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De-Risking Deep Tech: How to Land Seed Capital for Complex Ideas
Manage episode 501664408 series 3533520
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.
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Thanks for listening!
– Walter.
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