Deep-Tech 4 Dummies

Dear researchers, here a short guide to how to understand venture capital answers. Thanks Andres Barreto for this useful giude!

🔍 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 🔍 When pitching your technology to investors (of any kind), clarity of reasoning about your project is everything since often you’re up against hundreds of other ideas. Chances that you will win are small if you are not able to stand out from the first interactions. For this reason, your message must be sharp and impactful, and this is where the 𝙃𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙢 might help you. Developed by George H. Heilmeier, former director of DARPA, this framework is designed to help innovators articulate the “why” and “how” of their technology. By addressing 6 fundamental questions, you will increase your chances of engaging in meaningful conversations with potential investors, winning prizes and grants, or attracting attention toward your project. Which are these questions? And what kind of content must be evaluated to provide meaningful replies to these questions? Find it out in the new post on Deep-Tech 4 Dummies https://lnkd.in/dy6A97U6 Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you want to learn how to improve your chances of attracting resources. Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2

🚨 A warning for Deep-Tech founders 🚨 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂—𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀! As deep-tech founder as Rob Snyder suggest, "You have to embrace the awkward truth that nobody will ever want your product" Potential customers in fact care only about their business. Will your product help them solve their unique problem? Consider that probably other competing companies are talking with your prospective customers too. You will win their money only if your solution suits better their needs. And you have to understand what others are doing around you to be ready and convince your potential client that your solution is the best. As part of the process of building a Deep-Tech company, understanding the real need of your potential customer and how your solution better suits their requirements will make or break your startup. Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies to learn how to build deep-tech products that solve real customer problems Have a look at the section of the blog dedicated to the process of customer discovery: https://lnkd.in/d9DCUAqB And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2

🎃👻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽-𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀: 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 👻🎃 Every year, universities and research centers produce hundreds of new technologies. From these inventions, few powerful startups able to change the world will emerge. 🌍✨ But here’s a frightening question: How many projects need to be launched to produce just a handful of deep-tech scale-ups—or even a single unicorn? 🦄 In this Halloween edition, we dig into the spooky stats and calculate how many technological projects should start today to yield one unicorn in the coming years, and discuss what can be done to improve the scary figures that emerge. Ready to be scared? 😱 If you are brave enough, have a look at the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dYV_FZGT Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you want to learn more about Deep-Tech startups. Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2 #TechTransfer #DeepTech #UnicornChase #VentureCapital #Halloween

🚀 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙏𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚? Many tech founders believe that to attract Venture Capital, their startups need to address the biggest issues their technology can solve. But that's not always the case. For some innovations, like life-saving drugs, breaking into a massive market is a do-or-die scenario. However, for many *Platform Technologies*—those with multiple potential applications—this approach can backfire. 🔑 Tackling the biggest market right away might lead your startup down a path of self-destruction, especially in the Pre-Seed and Seed stages. Why? Because you're still proving your invention's value, and the biggest markets often demand more than your startup can deliver at this stage. 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 👉 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀? Venture capitalists want to see progress in a reasonable timeframe. The key to unlocking your next round of funding is finding your 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 (𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗦). 💡 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: What you’re selling to VCs isn’t just your product—it’s your plan for introducing a technology that can scale and deliver VC-like returns within a defined timeframe. The challenge? Early-stage Deep-Tech startups often have no clear idea where to begin. Navigating this isn't like crossing a Death Valley—it’s more like solving a Death Maze. You have to explore multiple paths before finding the right one. 🎯 𝙎𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩? Have a look at the article in this link to discover more 😉 https://lnkd.in/dVGjekat Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you want to learn more about how to transfer your technologies toward real-world applications and avoid remaining stuck in the death maze, and share with friends and colleagues who might be interested. Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2 #VentureCapital #DeepTech #forDummies #StartupSuccess #Fundraising

How fast (and cheaply) can you verify that your idea is wrong? In this interesting interview on Simon Sinek podcast, Astro Teller (director of X, the moonshot factory) explains how innovations are developed in their labs. All activities at X, the moonshot factory revolve around the opening question. Radical solutions capable of solving the biggest problems are difficult to find, thus the vast majority of projects are expected to fail. It is therefore of paramount importance to fail fast (and cheaply), while trying to learn as much as possible in the meantime. The goal is to learn, not to get it right at the first attempt. Here few more rules of their game: 1) Commit to the problem, not the technology 2) Evaluate what has been done and why it failed. Not look just at what arrived on the market. Problems are where other projects failed! 3) Before committing your resources, think of many ideas, spend some time polishing them, and tackle the best 3/4 ideas for a few months, then decide where to put more effort 3) Tackle the hardest problem first: Do not build first a pedestal if your job is to make a monkey recite Shakespeare on top of that pedestal. Focus on training the monkey. Unpopular opinion: this method is mostly the opposite of what happens in many universities and research centers. For sure the scope of X and of universities is totally different, but think about the scale. at X (as linkedin suggests) they are 250-500 people. An average technical university has 500-1000 researchers, and there are hundreds around the world. Potential is there, but a mindset shift is required. Do you think that universities should embed this approach to innovation and become better at filtering out bad ideas? Let us know what you think! PS: If you know any research institution or program that adopts similar processes, please DM us. We would like to know more ✋ https://lnkd.in/d7YWUfvR Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you are interested in learning how to turn your inventions into real world applications (or kill them in the meanwhile). Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2

Today, the 10th of October is World Mental Health Day. Talking about mental health in research and entrepreneurship however has long been stigmatized. We are all human, and most of us struggle to manage our lives in some way. Managing uncertainty, people, money (hopefully), and expectations from different stakeholders (including family) has never been easy. At Deep-Tech 4 Dummies we firmly believe that there is a need to destigmatize Mental Health, thus we created a dedicated section on the website. https://lnkd.in/gNBnPvyA In "Mental Health and Well-being" section you will find resources 1) To Cope, by sharing stories about how entrepreneurs from around the world handled mental health issues; 2) To Beware, suggesting you what to look for while forming a relationship with stakeholders, since they can deeply influence your state of uneasiness 3) To Thrive, providing you tools to avoid creating situations that can create uneasiness among the team, through the creation of an environment of psychological safety. Enjoy and stay safe. Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you are interested in learning more about how to transfer your technologies toward real-world applications! Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2

This summer my attention went to these three interesting books: "Secrets of Sand Hill Road - Venture Capital and how to get it" by Scott Kupor In this book, Scott explains how the incentive structure of VC firms drives their decision-making processes, and how all reflects on investment contracts. A must-read for every scientist willing to raise capital from VCs! "Mixed Signals - How Incentives Really Work" by Uri Gneezy. In this book, he explains how actions send signals (to other people or ourselves), and highlights that actions and signals must be aligned to incentives for them to be effective. Themes relevant for anyone involved in managing people, from founders to TTOs dealing with scientists. "How the world really works" by Vaclav Smil Smil puts all the world's problems in numbers. Have you ever thought about how much we are dependent on a few elements? And how likely are natural disasters to occur? This book is a source of inspiration to understand which are the REAL problems likely to occur in the future, providing an unexpectedly interesting guide for scientists and entrepreneurs willing to solve real-world problems. What about you? What inspired you the most in the past months? Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you are interested in turning your science into impactful products. Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2

Summer vacations are a good opportunity to dedicate time to learning something new. Watching a video or listening to a podcast is perfect while relaxing and replenish your energies. Here is a list of Podcasts and Documentaries about new technologies, startup creation, and technology transfer that might be of your interest. I hope you find something interesting to relax with! Shall I add some titles to the list? Any suggestion is welcome :) After a break, Deep-Tech 4 Dummies will come back with brand-new content from September Sit back, relax, and enjoy your holidays! https://lnkd.in/dpU4tQEM Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you want to better learn how to transform your technology into an innovation. Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2

Hype, knowledge development and diffusion, and randomness. What do they have in common? Each of them somehow might limit the chances of an entrepreneurial endeavor to thrive. How? have a look at the the takeaways here below 😊 These three books that I read this spring are suggested readings for anyone that works in the innovation field, among "unknown unknowns" and people biases. Thank you Cesar A. Hidalgo, Gemma Milne and #NassimTaleb for such great and inspirational content. Follow Deep-Tech 4 Dummies if you are interested in building a Deep-Tech startups Have a look at the blog: https://lnkd.in/dMiiD3Hm And support the project here: https://lnkd.in/dRNwviz2