After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned:
1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck.
2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge.
3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it.
There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder.
Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale:
1. To help founders make fewer mistakes.
2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey.
3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out.
This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business.
I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising when you’re outside a major tech hub — all of it.
Interested? Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale on all major platforms and follow the podcast on LinkedIn or Substack to get articles, excerpts, transcripts and more.
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After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned:
1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck.
2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge.
3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it.
There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder.
Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale:
1. To help founders make fewer mistakes.
2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey.
3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out.
This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business.
I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising when you’re outside a major tech hub — all of it.
Interested? Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale on all major platforms and follow the podcast on LinkedIn or Substack to get articles, excerpts, transcripts and more.
De-Risking Deep Tech: How to Land Seed Capital for Complex Ideas
Fund/Build/Scale
41 minutes 3 seconds
3 months ago
De-Risking Deep Tech: How to Land Seed Capital for Complex Ideas
Karthee Madasamy is the founder of VC firm MFV Partners and the founding managing partner of Harper Court Ventures, both of which focus on early-stage deep tech startups.
In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, he explains what early-stage founders get wrong about TAM, why technical validation isn’t enough, and how to de-risk your company when the market barely exists.
We also talk about:
What MFV looks for when evaluating scientific founders
The importance of “market inevitability” and strategic timing
Common missteps deep tech founders make on the road to Series A
If you’re building ambitious technology in a complex, slow-moving market, this episode will help you speak investors’ language — and build a company they can believe in.
RUNTIME 41:03
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
(2:24) Karthee describes his engineer–product manager–VC career path.(4:37) How does MFV Partners define deep tech?(6:35) Areas of interest include robotics, physical AI, and next-gen computing—“especially quantum.”(8:39) “We are doing anywhere from pre-seed to seed, up to all the way to Series A.”(12:17) About a third of the founders he works with are transitioning from academic or research roles.(14:01) Inside MFV’s due diligence process.(16:20) The three questions Karthee uses to frame his first meeting with a founder.(17:47) Tactics for engineers and academics who want to validate their idea but lack customer experience.(19:27) “There's no fallback. You have to basically go deep on one thing.”(23:43) “A deep tech founder, in addition to all the other risks, they're taking technical risks.”(25:51) What does traction look like at an early-stage deep tech startup?(28:38) Be prepared to answer this question during your first meeting with Karthee.(30:32) “In deep tech, oftentimes, there is not a place you can just go to get a TAM.”(37:40) Why MFV accepts cold pitches.(39:24) The one question Karthee would ask the CEO if he were interviewing for a job at an early-stage startup.
LINKS
Karthee Madasamy
MFV Partners
Harper Court Ventures
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Thanks for listening!
– Walter.
Fund/Build/Scale
After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned:
1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck.
2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge.
3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it.
There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder.
Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale:
1. To help founders make fewer mistakes.
2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey.
3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out.
This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business.
I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising when you’re outside a major tech hub — all of it.
Interested? Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale on all major platforms and follow the podcast on LinkedIn or Substack to get articles, excerpts, transcripts and more.
