115. Commercialising innovation and breaking into Deep Tech

Great technology is not enough to build a successful business. You need customers who understand its benefits, and are willing to pay for them. This is why storytelling is a key part of commercialising innovation.

Lauren Xandra, Head of Marketing at Two Sigma Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in deep tech, talks about her role in building successful tech businesses and how she transitioned career into deep tech.

Learning notes from this episode:

• "Just as important as supporting startups' technical growth, is helping them to be understood and able to tell a story that no only resonates with their end users, but also with potential corporate partners and outside investors, who are often less technical," says Lauren.
• Venture Capital is usually a job that people transition into, rather than start their careers in. 68% of venture capitalists in the US have backgrounds in start-ups, according to research by Diversity VC.
• "Making a strategic career move requires thinking entrepreneurially," says Lauren. This means investing time and effort into activities that will pay off in the long run, but not today, like volunteering for start-ups or accelerators.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 114. What is Deep Tech?
• Episode 103. How I got into deep tech investing (with Colin Beirne, Two Sigma Ventures)
• Episode 108. How to work with a data scientist

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