Introducing Help Me Build
A new open Q&A space for founders building Deep Tech companies.
Dear Friends,
Welcome back to Deep Tech Catalyst!
Last week, we reached the 120th episode. What a ride!
What started in 2023 as ambitious effort to bridge the venture building layer between science, entrepreneurship, and capital has grown into something much larger: a living platform for founders, scientists, investors, operators, and technologists working at the frontier of Deep Tech company creation.
From the beginning, Deep Tech Catalyst was built around a simple observation: scientifically intensive entrepreneurial projects do not naturally fit traditional SaaS startup metrics.
This misalignment often prevents breakthrough technologies from becoming what we have consistently called “investable companies”: companies that are not only scientifically strong, but also commercially clear, strategically fundable, and capable of scaling into the real world — and ultimately helping real people in the real world.
Across 120 episodes, we have explored that gap with investors, exited founders, and operators.
We have unpacked fundraising, venture readiness, customer discovery, industrial scale-up, IP, team formation, go-to-market strategy, capital strategy, and the many uncomfortable founder dilemmas that appear when science becomes a business.
Now, I want to open the platform further.
Introducing Help Me Build
Over the past few months, many of you have reached out with questions like:
Do we actually have the foundation for a startup here, or is this still just research?
How do we know when it’s the right time to raise capital?
Our prototype works, and a few customers are starting to show interest — what’s the next move?
How much equity should we give away early on?
How do I find a co-founder?
These are not small questions.
They highlight the challenges that determine whether a startup becomes fundable — or gets stuck somewhere between the lab, the pilot, and the market.
And they are exactly the kinds of questions Deep Tech Catalyst was created to explore.
So, I believe that opening up this Q&A could enrich the entire community — especially because many of you are likely wrestling with similar challenges and ambitions.
This is why I want to start experimenting with a new open Q&A format: Help Me Build.
Help Me Build, is an open Q&A format designed to answer the real questions coming from founders within this community.
The goal is simple: to create a leaner way to surface your questions, address your challenges, and, why not, leverage the community to brainstorm around them.
How it works
The format is simple.
Through the button below, you can access a short form and submit your question anonymously.
Important Notice: By submitting your question, you agree that The Scenarionist may use it, or edited versions of it, across its newsletter, website, social media, and other platforms. Submissions may be edited for clarity and length. Responses will be anonymized. Please do not include confidential or sensitive information.
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