From advanced materials and construction robotics to AI and smarter infrastructure management, new technologies are opening up opportunities across the industry.

Yet bringing these innovations to market requires navigating established practices, demanding validation processes, and complex purchasing decisions.

The question, then, becomes: What does it take for early-stage startups to earn their place in the road infrastructure industry?

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Inside This Episode

• Road Innovation 101: Where are the opportunities in materials science, construction technology, and AI, and what makes introducing these innovations so challenging?

• Procurement: Who actually buys road technologies, and who has the authority to approve their deployment?

• Field Validation: How can construction tech startups choose their first deployment sites and establish credibility before entering larger infrastructure markets?

• Construction Robotics: Which construction tasks offer the greatest potential for robotics, and why might targeted automation be more practical than automating entire job sites?

• Early-Stage Milestones in Construction: What evidence matters most for construction tech startups, and how long can it take to demonstrate meaningful progress?

• Scaling Road Innovation: How do industrial partnerships, strategic storytelling, and new business models influence the path to scale?

About the Guest

Dr. Ginger Rothrock has been the scientist, the founder, and the investor. As Managing Director of HG Ventures, The Heritage Group’s corporate venture arm, she backs founders modernizing physical infrastructure, from energy and water to roads and industrial materials. Prior, she founded Liquidia Technologies (LQDA) and led commercialization at RTI International.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION – STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

The Commercial Architecture of Road Innovation

A new road material does not have to replace asphalt overnight. A construction robot does not have to automate an entire job site. And a startup does not necessarily need to own a factory to build a valuable industrial business.

The path to adoption can begin with smaller, more deliberate steps: proving performance on a recognized test track, automating a specific task that construction crews struggle to staff, or partnering with an established producer rather than replicating its manufacturing infrastructure.

In each case, the objective is the same: reduce the uncertainty that stands between technological potential and commercial adoption.

Road infrastructure remains a demanding market.

Technical specifications determine what can be installed, procurement practices can favor the lowest initial price, and validation cycles often stretch over several years. Yet these constraints also help define what meaningful progress looks like.

A credible customer reference, a well-chosen industrial partnership, or a business model that captures value over an asset’s lifetime can make the difference between a promising technology and a commercially viable proposition.

For founders and investors, the broader lesson extends well beyond roads, offering valuable insights for other industrial sectors facing similarly complex adoption processes and capital-intensive commercialization pathways.

As usual, below are my strategic notes from the conversation, exploring the principles and questions I found most valuable for Deep Tech founders, investors, and operators.

Enjoy the read!

The customer is often a network of stakeholders.

In construction, identifying the customer requires more than locating the organization that pays the invoice. Asset owners, engineers, contractors, suppliers, and regulators can exercise different forms of influence over the same purchasing decision. A startup needs to distinguish who benefits economically, who controls the budget, who approves the technology, and who is responsible for deploying it. Effective go-to-market strategies account for the entire decision-making structure rather than relying on the enthusiasm of a single prospective buyer.

Procurement models determine which innovations can capture value.

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Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

In episode 133 of Deep Tech Catalyst, I sat down with Philip Farese, CEO of Mojave Energy Systems, to explore what it takes to turn a working technology into a commercial hardware business.

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About the Guest

Dr. Phil Farese is CEO of Mojave Energy Systems, which is changing the nature of air conditioning with its Humidity-First Climate Systems for commercial and industrial buildings, powered by liquid desiccant technology. His prior roles include Chief Strategy Officer at Enphase Energy, CTO of Advantix Systems, senior energy analyst at NREL; he began his career at McKinsey & Company.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION

Strategic Insights from the Episode

One of the most interesting insights from this conversation was how early manufacturing decisions can shape a company’s economics long before it reaches meaningful scale.

The concept of the “Minimum Viable Factory” captures this particularly well.

Manufacturing capacity doesn’t have to be built all at once. Early production decisions can reflect what a company actually needs, while leaving room to develop more efficient processes as demand and resources grow.

What I found particularly interesting was how these decisions connect to the broader challenges of commercialization.

Technology development, manufacturing, and sales often need to advance simultaneously, even when each comes with different risks, dependencies, and timelines.

The conversation also highlighted some key aspects of building an industrial business.

A relatively simple component can significantly affect manufacturing costs. A product that meets nearly all customer requirements may still struggle to sell.

These observations made me reflect on how many consequential decisions in Deep Tech concern the allocation of limited resources, and how their implications often become clearer only as the business develops.

Below, I’ve collected my strategic notes from the conversation, exploring the principles, trade-offs, and questions I found most valuable for Deep Tech founders, investors, and operators.

Enjoy the read!

Don’t make every milestone wait its turn.

Hardware startups often need to address several forms of uncertainty before reaching the market. Technology must perform reliably, manufacturing capabilities must be established, and a viable commercial channel must emerge. These activities involve different organizations, resources, and timelines, many of which remain outside the startup’s direct control. Completing one workstream before beginning the next can create unnecessary dependencies and extend the time required to reach commercialization. Where the activities allow it, advancing technical validation, production planning, and market development in parallel gives each process time to progress independently. This can be particularly valuable when dealing with suppliers, customers, and other external partners whose decisions may take longer than expected. The sequence of execution ultimately influences not only the development timeline but also how much capital the company needs to sustain itself.

The last five percent can decide the sale.

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Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

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About the Guest

Mechatronic engineer, systems design leader, author of numerous patents – Matthew has a unique insight on how to build the most efficient power systems. Driven to enable the energy transition at the infrastructure-level, he has been working on innovative power flow control technologies for the last decade. He is the founder and CEO of deep technology innovator, IONATE, where he and his team build the hardware-software backbone for smart grids.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION

Strategic Insights from the Episode

One of the most interesting questions I took away from this conversation was how founders can position a company for where an industry is heading, even when customers may take years to adopt the product they are building.

Industrial markets have their own rhythms. It’s a pattern that comes up repeatedly in our interviews on Deep Tech Catalyst: engineering progress, customer priorities, funding requirements, and organizational capabilities evolve at different speeds.

Navigating these dynamics requires founders to make consequential decisions, often with incomplete information and limited resources.

Our discussion uncovered several interesting connections between understanding customer behavior, managing technical uncertainty, allocating capital, and assembling the right people around an ambitious engineering project.

I found myself reflecting on how seemingly ordinary decisions made early in a company’s development can have significant consequences for its ability to reach the market years later.

Below, I’ve collected my strategic notes from the conversation, sharing the lessons, observations, and questions I found most valuable for Deep Tech founders, investors, and operators.

Enjoy the read!

Value doesn’t mean they’ll buy.

Customers may recognize the potential of a technology without feeling any urgency to adopt it. For industrial buyers, replacing or modifying an existing system introduces operational uncertainty, particularly when that system is still performing adequately. A promising solution may therefore generate genuine interest without creating immediate purchasing demand. This distinction matters when interpreting early market validation. Positive feedback can confirm that a problem is understood, but it does not necessarily establish that customers are ready to invest in a solution. Founders need to understand what might change that calculation, whether it is growing operational pressure, shifting requirements, or the increasing limitations of existing infrastructure. In Deep Tech, anticipating a market need can be valuable, but timing remains a critical part of commercialization.

Industry experience can reveal problems before demand emerges.

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Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

We explored his unique journey as a Deep Tech entrepreneur and unpacked real-world lessons from building the first R&D engine and the team around it through market validation, capital strategy, and the path to industrial scale.

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About the Guest

Mohammad Doostmohammadi is the Founder and CEO of pH7 Technologies, with over 15 years of experience in mineral extraction, metal recovery, and industrial processing. A serial entrepreneur, he has led the development of five processing plants worldwide, from R&D through commercialization. His leadership focuses on advancing innovative, commercially viable technologies that improve industrial efficiency and environmental performance.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION

Strategic Insights from the Episode

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

A few weeks ago, I shared the story of the first 1,000 days of Deep Tech Catalyst.

130 episodes, more than 2,500 minutes of conversations, and nearly three years spent approaching the same question from different angles:

That was the question I started with.

Coming from the world of science, I had quickly discovered that proving a concept could work was only the first step.

The entire journey was far more complicated.

It meant navigating an intricate landscape shaped by capital, customers, economics, procurement, manufacturing, regulation, and decisions made almost invariably with incomplete information.

Deep Tech Catalyst was created to explore that territory.

Over the next 130 conversations, however, something happened that I had not expected.

I came away with two main insights from my research and from your feedback:

1. Despite my decision to approach Deep Tech from a generalist perspective (sector-agnostic, stage-agnostic, and geography-agnostic) I found that there are recurring patterns in how resilient ventures are designed and built. In that sense, my original assumption was right. And I’ll continue moving in that direction.

2. Simple but not obvious: “investability” is the result of an evolving picture of a smart sequence of decisions. In Deep Tech, there are many crossroads, and uncertainty is high. So moving the focus closer to them and providing a couple of practical ideas each week that you can carry with you as markets shift, supply chains break, or circumstances demand speed sounded like a good way to proceed.

For example:

• What happens when the first meaningful numbers start showing up on the P&L?

• Which decisions matter most when the company begins to expand? Where should the company concentrate its resources and attention?

• How do you manage team growth when it is time to scale?

In other words, the mission of Deep Tech Catalyst must become broader.

Meanwhile, the landscape and the market are changing as well.

Deep Tech holds a very different position today than it did when I started this project in 2023.

Technologies and companies that once sat at the edges of many venture conversations are increasingly connected to industrial capacity, economic resilience, infrastructure, energy, defense, supply chains, and the competitive position of nations.

That makes the conversation far more interesting. But it also raises the bar for what I want Deep Tech Catalyst to become.

So over the past few weeks, I have been working hard on its next chapter.

I went back to what I had learned. To what had worked. To what I now want to explore.

I reconsidered the questions. The visual design. The areas where it makes sense to go deeper. The kinds of experience worth bringing into the discussion.

Even the way Deep Tech Catalyst should look and feel today.

Some of the changes will be visible immediately. Others will probably reveal themselves only over time.

And there are a few things that, I admit, I would very much like to tell you about already.

I’ll resist. For one more week. :)

Below, you can see our new logo. Consider it the first signal.

Behind the scenes, new conversations are already taking shape, along with a few things I have wanted to bring into Deep Tech Catalyst for quite some time…

For now, they will stay there.

Next week, I’ll start showing you why.

For the moment, all I can say is that I’m genuinely happy to see Deep Tech Catalyst back in motion.

And I’m looking forward to seeing what the next 130 conversations will teach both me and you.

See you next week!

Warmly,

Nicola

P.S. This next chapter of Deep Tech Catalyst will bring quite a few other things with it. If you know someone who spends much of their time somewhere between technology, company building, industry, and capital, this is probably a good moment to bring them along!

Share The Scenarionist - Where Deep Tech Meets Capital

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

Dear friends,

Last week marked two milestones for Deep Tech Catalyst: its 130th episode, and exactly one thousand days since I released the very first one.

1,000 days in which I have consistently worked toward one specific vision: building the playbook I wish I’d had when I started my journey into Deep Tech.

I thought this could be the right time to share a few reflections with you on its origins, where it stands today and where it is going next.

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One of the strongest motivations that pushed me to start came from a feeling of disorientation I had back then and still remember very clearly today.

I was coming from the scientific world and stepping into the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and capital for the first time, with a technical background and zero experience in business or finance.

I remember sharing that feeling with many of my scientist friends who, like me, had an entrepreneurial mindset, whenever the conversation moved from applied science to topics such as fundraising, ROI, margins, or distribution.

It was clear that venture capital needed compelling, investable plans before being deployed.

But what kind of plan makes sense when it takes five to seven years to reach the market? What roadmap could justify a budget for the first 36 months? And later on? And then, how do you answer the question, “Can this be scaled up?” if the prototype is literally still on paper?

That wasn’t clear at all. At least for me.

After all, who had ever heard of those questions? Weren’t years spent learning chemistry, physics, or physiology enough?

I was starting to fear they were not…

At the same time, everyone around me kept repeating: “Build, measure, learn.” Basically, build as if it were software. However, hardware seemed to be a bit different. It seemed to follow different rules, different timelines, different models.

As a result, I failed many times.

However, not being able to understand where the gaps were in bringing a diagnostic device, an advanced material, or even a quantum technology to market (and, consequently, into the real world) was simply unacceptable.

Bridging that gap was so important then, and it still is today, because I firmly believe that the ultimate goal of science is serving the people by helping them solve their most critical problems.

What could be more important than that?

One day, after weeks of sharing ideas with investors, entrepreneurs, and industry experts, I realized three things:

1. The SaaS model didn’t fit deep tech.

2. There was no real way to efficiently build VC-backable Deep Tech companies.

3. There was a clear need to decode this path and, if possible, build a common language capable of making the exchange of ideas and value more fluid.

It became clear that bridging the gap between science and capital was not only important but necessary for many reasons.

Necessary to make the world a better place. And I don’t mean that figuratively. I mean helping secure energy, water, food, medicine, materials, and everything that allows humankind to build a civilized society.

Moreover, it was necessary for me, because I wanted to find a way to see science and technology flow more effectively from the laboratory bench into the real world. And that was incredibly fascinating.

So, basically, I decided to start by building the playbook I wish I’d had when I started.

A reference point that would have allowed builders around the world to find it a little less damn difficult to understand how to build an investable business plan.

In late 2023, despite some talented pioneers having already defined its concepts and macro-dynamics, the term Deep Tech often sounded like something absolutely mysterious, capital-intensive, and inexplicably difficult to reconcile with a plausible return on investment.

So, in a world dominated by software, engaging with the intersection of hardware and capital would have been rather new territory.

As I always say, in Deep Tech, success is a complex scenario at the intersection of various multidisciplinary factors, such as technologies, talent, capital, B2B industry demand, procurement, go-to-market strategy, and policy.

If The Scenarionist was born to provide an independent map of evolving scenarios and their dynamics, Deep Tech Catalyst was meant to catalyze action among builders and backers through a common narrative, helping them identify opportunities, reach those scenarios successfully, and ultimately tackle some of the greatest challenges facing the world and humankind.

So where to start? With three simple steps.

1. Start from the financial pull.

2. Produce it independently.

3. Keep it constantly evolving.

I assumed that every investor reviews between 150 and 200 pitch decks per year. So, by interviewing investors, I could provide a broad perspective on what makes a Deep Tech company attractive to investors and scalable.

Moreover, the show would also include exited founders and industry experts who had participated in successful projects to provide another perspective that obviously could not be missing: the B2B commercial perspective.

So, I decided to explore the “investability interface” between science and capital in the way I considered as efficient as possible, as fast as possible, and also as broad as possible in terms of background, geography, industry, and company maturity/investment focus.

In one question:

Or even:

That is where I started.

The result was surprisingly interesting, but it required an enormous amount of work and, above all, overcoming some significant barriers.

• First of all, I had never done a podcast before.

• Second, the only times I had ever spoken into a microphone were small presentations in scientific settings (and a few birthday parties).

• Third, there were a significant number of linguistic and terminology barriers to overcome.

Moreover, this project required fairly intense multidisciplinary study of the subject to design top-notch episode themes and, of course, epic T-shirts and hoodies.

However, it had to be done, so I did it. And the result was an incredible experience.

I learned an incredible amount of things, and I did it in public, sharing it with the community every week.

Moreover, I had the honor of meeting some of the brightest people in the international Deep Tech landscape: some because they joined the podcast as guests, some as mentors, some as friends to share ideas with.

And some as all of those things together.

One thing I found interesting was that, initially, I thought our community would be made up predominantly of founders. Instead, more and more investors and industry leaders joined.

A community that wanted to stay tuned into the state of the art at the intersection of company building and capital stack design.

After one thousand days, Deep Tech Catalyst has delivered more than 2,500 minutes of educational content, as I navigated across a wide range of macro-verticals, including energy, materials, specialty chemicals, semiconductors, quantum, space, defense, robotics, healthcare, mining, water, and agrifood.

After a while, it became clear that not all projects align with VC return expectations, since deep tech is truly heterogeneous, and almost every case has to be analyzed on its own as an independent scenario.

However, I discovered that, across industry, technology, geography, and also team composition conditions, there are similar patterns that I started identifying, mapping, and sharing on the platform.

Moreover, some recurring themes on our podcast led to the development of thematic areas at the intersection of capital and Deep Tech.

If I had to distill them even further to capture the common language DTC has built, I would frame it around five core areas:

All of them are continuously shaped by execution, team, milestones, customers, supply chains, regulation, and strategic partnerships.

Preparing for the next chapter…

At this point, after everything I have built over the past 1,000 days, I wanted to take stock of the journey.

So I returned, as I often do, to a specific quote from Reid Hoffman:

And fortunately, there has been plenty of embarrassment here, beyond my strong Italian accent. Quite a lot of it. There has also been a bit of anxiety, but also a lot of enthusiasm and fun.

However, times are changing and I feel I have to evolve. Deep Tech today is not the same Deep Tech it was in 2023.

In a short period of time, I have had the pleasure of observing the change not only in the markets, but also in the very conception of Deep Tech as a discipline.

It has become less and less a term associated with complexity and unfeasibility, and little by little it is beginning to resonate again as a word, as a trend, as an ecosystem, as a way of doing things, increasingly understood and widespread among people in the industry.

Many more projects are being born. And solid ones.

Many more incubators, accelerators, and funds are moving in this direction, because it is inevitable that, with Deep Tech being so important, there would be support from everything that represents the market’s response to the enormously important unmet needs that Deep Tech can address.

However, these changes also bring with them the need to adapt the format, so I have decided to pause the production of Deep Tech Catalyst for a few weeks, with new objectives in mind, different, more modern, and better suited to changing times.

In the meantime, The Scenarionist will continue at full speed, exploring scenarios, case studies, and analyses every week.

There are a lot of new things coming soon, including new ways for builders and backers to catalyze opportunities, collaborate, succeed together, and create a better future.

But I wanted to take a moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me, week after week, on this wonderful journey.

1,000 days have passed, 130 episodes, but this is only the beginning of something that has yet to come out.

And I am more determined than ever to discover it together with you all.

Warmly,

Nicola

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Tobias Egle, Senior Associate at Fine Structure Ventures. We explored how advanced materials are becoming increasingly critical to photonics, why foundry compatibility and manufacturing risk matter as much as laboratory performance, how photonics startups can shorten lengthy development cycles, and which customer and foundry commitments provide credible early validation.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Vincent Berk, Partner at Apprentis Ventures. We explored how AI is broadening the software-builder base and reshaping cybersecurity, why domain expertise is becoming increasingly important as software moves into specialized industries, what creates a defensible moat when products are easier to reproduce, and how founders should think about team composition, technical validation, enterprise sales cycles, and focused go-to-market execution.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Sabrina Sasaki, Partner at Monozukuri Ventures. We explored how scientific founders can move from laboratory validation to industrial adoption, why milestones must reflect the physical complexity of the product, and how Japan’s manufacturing ecosystem can support international commercialization through pilots, co-development, and strategic partnerships.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Sean Mitchell, co-founder and former CEO of Movidius, the fabless semiconductor company acquired by Intel in 2016. Drawing on his founder journey, we explored what it takes to navigate market uncertainty, customer evidence, capital constraints, and timing when building in complex semiconductor markets.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Isaac Sigron, Managing Director at Koch Disruptive Technologies. We explored why advanced packaging has become one of the strategic bottlenecks behind AI infrastructure, how the shift from monolithic chips to chiplets changes both technical architecture and venture design, why component companies in AI can still represent very large markets, and how founders should think about pricing, procurement, and team-problem fit when building in complex semiconductor ecosystems.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Steve van Zutphen, former CEO of Magpie Polymers, acquired by Italmatch Chemicals in 2017, and current CEO of Swan-H.

Drawing on his experience building and leading Magpie Polymers, Steve joined us for a practical conversation about what it really takes to build a business around an advanced material.

We explored why a scientifically credible application can still be the wrong market, how technical founders can improve customer discovery, why industrial sales is fundamentally a process of reducing risk, and how pricing, pilots, and customer collaboration shape the path from laboratory validation to market adoption.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Anil Achyuta, Partner at Energy Impact Partners, for a practical look at the battery sector from the perspective of founders building across the value chain — from materials, cells, manufacturing processes, and packs to grid storage, EVs, and robotics.

We explore why battery startups are difficult to build in a capital-efficient way, how demand is shifting across end markets, what makes cell manufacturing so industrially demanding, and why a promising material is rarely enough unless it can survive scale-up, qualification, and real customer adoption.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Jeff Uhrig, a 2x exited Deep Tech founder who is now Principal and Founder of Beech Lab. In this conversation, he reflects on his experience as CEO of Sirrus, a specialty chemicals startup acquired by Nippon Shokubai in 2017.

We explore how the company turned a promising molecule into a commercially relevant platform, and how the team navigated application discovery, customer-led development, scale-up, capital allocation, and ultimately the acquisition.

Key takeaways from the episode:

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Alan Yu, Senior Associate at Space Capital, to unpack how satellites are becoming one of the invisible operating layers of the broader space economy, and what founders need to know about building, validating, and funding successful companies in the sector.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Haig Farris, Co-Founder of D-Wave, to unpack what it takes to build a successful Deep Tech startup in quantum computing when the technology is ahead of the market, the product path is uncertain, and the commercial outcome may take decades to fully emerge.

Founded in 1999, D-Wave reached the public markets in 2022. Today, we’ll explore how the company began as a startup at the frontier of quantum technology and took its first steps toward commercialization through technical progress, strategic pivots, patient capital, and excellent teamwork.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

After 120 episodes, The Scenarionist is opening the platform further.

What started in 2023 as an ambitious effort to bridge the venture-building layer between science, entrepreneurship, and capital has grown into something larger: a living platform for founders, scientists, investors, operators, and technologists working at the frontier of Deep Tech company creation.

Across those conversations, we have explored the gap between scientific promise and company-building reality: fundraising, venture readiness, customer discovery, industrial scale-up, IP, team formation, go-to-market strategy, capital strategy, and the uncomfortable founder dilemmas that appear when science becomes a business.

That is why we are launching Help Me Build.

What is Help Me Build?

Help Me Build is an open Q&A space for founders building Deep Tech companies.

It is designed to answer the practical, strategic, and often uncomfortable questions that emerge between the lab, the pilot, the market, and the next financing round.

What you can ask about

You can submit questions about any part of the Deep Tech company-building journey, including:

• Venture building and company formation

• Fundraising strategy and investor readiness

• Milestone design and capital planning

• Customer discovery and commercialization

• Pilots, partnerships, and industrial deployment

• IP strategy and defensibility

• Hiring, co-founder dynamics, and team formation

• Strategic investors, non-dilutive funding, and public funding

• Scale-up, manufacturing, growth, and exit pathways

How it works

The format is simple. Through the button below, you can access a short form and submit your question anonymously.

Ask your question

I will read every submission. Then, in future issues, I will select some of the most relevant questions and answer them in a way that can help the broader community.

My hope is that Help Me Build can become a space where those questions can be surfaced more openly.

This is a beta format. I will learn by doing, and the community will help shape what it becomes.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Stay inspired,

Nicola

Disclaimer

Please be aware: the information provided in this publication is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or legal advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Moreover, this content does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or investment products, nor should it be construed as such. Furthermore, we want to emphasize that the views and opinions expressed by guests on The Scenarionist do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of our platform. Each guest contributes their unique viewpoint, and these opinions are solely their own. We remain committed to providing an inclusive and diverse environment for discussion, encouraging a variety of opinions and ideas. It is essential to consult directly with a qualified legal or financial professional to navigate the landscape effectively.

This week, I sat down with Roman Wolff, Industry Expert in Manufacturing Scale-Up, to unpack how an experienced manufacturing and engineering operator thinks about moving Deep Tech companies from the lab to industrial scale.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, I sat down with Miguel Galvez, Co-Founder and Former CEO of NBD Nano (acquired by Henkel), CEO of Nfinite Nanotechnology, and Venture Partner at Republic Ventures.

Drawing from his successful entrepreneurial journey leading NBD Nano, we explored what it takes to move a specialty chemicals company from an R&D platform to a scalable business, and ultimately from the lab to a strategic acquisition.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.

This week, we explore one of the most ambitious frontiers in Deep Tech: what it will take to build a sustained industrial presence beyond Earth, and why the economics of that future depend on learning to use resources where they are found.

I sat down with Taylor Sargent, Partner at Industrious Ventures, to unpack why the renewed race to the Moon is about much more than exploration, how investors should think about timing in frontier space markets, and what has to be built before in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) can move from scientific promise to commercial reality.

Key takeaways from the episode:

🌕 The Moon Is Becoming a Strategic Infrastructure Asset
The new lunar race is not just about getting there first. It is about building permanent infrastructure that can support exploration, manufacturing, and future space operations at scale.

🪨 In-Situ Resource Utilization Starts With Economics
If everything has to be brought from Earth, a lasting lunar presence becomes prohibitively expensive. Using local resources is not a futuristic add-on. It is one of the conditions that could make permanence possible.

🛰️ Lunar Infrastructure Will Be Built as a Stack
Mobility, power, communications, orbital logistics, and site preparation are not separate stories. They are interdependent layers of the same emerging system.

⏱️ In Frontier Markets, Timing Matters as Much as Vision
A company can be directionally right and still fail if the market arrives too slowly. In lunar infrastructure, the hardest question is not whether the opportunity could exist, but whether it is investable now.

📜 Policy Is Not External to the Market
In space, regulation is part of the business environment from day one. Founders cannot treat policy as an afterthought if they want to build companies that can actually operate and scale.

BEYOND THE CONVERSATION — STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE

Keep reading. It’s free.

Disclaimer

All materials published by The Scenarionist are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. They do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, nor do they constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities, crypto assets, or any other assets. The Scenarionist strives to provide accurate information but does not guarantee that its materials are complete, current, or free from errors, and assumes no liability for any reliance placed on them. Any external partnership or sponsored content will be clearly identified as “Brought to you by.” Unless otherwise disclosed, the companies and technologies mentioned do not sponsor The Scenarionist and are not included in its investment holdings. Artificial intelligence tools may be used for operational support and content refinement.