics.
- Sunil Varghese, Head of Sustainability - Innovation & Ventures at Plug and Play Tech Center
The First Things a VC Looks for in a Pitch Deck
The very first thing that I look for when I open a pitch deck is definitely: What is the startup actually doing? So what's the problem that they are solving, and what's the solution that they are proposing? And of course, what's the unique value proposition? Is there some IP involved? Who does this IP belong to?
- Carlotta Ficorella, Investment Analyst at Matterwave Ventures
The Meaning of TRL and TEA for Deep Tech VCs
[In Deep Tech] there are two primary things we look at: One is technology readiness level or TRL, and what are the stage gates to a TRL of nine or 10. And then the second is [...] techno-economic analysis.
- Tom Baruch, Founder at Baruch Future Ventures
Partnership in Watertech
In [Watertech] there's a pretty classic line, a classic issue of companies getting piloted to death. [...] So it's really about getting those partnerships secured, and a lot of times that means being able to balance a significant improvement in technology while being able to keep costs equivalent or low.
- Peter Ullrich, COO at EverBlue Ventures
The Power of Early Customer Discovery in University
The efficacy of developing a solution that the market is just going to absorb quickly depends on the urgency of the job to be done, meaning that instead of just going into the lab and building the thing, you take a couple of weeks and just ideate the business model and then go talk to the customers and understand what they actually need. If you're able to do that, then your research is going to be so much more accurate.
- Pedro Lopez Sela, Partner at FrissOn Capital
Key Elements of a Balanced Cap Table for a VC
In summary, I would say a good cap table needs to be balanced between the employees and the investors. And it needs to be effective so that you can make decisions quickly. You can get shareholder votes done quickly. But that it's equitable to the amount of investment that people put in. It's equitable to the people who are actually doing the work in the company and working really hard. And then you have no single fund, no single founder that can hold a veto, for example, or hold the company hostage. Those are kind of the big categories that we look for.
- Daniel Franke, Investment Director at M Ventures
Key Factors for VCs in Quantum Hardware Startups
What we would look for is basically the founder's team, co-founders, as said, are well-respected researchers in that field, specific fields. They have a track record. [...] And what they have is, as I said, maybe a kind of proof-of-concept prototype system that works reliably. And it's a bit difficult in quantum computing hardware today because a lot of the more mature companies are already out there. So, I think for someone to just come out now, it's harder because they really need to prove that they have something very unique in their proposition. And then, as I said, obviously, if they already have some IP, that's very interesting. If not, they definitely need to talk about how they plan to create IP in the next one to two years.
- Chiara Decaroli, Quantum Fund Investment Manager at Redstone
Transitioning from Lab Production to a Larger Scale
You can always sell from your lab in small amounts, not in a consumer package with your technology. So basically, you're selling bulk technology from your lab. [...] It is different when you already know that the market is going to, or is wanting your technology. [...] So then you will need to have a factory, or you will need to have a consumer product, a really pretty one with a strong brand, or someone that's going to help you in that space.
- Eugenio Cantuarias, Partner at AceleraLatam
The Meaning of a Pilot in Deep Tech
The aim of this [Pilot] is kind of to show, first of all, that the technology can work at a larger scale than the prototype and really to optimize the process. And to show to customers that you can produce the output at a larger scale. For example, you've then moved from, let's say, grams to kilograms or from watts to kilowatts.
- Carlota Ochoa Neven Du Mont, Principal at Extantia
Commercial Viability 101
Commercially viable means viable in the real world, right? It doesn't just mean it's going to make you money. It means that this is something that could actually be useful.
- Chris Burk, Techno-economics Specialist
Common Pitfalls in Deep Tech Pitch Decks
Particularly when you're looking at the deep tech category, [...] one of the things that often comes up in a pitch deck is that there is focus on what's technically unique or what the breakthrough innovation is. But oftentimes, particularly for a first or second pitch, founders can get lost in exactly figuring out how that breakthrough, that finding, makes its way into a customer's environment or how a customer, put more simply, can use it.
- Ryan Lewis, Partner at SRI Ventures
Exit Strategies: IPOs vs. Acquisition
[When a startup exits through an IPO] Now they've just shifted their fundraising from private institutions to the public market. And what happens when they're listed in the public market is the VC will then sell their equity, the shares that they have in the public market, and get money in return. [...] The other option is what you're building is so valuable that another company might buy your technology. That actually happens way more often in the startup world than in an IPO. Not every company that aspires to go public is going to go public. They end up getting bought by somebody else.
- Gayathri Radhakrishnan, Partner at Hitachi Ventures
The Balance of Science and Commercial Viability
I think when we make these deep tech ventures, we're not looking for things that are scientifically entirely de-risked. Because what can happen is the science itself evolves with the commercial opportunity and the rest of the story around the company. I do think what's needed, though, is that the lead researcher needs to strongly believe they can build this thing. And that thing does need to be buildable, given the right resources, in a matter of years, not decades.
- Phil Morle, Partner at Main Sequence Ventures
Freedom to Operate vs Patentability
If I have a patent, it gives me the right to stop you from doing my thing. And that doesn't mean I'm free to do it myself because I might be stepping in somebody else's patent. So when we talk about freedom to operate (FTO), what we really mean is, am I free to do what I want to do without infringing somebody else's patent?
- Sara Holland, Partner at Potter Clarkson
The Importance of Market Leader Connections
One thing that helps a lot is if the company is close to a market leader [...] And that just shows that your innovation apparently is appreciated by somebody who understands the topic. And also that you're not afraid to face that they might say what you're doing is really adding no value because we knew that 10 years ago. [...] I think usually the connection to the commercial leaders pays off. And that also means it's kind of difficult if you're in a location where you don't have these leaders. [...] And I think these kinds of connections to people that are further ahead, that know what they're doing, that are commercially successful, are the most important to create success.
- Benjamin Schulz, Founding Partner at Carbon Removal Partners
Engaging with Innovation Units
Sometimes being in the innovation unit can just mean you kind of fester there rather than actually being able to communicate effectively internally within the organization. Sometimes you then leave that to the innovation team, and they don't do a very good job of that. So that's the one thing to say straight away is, I wouldn't say don't engage with innovation units within large corporates, but do so very mindfully. When you do so, make sure that you're not doing it with their sort of standalone sandbox, but you're doing it with the sponsor of a business unit, a probable end customer with bottom line and budget, and make sure that they are involved in the process.
- Dave Grimm, Partner @ AlbionVC
Importance of FDA Engagement in Pre-IND Meetings
It's a conversation between the FDA and the startup [...] As a sponsor who wants to enter a clinical trial in the U.S. through an IND, you want to engage with the agency as an opportunity to de-risk your IND submission. So you want to make sure that once you submit your IND, the agency allows you to proceed with the trial. And so during this pre-IND meeting, for example, you would want to outline some of your plans and ask if the agency agrees with some of the things that you are planning to conduct. And that's how you can de-risk it. So the agency does not necessarily serve as a consultant to you, but rather as a partner in making sure that the submission as you're planning it would not be stopped through a clinical hold.
- Daniela Drago, Regulatory Expert, Partner at NDA Partners
Crucial Decisions in Startup Formation
Knowing where you want to be helps you work back and answer some pretty important questions. You know, so for example, in a spin-out, you know, who would the founders be? Who owns the IP? [...] But if you get a little further down the road and the cap table somehow looks problematic, investors might come along and say, 'Well, why did you do it that way?' And so sometimes, you know, decisions that you make now have big impacts later.
- J. Matthew Pryor, Co-Founder @ Tenacious Ventures
Competition in Early-Stage Deep Tech
To me, what matters more than the competition in terms of existing companies is the competition in technology especially the non-direct competition in technology. [...] How do you differentiate between those very different fields? And how do you understand that your technology is superior to anything else in the market? So for pre-seed startups, I think this is way more important than traditional market analysis and your competitive analysis. You need to understand how your technology fares compared to other technologies. This is way more important.
- Arkady Kulik, Founding Partner @ rpv
Market Validation 101
Take a sheet of paper, and you draw with a pen something that looks like a product, first. [...] Meet people that come from this industry: retiree people, maybe people working in a company like people in this industry. You will book a lunch then you will simply talk about the product and listen to what they have to say.
- Marc Perron, Deep Tech Commercialization Expert
Team vs. Technology: What's More Important?
The team is very important for us. And then second comes the technology. [...] In our opinion, the team is superior because you might have mediocre technology. [...] Maybe the R&D is still lacking or there's competition for it. It's not that novel. But you have a team who are amazing, who know how to execute, who have industry experience. They can come in, take this technology, change everything, make it perfect for the market, and launch it.
- Moien Giashi, Principal at GreenSky Ventures
Strategic Mandates of CVCs
Much more important [...] is how different CVCs are mandated from a strategic or from a financial perspective. [...] So many of us do invest in areas that are strategic to the corporate. [...] Other CVCs have a clear mandate to build an M&A funnel, like investing in startups that are a potential acquisition target. [...] And many CVCs also use their vehicle to create a funnel of startups, potential startups to work with from the corporate side.
- Yvonne Lutsch, Investment Principal at Bosch Ventures
Importance of IP Strategy for Deep Tech Investment
IP is one component of how we actually rank the startup versus its competitors. Usually, ideas are not developed in a vacuum. It's very rare that a scientist is working completely by themselves. Usually, there are companies, there could be other startups that are venture-backed that are actually doing exactly the same thing. So as an investor, we really value companies based on what they look like versus their competition.
- Peter Olcott, Deeptech Principal at First Spark Ventures
Investing in People: The Core of Venture Capital Decisions
First and foremost, whenever we invest in the company, technology aside, we invest in people. Those are the ones that we build a relationship with and that we trust with our investment, with our money to be able to deliver what they said they wanted to do.
- David Charbonneau, Managing Partner at Boreal Ventures
Advisory Board Support
If you have a partnership with a big company and the CEO or the CTO of that company is a personal investor, it's less likely they're going to leave you out in the cold in 3 to 5 years because they have skin in the game as well.
- William Krut, Investment Partner at Reinforced Ventures
Prioritize the Hardest Problems
It's important to think of what are the hardest problems to solve and solve those first. [...] What are the things that are the hardest and how can you achieve those and how can you de-risk those? That's a word we usually use. How can you de-risk basically the largest risks that are there?
- Gijs van der Hulst, Founding Partner at Positron Ventures
Must Have vs. Nice to Have
Pretend your technology doesn't exist. Ask yourself, what is the market? What are people willing to pay for this? [...] That is probably the number one question. What is the problem you're trying to solve? Is it big enough for venture capital?
- Thomas Park, Partner, Lead at BDC Deep Tech Fund
How Scientific Founders Should Pitch to Investors
So certainly the biggest mistake I see when founders, especially scientific founders, talk to investors is they talk about their invention. [...] For an investor, that’s just the beginning. [...] So, it’s kind of three stages. First is, okay, so you’ve actually invented something useful. Fine, we get it. That’s the first third, not the whole thing. The second third is why that’s going to be a great business. How is that going to get to a hundred million dollars? How are you going to build a factory, keep out the competition, and build a team, especially if you’ve never worked in a business before? And then the third part is, okay, great, wonderful. You’ve gotten to a hundred million dollars. How is that going to become a great investment for the investor? So, all of that needs to be in there.
- DC Palter, Angel investor, Mentor Lead at the Chemical Angel Network, and Executive Committee member at Tech Coast Angels
Anticipate VC Pitch Objections
A lot of the difficult challenges for scientists and first-time entrepreneurs are they put a pitch deck together and they're not prepared really to handle some of the objections or the sort of grilling on the financials [...] And that takes a little bit of practice.
- Colin Webster, Co-Founder at RiSC Capital
Transitioning from Lab to Market
There are many reasons that lead people not to adopt better solutions. [...] Make sure that what you're developing in your tech is actually relevant and so good that people would be willing to shift eventually. And so the first step is, and that can be done quite early, get out of the lab and talk to your potential customers.
- Guerric De Crombrugghe, Founding Partner at Nuketech
Find a Use Case First
It's very important for entrepreneurs to find a use case. Sometimes, you know, there's a very big market for this technology, [or] there's a smaller market here. But if you have a prospective customer and it's easy to pursue, go for it. You have to do the easy things first before you can do the harder things.
- Swati Chaturvedi, Co-founder and CEO at Propel(x)
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