Posts

Post Prototype Runway and Traction - Closing a gap in the support networt

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There is a specific kind of pressure that hardware founders rarely describe accurately in  public, because describing it accurately feels like it might spook the investors they are currently talking to: Tool.Inc / Unsplash+ The prototype works — at least well enough that you can demo it with reasonable confidence. Conversations with investors are running daily with a good deck and a market thesis holding its promise. But also true: The runway is shortening and technical issues haven't been fully solved yet and are unorganized. The roadmap to pilot is ambitious, and to hold it, it requires the investment to solve technical and unit economic (supply chain!) issues. This is an operational and engineering problem, encapsulated in a fundraising problem. And it is also the moment the ecosystem is least well-designed for. Very early stage, before the prototype, there are accelerators, grants and lab spaces´built precisely for early concept validation up to an prototype. After clos...
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Fractional vs. Interim Ops Leadership: A Decision Guide for Hardware VC Portfolio Teams

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Fractional ≠ part-time. This post clarifies the difference  and explains when hardware portfolio companies need fractional ops leadership vs. a full-time hire. I love fractional and interim work for the chance to have positive impact on various people and businesses in a short time. Yes, it comes with a risk. There are months with little traction between jobs. There is constant networking to keep being visible (and I am no natural networker….) And once in an assignment, it is constant grinding beyond usual working hours. So it is all or nothing. And I quite like it, as it is most rewarding after 6-8 month in an assignment to hand over to the final team, knowing to having moved the needle for the team in challenging times. When I see former colleagues turning friends and earlier employees stil asking “what would Nicole have done…” - then something good has happened. Rewarding. That is, why I take the risk of slow months without income and the uncertainty of the next assignment. To ...
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