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Most founders confuse technical proof with market readiness. This cognitive bias is destroying promising ventures. Last week, I reviewed a company that spent 12 months post-POC building features users never requested. - 1,000 signups. - Zero paying customers. - ₹4 crores in capital deployed inefficiently. The failure wasn't in execution—it was in misreading what POC success actually means. Here's the reality most founders miss: - POC validates technical feasibility, not commercial viability. - It confirms your assumption isn't irrational, nothing more. - It doesn't predict user behavior at scale. - It certainly doesn't guarantee product-market fit. The inflection point between POC and sustainable growth is where most ventures collapse. What differentiates successful companies: - They treat POC data as hypotheses, not conclusions. - They build MVPs that solve singular, well-defined problems. - They establish systematic feedback mechanisms from day one. - They architect for scale while remaining capital efficient. I've synthesized the exact framework these companies used to navigate the POC-to-scale transition. These are battle-tested methodologies. - Risk mitigation strategies. - Capital allocation frameworks. - Decision trees for critical inflection points. Because the 90 days following POC success determine venture trajectory more than any other period. Complete analysis linked in comments. For founders: What's the most capital-intensive mistake you've witnessed in the post-POC phase? Your experience could prevent similar capital destruction elsewhere. Worth sharing with your network.

💯 Exactly — the people who rely on those heuristics are analysts trying to reduce risk, not create asymmetry. They optimize for predictability, not breakthrough. But the true outliers almost never tick all the boxes — that’s what makes them outliers in the first place. They don’t fit the model because they’re the ones redefining it. In venture, if your filters are too tight, you end up screening out the very anomalies that drive outsized returns. You don’t find the next category creator by looking for “pattern-matched” success — you find them by recognizing when the pattern itself is changing

Too many people obsessed with de-risking and wanting data. I suspect that data will provide you with a path to a middle of the road success. If you are comfortable with probability. Outliers are generated by outliers. And timing. And luck. And circumstances. And location.

Make Investment Great Again - from broken trust to an effective ecosystem in 5 Key Steps. The traditional investment system often rewards control and extraction. But the future belongs to models that reward alignment, transparency, and shared growth - and make them measurable success metrics! Here is how you can build that future: 1.) Start with shared purpose: Investments should begin from mutual intent, not asymmetric expectations; investment hypothesis have to become more tangible and accountable. 2.) Use transparent metrics and agreements: Measure EARLY KPIs from operational OKRs, such as value creation, contribution, and rewards visible and traceable for everyone involved instead of obscure downstream metrics. 3.) Adopt collaborative governance: Distribute decision-making through clear agreements rather than centralised power all along the investment value chain from founder to GP. 4.) Reward contributions, not only capital: Acknowledge expertise, time, and trust as real assets within the ecosystem, not sales metrics (very downstream) or invested sums (bubbles) - these are poor indicators for merit! 5.) Build interconnected platforms: Link founders, investors, and mentors through digital infrastructures that enable collaboration instead of competition; this harnesses the power of the knowledge and collaboration economy, making collaboration a competitive advantage. It’s time to rebuild trust — and make investment truly great again. You want to know how this looks in the real world, on a real platform? 👉 Read my new essay on how we can redesign startup investing as a collaborative business model that benefits both founders and investors: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ep8_kPYf #CollaborationEconomy #ImpactInvesting #StartupEcosystem #SystemChange #FutureOfCapital #Leadership #Innovation Xcamp - the AI driven Startup Management Tool for Founders #Investing #FutureOfWork #CollectiveIntelligence

Our Senior Investment Director, David Fisher, was featured in TechRound this week in an article exploring ways start-ups can stand out to VCs!   In this incisive piece, David cuts through the noise and shares what truly sets successful founders apart, not just in pitch decks but in mindset, discipline and long-term strategy. 📈   Key takeaways: ·      Founders are the most important asset: commitment, clarity and resilience matter more than just ideas.  ·      Solving a real, scalable problem is non-negotiable: investors look for evidence, data and defensibility. ·      Capital efficiency > “growth at all costs”: how you allocate and demonstrate impact is critical.  ·      Don’t approach fundraising prematurely: preparation, targeting and disciplined outreach are foundational. At IW Capital, we see hundreds of founder pitches each year. What stands out to us isn’t just the idea - it’s the story, the execution and the long-term view.   Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eVDpfnM8   If you’re a founder, investor, or just curious about what it takes to break through in this landscape, we encourage you to read David’s insights and share your thoughts below. 

For investors deciding where to deploy capital, the choice has never been more critical. The traditional venture capital model is showing its age, while a new, more profound opportunity is emerging. The Old Playbook (Traditional VC): - The Power-Law Flaw: The "unicorn" hunt is leading to an over-reliance on a few winners, with a portfolio of quick, low-innovation bets. - The Exit Problem: The IPO window is narrow, and M&A is slowing. This means our capital is locked up longer, delaying returns and creating a liquidity crunch. - The AI Bubble: We're seeing immense capital chasing unproven business models. Valuations are often disconnected from revenue, and the risk of a bubble bursting is real. The New Frontier (Deep Tech): - Fundamentally Transformative: Deep tech isn't just a new app; it's a new industry. It’s based on scientific breakthroughs that create defensible, high-value companies. - Patient, Long-Term Value: This model requires a longer investment horizon, but the payoff is the creation of massive, world-changing companies in fields like clean energy, quantum computing, and biotech. - Real-World Impact: Beyond the financial returns, we're investing in solutions to humanity's biggest challenges. This is where truly lasting value is built. Takeaway? The smart money ought ot be rebalancing from the crowded, short-term bets of traditional VC to investing in the foundational science that will define the next century—the companies that will not only generate returns but also create the future.

After more than a decade studying how corporates build new businesses, I found the new Global Corporate Venture Building Report 2025 especially telling. Three shifts stand out 👇 1️⃣ Venture Building Goes Mainstream Corporate venture building has moved from experimental playgrounds to strategic growth engines. It’s no longer an innovation “pet project,” but a disciplined, executive-backed capability. 2️⃣ From Budgets to Portfolios Funding logic is changing - away from annual budgets toward VC-style portfolios with staged investments, clearer kill criteria, and smarter founder incentives. 3️⃣ Winning in the Adjacencies The best corporate ventures build on their unfair advantage (customer access, brand, data, and assets) to scale adjacent opportunities rather than chase moonshots. The field is clearly maturing. The next decade will be less about launching ventures — and more about learning to scale them sustainably. Here's the report: https://lnkd.in/dXw_aiXz Thanks Liz Arrington and Global Corporate Venturing for pulling this together!

The longer path to IPO isn’t just about capital abundance it’s also shaped by SEC rule changes that raised shareholder count thresholds, allowing companies to stay private far longer. More investors, less disclosure, and a very different market dynamic. #PrivateMarkets #VentureCapital #IPO #Prof

From Invention to Business: What Venture Capital and Private Equity Really Look For At Nexium Consulting Solutions, we often see an important misconception in early-stage biotech and tech startups — the belief that an invention is automatically a business. 🔬 An invention is a breakthrough — a technology, platform, or discovery that solves a problem. 💼 A business, however, is the system that turns that discovery into scalable, repeatable, and profitable impact. The gap between invention and business is where most startups struggle — and where investors focus their due diligence. Here’s what VC and PE firms really evaluate before investing: 1️⃣ Proof of Market Fit Is there validated demand? A great idea without paying customers or a clear path to adoption is just potential. 2️⃣ Milestones That De-Risk the Path Forward Investors want to see measurable traction: prototype → pilot → revenue → scalability. Each milestone lowers perceived risk and increases valuation. 3️⃣ Execution and Team Strength Great investors back people, not just products. A capable, adaptable, and data-driven leadership team is non-negotiable. 4️⃣ Business Model and Unit Economics How will value be captured? Is there a clear path to recurring revenue, margin expansion, and defensibility? 5️⃣ Strategic Narrative Investors buy into a story — one that connects science, market timing, and execution into a clear vision for growth. At Nexium Consulting Solutions, we help founders turn scientific brilliance into investable businesses — bridging the gap between lab innovation and market validation. 🚀 Turning invention into investment readiness is where strategy meets execution. #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #BiotechStartups #GTMStrategy #InnovationToExecution #NexiumConsultingSolutions #StartupGrowth #BiotechInnovation #FundraisingStrategy

Funding Deeptech Startups in 2025: What Still Gets Overlooked Deeptech and hardware founders continue to face one of the toughest funding environments in early-stage finance. These companies drive breakthroughs in energy, AI, and advanced manufacturing, but their path to scale requires significant R&D investment long before revenue clarity. Traditional venture models are not always designed for that. At Johnson Strategic, we have seen how strong financial architecture can turn investor skepticism into confidence. The most successful founders are not only focused on engineering milestones. They use financial strategy as a competitive advantage. Three practices consistently improve fundraising outcomes: -Build financial models that connect technical milestones to commercial traction. Investors fund clear progress, not just potential. -Identify risks before investors do. Proactively addressing cash flow gaps, cost overruns, or market dependencies builds credibility and protects valuation. -Diversify the capital stack. Combining venture capital with strategic partnerships, grants, or non-dilutive funding creates optionality and resilience. The real opportunity in deeptech funding is not only about access to capital. It is about communicating financial clarity in complex markets. When founders align their technology story with sound financial planning, investor conversations shift from uncertainty to conviction. Johnson Strategic partners with deeptech and hardware startups to strengthen financial systems, optimize for investor readiness, and scale with confidence without the cost of a full-time CFO. Learn more at johnsonstrategic.io #Deeptech #StartupFunding #StrategicFinance #HardwareStartups #FractionalCFO #InvestorReadiness #VentureCapital