Lab to Market Leadership with Chris Reichhelm

Deep Tech Leaders
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship

With over 25 years of experience in recruiting leadership teams and boards for advanced science and engineering companies, Chris Reichhelm, CEO of Deep Tech Leaders, offers an insider’s perspective on the pivotal decisions and strategies that shape the success of startups embarking on the lab-to-market journey.This podcast doesn’t just celebrate innovation for its own sake; instead, it highlights what it truly takes to build, scale, and sustain a successful deep tech company. Through conversations with entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and other key players, Chris will explore the management disciplines, cultures, and behaviours essential for commercialising and scaling deep tech innovations. Each episode will aim to unravel the complexities behind turning rich, research-intensive IP into commercially viable products across various sectors like computing, biotech, materials science, and more.'Lab to Market Leadership' is for those who are ready to learn from past mistakes and successes to better navigate the path from innovation to market. Whether you're an entrepreneur, an investor, or simply a deep tech enthusiast, this podcast offers valuable lessons and insights to enhance your understanding and approach to building groundbreaking companies that aim to solve the world's biggest problems and improve our way of life.  Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: www.deeptechleaders.comFollow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders Podcast Production: www.beauxhaus.co 

  1. 2d ago

    The Deep Tech Founder’s Guide to Going Public Through a SPAC

    In this episode of Lab-to-Market Leadership, Chris sits down with Brandon Sun, Managing Director and Head of SPAC Investment Banking at Cohen & Company Capital Markets, to unpack an increasingly important financing route for later-stage deep tech companies: going public through a SPAC. Brandon begins by explaining how SPACs work. A sponsor raises capital into a publicly traded vehicle, typically with a defined period to identify a private company and complete a transaction. Unlike a traditional IPO, the de-SPAC process operates more like an M&A negotiation, allowing the target company and sponsor to negotiate valuation, capital formation, timing, voting structures, and other terms more directly. Chris and Brandon explore why that flexibility can be particularly valuable for deep tech companies. Traditional IPOs often favor larger, more established businesses with proven revenue models. But sectors such as quantum computing, fusion, space, critical materials, and advanced energy may require substantial capital years before they fit conventional public-market frameworks. In those cases, companies may be evaluated against technical and commercial milestones rather than revenue alone. Brandon also explains the role of the SPAC sponsor. Beyond providing a transaction vehicle, an experienced sponsor can bring public-market credibility, operating experience, investor relationships, and guidance for leadership teams that may never have run a public company before.  Chris and Brandon then look at what makes a company genuinely ready for the public markets. Brandon points to sufficient scale, strong internal alignment, compelling public-market comparables, and above all, a management team that is fully committed to the process.  So, whether you're a deep tech founder approaching a major capital raise, an investor evaluating alternative financing structures, or a board considering when and how to enter the public markets, this episode offers a practical introduction to where SPACs fit within the deep tech financing toolkit. What You’ll Learn: How a SPAC works from initial capital raise through the de-SPAC transactionWhy the de-SPAC process behaves more like an M&A negotiation than a traditional IPOHow an experienced SPAC sponsor can add credibility, investor relationships, and public-market expertiseWhy the capital held in a SPAC trust is not automatically guaranteed to reach the target companyHow PIPE financing can provide committed capital and reduce redemption riskWhy quantum computing, fusion, space, defense tech, and critical materials can be particularly suited to public-market financingHow pre-revenue deep tech businesses can use technical and operational milestones when traditional revenue metrics are not yet appropriateWhat Brandon means by “public-private arbitrage” and why public-market comparables matterWhat size, leadership commitment, shareholder alignment, and market dynamics can indicate SPAC readinessWhy going public through a SPAC does not reduce the need to hit milestones and build investor trustHow becoming one of the first public companies in an emerging sector can help establish the metrics investors use to value that categoryBrandon Sun is Managing Director and Head of SPAC Investment Banking at Cohen & Company Capital Markets, where he focuses on SPAC M&A, go-public transactions, capital formation, specialty finance, and alternative asset management. He has worked in SPAC investment banking since 2013 and has completed or announced more than 140 SPAC M&A and business combination transactions representing over $250 billion in cumulative transaction value. He has also worked on more than 150 IPOs totaling over $55 billion of capital raised, alongside more than $23 billion in PIPEs, follow-on equity raises, and other financings. Brandon’s experience spans sectors, geographies, and stages of company development, including transactions involving emerging industries such as quantum computing, fusion, rare earths, critical materials, and other technology-driven markets.  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do so are here. Episode Resources: Brandon Sun on LinkedInCohen & Company Capital Markets Website Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    The Deep Tech Founder’s Guide to Going Public Through a SPAC

  2. Aug 27

    Critical Minerals, E-Waste, and the Race to Build Domestic Supply Chains with Matt Bedingfield

    In this episode of Lab-to-Market Leadership, Chris sits down with Matt Bedingfield, CEO of Mint Innovation, to explore what happens when deep tech moves beyond the laboratory and starts confronting the realities of industrial scale. After spending much of his career in senior roles across metals, recycling, finance, commercial strategy, and large-scale industrial development, Matt made the move into a deep tech startup focused on recovering critical minerals from electronic waste. He shares why that transition made sense for him, what founders should look for when bringing experienced corporate executives into a startup, and why the right leadership profile depends heavily on a company’s stage of development. Matt argues that the journey from lab to market often misses one critical middle stage: industrialization. A technology may be novel and technically proven, but commercial success requires making it repeatable, efficient, scalable, and profitable. That is where manufacturing expertise, commercial judgment, and broader operational leadership become essential. Chris and Matt also examine the investment challenges facing industrial deep tech, including long capital cycles, policy uncertainty, and the need to educate investors about the very different economics of recycling markets. They discuss why traditional assumptions around contracts and offtake do not always fit the scrap industry, and why companies need to communicate the difference between technology risk, ramp risk, and market risk more clearly. Finally, Matt makes the case that critical minerals recycling cannot be solved by one technology or one business. Smelters, hydrometallurgy, emerging separation technologies, recyclers, manufacturers, investors, and policymakers all have a role to play.  Whether you're leading a deep tech company, investing in industrial innovation, or thinking about the future of manufacturing and resource security, this episode offers a practical look at what it takes to move from promising technology to resilient industrial capability. What You’ll Learn: Why industrialization is the crucial middle stage between laboratory success and commercial scaleWhy high-growth startups need leaders who can operate across multiple functions rather than narrow specialistsHow AI, data centers, electrification, and reshoring are increasing demand for critical mineralsHow smelters, hydrometallurgy, battery recycling, and emerging separation technologies can coexist within the same ecosystemWhy long-term capital and investor education are essential to scaling critical mineral infrastructureWhy startups need to solve customer problems in the customer’s terms, not simply showcase the technologyHow traceability, closed-loop systems, and vertical integration can create additional commercial valueWhy critical minerals recycling is ultimately an ecosystem challenge rather than a winner-takes-all marketMatt Bedingfield is CEO of Mint Innovation, where he is focused on building domestic critical mineral supply chains by recovering valuable metals from electronic waste. He has spent more than 20 years working across metals, recycling, industrial strategy, commercial operations, finance, procurement, and manufacturing. His career has included senior leadership roles at Novelis, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, and Wieland, where he helped build and scale major recycling operations, deploy significant industrial capital, and lead acquisitions and supply chain initiatives. Before joining Mint Innovation, Matt built Wieland North America’s recycling business from the ground up, including a $120 million greenfield facility and a major recycling acquisition. Earlier in his career, he worked on global recycling strategy at Novelis and led commercial strategy across large-scale aluminum operations at Tri-Arrows. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do so are here. Episode Resources: Matt Bedingfield on LinkedInMint Innovation  WebsiteLet us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    Critical Minerals, E-Waste, and the Race to Build Domestic Supply Chains with Matt Bedingfield

  3. Aug 13

    Why Great Scientists Don't Always Build Great Startups with Antti Vasara

    In this episode of Lab-to-Market Leadership, Chris sits down with Antti Vasara, Vice President, Quantum at PostScriptum, former President and CEO of VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland), and one of Europe's most experienced deep tech leaders, to explore what it really takes to transform scientific breakthroughs into successful companies. Drawing on decades of experience leading one of Europe's largest research and technology organizations, Antti explains why successful founders are defined less by their technical brilliance than by their willingness to continuously learn, adapt, and evolve. He shares how research organizations can better identify entrepreneurial talent, why supporting founders requires far more than simply transferring intellectual property, and how co-founders, customer validation, and investor readiness dramatically improve a startup's chances of success. Chris and Antti also examine the governance challenges unique to deep tech startups, including when founders should bring in an independent board chair, how great boards build trust rather than pressure, and why psychological safety is essential for CEOs navigating the uncertainty of company building. The conversation broadens to Europe's innovation ecosystem, exploring why fragmented markets, inconsistent regulation, and conservative capital continue to limit the commercial success of world-class research. Whether you're a researcher considering entrepreneurship, an innovation leader building commercialization programs, or an investor supporting science-based startups, this episode offers valuable insights into bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and global businesses. What You’ll Learn: Why a founder's ability to learn and adapt is often a stronger predictor of success than technical expertise aloneHow research organizations can identify which scientists have the greatest entrepreneurial potentialWhy successful spinouts require far more support than simply licensing intellectual propertyThe three critical areas where RTOs create the most value: co-founder recruitment, customer validation, and investor preparationHow effective board chairs build trust, challenge constructively, and help founders grow into CEOsWhy Europe's fragmented markets and capital ecosystem continue to slow deep tech commercializationHow policy, regulation, and investment can work together to unlock Europe's innovation potentialWhy shifting from risk avoidance to opportunity thinking is essential for building globally competitive technology companiesAntti Vasara is a technology executive, board chair, venture partner, and one of Europe's foremost leaders in deep tech innovation. He previously served as President and CEO of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, where he spent a decade leading one of Europe's largest applied research organizations and helping transform scientific research into commercially successful companies. With a career spanning strategy consulting at McKinsey & Company and senior leadership roles at Nokia, SmartTrust, and Tieto, Antti brings more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of technology, business strategy, and innovation. Today, he is Vice President, Quantum at PostScriptum. He also serves as Venture Partner at Kvanted, chairs several high-growth deep tech companies including QMill and SemiQon, and acts as Finland's Special Envoy for Technology while advising the European Commission on quantum strategy. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do so are here. Episode Resources: Antti Vasara on LinkedInPostScriptum  Website Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    Why Great Scientists Don't Always Build Great Startups with Antti Vasara

  4. Jun 9

    Why Great Labs Need Breadth | Professor Hod Lipson on Robotics, AI and the 2030s

    What if the real innovation engine in Deep Tech is not the spinout, but the lab itself? Professor Hod Lipson is one of the world’s leading robotics researchers – recently the subject of a major Financial Times feature on the future of robotics. He directs Columbia’s Creative Machines Lab, where breadth beats specialisation, portfolios matter more than grades, and academia’s greatest role is to explore what industry cannot yet touch. In this episode, Hod explains why he built a lab around possibility rather than narrow focus, why he believes robotics is the real frontier after AI, and why the 2030s could be the decade when physical intelligence begins to scale. For researchers, founders and Deep Tech leaders interested in how breakthrough labs are built – and how ideas become companies. Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    Why Great Labs Need Breadth | Professor Hod Lipson on Robotics, AI and the 2030s

  5. May 12

    The Hard Thing about Hard Tech – Greg Smithies on the TRL 4-5 Challenge

    How do you move from novel idea to working prototype in hard tech? And how can you bend the rules of the game to give you a better chance of winning? Greg Smithies is a finance and operations leader who has worked with some of the world's most ambitious companies. He led finance and operations at Elon Musk's Neuralink and The Boring Company. He's also been an investor with Battery Ventures, BMW iVentures and Fifth Wall. He's helped raise over $2bn for startups, and over $950m for funds. This episode focusses on TRL 4-5 – the prototype stage where many Deep Tech companies stall. Greg shares how companies like Twelve (e-SAF / carbon transformation) signed a 14-year offtake agreement with British Airways parent company (IAG) while they were still at TRL 4. You'll learn: - Why storytelling starts earlier than most founders think - The three types of hard tech – and why each needs a different capital strategy - How Neuralink built teams before the company formally existed - Why off-the-shelf components can be a major advantage - The biggest hiring mistake – hiring industry insiders too early Greg outlines three types of hard tech: fundamental new science (Neuralink), re-engineered systems (Boring Company), and economies of scale (solar, batteries, electrolysers). Each faces a different lab-to-market journey. Essential listening for anyone navigating TRL 4-6 Chapter Notes: 00:00 Runway Experiments Milestones 01:13 Podcast Mission And Stages 03:12 Meet Greg Smithies 05:22 Operator Vs Investor Tradeoffs 08:06 Storytelling And North Star 11:52 Prototype Stage Communication 13:08 Vision First Neuralink Example 15:22 Building Diverse Technical Teams 18:19 Elon Speed And Timelines 22:51 Three Deep Tech Company Types 27:47 Capital Tools For Each Bucket 33:26 Selling Offtakes Early 36:25 Investor Evidence Vs Story 38:05 Defining Best Bets 38:55 Milestones for Next Round 41:23 Runway Experiments Tradeoffs 42:45 Showmanship and Tangibility 45:29 Hard Tech CEO Duality 49:35 TRL1 vs TRL2 Shift 55:14 TRL as Iterative Loop 57:00 Finding the Real Buyer 01:01:24 Who Should Sell It 01:03:39 When to Replace the CEO 01:06:38 Avoiding Industry Insider Trap 01:10:02 Closing Thoughts Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    The Hard Thing about Hard Tech – Greg Smithies on the TRL 4-5 Challenge

  6. Apr 29

    Taking Over From a Founder CEO: Ian Temperton on Scaling Plastic Energy

    Ian Temperton became CEO of Plastic Energy in 2021 after five years as Chief Investment Officer. He stepped in as the company moved from pilot to industrial scale – executing multi‑million euro projects with SABIC and TotalEnergies. This is what happens when the external CEO works. Ian spent five years learning the business before taking over. The shift came mid-deployment, when execution discipline and governance became critical. The team stayed. The focus changed: from raising capital to deploying it. The core challenge: delivering complex projects on petrochemical sites while scaling the organisation to match. The proof: nearly a decade of continuous operations in Spain. The lesson: separate innovation from deployment, and rebalance rigour as you scale. Essential listening for anyone moving from pilot to industrial scale in climate hardware. Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    Taking Over From a Founder CEO: Ian Temperton on Scaling Plastic Energy

  7. Apr 21

    Graphene at Scale: How Paragraf Is Realising the Wonder Material’s Potential | Dr Simon Thomas

    Dr Simon Thomas never expected to be a founder. After 12 years inside TSMC, Samsung and LG, he was ready for a break from the pressure of the world’s biggest fabs. Then Professor Sir Colin Humphreys set him a challenge: could he make graphene at wafer scale – the same problem Samsung had spent $2.2 billion trying, and failing, to crack? Five weeks of experiments later, Simon saw the first promising result. A short time after that, Paragraf was born, and by December 2024 the company had switched on the world’s first graphene electronics foundry. In this episode of Lab to Market Leadership, Simon explains how a decade‑plus in Asian fabs gave him a process‑engineering lens no one else brought to graphene, how a chance train journey with Colin Humphreys became the turning point, and why copper‑free, transfer‑free graphene was essential to escape the industry’s 'trough of disillusionment.' He also talks candidly about the hardest part of scaling a Deep Tech company: people. From hiring the first team to recognising when someone’s journey with the company is over, and from open‑door collaboration to faster, tougher CEO calls, this is essential listening for technical founders learning to lead as CEOs. Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    Graphene at Scale: How Paragraf Is Realising the Wonder Material’s Potential | Dr Simon Thomas

  8. Apr 2

    From Finnish Lab to US IPO: Dr. Jan Goetz on Building Europe's Quantum Leader IQM

    Dr Jan Goetz never planned to be a CEO. He wanted to be a professor. But when co-founder Professor Mikko Möttönen asked about starting a company, Jan followed his gut. Seven years later, IQM is Europe's largest quantum computing company, heading towards US public listing, and has just secured €50M from BlackRock. This is a rare, personal look at the founder CEO journey – not just the company wins, but the internal transitions, the moments of doubt, and how Jan learned to lead whilst staying true to himself. Jan reveals the journey: spinning out of VTT and Aalto University (April 2018), the four co-founders dividing roles (Mikko stayed in academia, Kuan became CTO, Juha became COO, Jan became CEO), the early decision to sell complete systems not chips, convincing governments to buy 5-qubit machines when engineers questioned it, using the SpaceX analogy to de-risk early sales, and how COVID rescue budgets opened doors. Finland's EU presidency rotation (July 2019) put IQM in front of Brussels decision-makers. COVID created quantum procurement budgets – Germany allocated €2B. Founders can't plan these things. What matters is being agile enough to see everything as an opportunity. Jan's advice: Know your strengths. His strength was storytelling – winning grants, pitching vision, being the ‘foreign minister’ of the company. He found others to cover weaknesses. Don't waste time trying to do everything you're not good at. The vulnerable moment: Lying in bed in Canada, Jan realised he wasn't coping well. He signed up for a marathon that day. Now he runs daily into the woods – no headphones, no phone, just him and his thoughts. On following your heart: People said he was crazy to choose Finland over Barcelona or US opportunities. But it felt right. Do you follow your plan or follow your heart? Jan followed his gut. Essential for scientific founders transitioning to CEO. Chapter notes: 0:00 Investor Pitch Dialogue 00:49 Podcast Mission Intro 01:23 Founder CEO Archetypes 03:04 Meet Jan Goetz 04:33 IQM Scale and IPO 06:52 From PhD to Finland 08:37 Choosing Aalto by Gut 10:07 Early Lab Leadership 12:07 Decision to Spin Out 12:51 Co-Founders and Vision 15:06 Incorporation and IP Talks 16:28 Full Stack Strategy Pivot 18:31 Why Jan Became CEO 20:35 Grant Writing vs Fundraising 23:52 What Investors Want in Deck 25:43 First Customers Governments 28:18 Timing EU and COVID Tailwinds 33:10 Evolving Founder CEO Role 37:11 Stepping Up as CEO 39:48 Fundraising Gets Tough 41:12 Co-CEO in Practice 43:53 Preparing for IPO Life 48:33 Public CEO Communication 52:53 Building a No-Hype Culture 56:05 Managing Global Subcultures 58:13 Hiring Senior Leaders 01:00:37 Avoiding Founder Burnout 01:04:50 Closing Reflections Let us know what you think... Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: https://www.deeptechleaders.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders

    From Finnish Lab to US IPO: Dr. Jan Goetz on Building Europe's Quantum Leader IQM
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About

With over 25 years of experience in recruiting leadership teams and boards for advanced science and engineering companies, Chris Reichhelm, CEO of Deep Tech Leaders, offers an insider’s perspective on the pivotal decisions and strategies that shape the success of startups embarking on the lab-to-market journey.This podcast doesn’t just celebrate innovation for its own sake; instead, it highlights what it truly takes to build, scale, and sustain a successful deep tech company. Through conversations with entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and other key players, Chris will explore the management disciplines, cultures, and behaviours essential for commercialising and scaling deep tech innovations. Each episode will aim to unravel the complexities behind turning rich, research-intensive IP into commercially viable products across various sectors like computing, biotech, materials science, and more.'Lab to Market Leadership' is for those who are ready to learn from past mistakes and successes to better navigate the path from innovation to market. Whether you're an entrepreneur, an investor, or simply a deep tech enthusiast, this podcast offers valuable lessons and insights to enhance your understanding and approach to building groundbreaking companies that aim to solve the world's biggest problems and improve our way of life.  Learn more about Lab to Market Leadership: www.deeptechleaders.comFollow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/deeptechleaders Podcast Production: www.beauxhaus.co 

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