Questions founders ask

Commercialisation is the work of turning a technology into something customers buy, use and pay for: finding the market, building evidence of demand, funding the next stage and getting to customers. In deep tech the technology often progresses faster than the business around it. Doing the commercial work alongside the technical work means development effort goes where there is a customer for it.

No. Technology Readiness Levels show how technically mature an innovation is, but a higher readiness level does not mean a stronger commercial proposition. You can build something technically excellent and still not know who needs it most, which market to enter first or whether customers will pay.

Map the possible applications and markets for your technology, then compare them on who feels the problem most strongly, how they solve it today and what would make changing worthwhile. The strongest first market, often called a beachhead, is usually where the need is sharpest and the customer is within reach. Choosing one does not close off the others; it gives you somewhere to build evidence.

More people than the end user. In complex markets the person who uses a product, the person who pays for it and the people who influence or block the decision are often different, so your research needs to reach each of them. Asking how they solve the problem today, and what would make changing worthwhile, tells you more than asking whether they like the idea.

Evidence that customers will invest something: time, data, access, reputation, money or organisational effort. For deep tech that might be a paid pilot, access to a production environment, a letter of intent, partner commitment, technical validation, procurement progression or repeat customer behaviour. Interest on its own is not demand.

A route to market is how your product reaches the customer who pays for it: who you sell to first, through which channels or partners, at what price and through what sales process. For complex technology it often runs through pilots, partnerships or procurement before it reaches repeat sales. The aim is to learn how your product gets bought, not to write a perfect plan on paper.

Before committing significant development time, money or commercial effort. At each step, ask what decision you are making, what would need to be true for it to work, what you don’t know yet and what the quickest credible way to find out is. That stops technical development becoming the default answer to commercial uncertainty.

Funding you do not give away equity for, such as innovation grants from Innovate UK and other public funders. It can help you develop, prove and commercialise new technology. To win it you need the right opportunity, a credible project, strong commercial evidence and a clear case for why public funding should support what happens next.

Test your project against the competition before you start writing: eligibility, scope, competition fit and how closely the project aligns with the funder’s objectives. A weak fit is better found before you invest significant time in an application. Applicants are increasingly likely to need a clear account of how their project contributes to a UK priority sector or recognised strength, so be explicit about yours.

A real customer need, a clear commercial opportunity and a credible route to market for what the project produces. Evidence from the people who would buy or use the innovation carries more weight than desk research or assumptions. It also helps to show how the project leads to a successful company, including the investment or procurement pathway beyond the grant.

Often, yes. In Innovate UK projects, consultancy can be an eligible cost, as a subcontract or, for market assessment studies, under other costs, so commercial research written into the bid can be paid from the grant. Eligibility is at the funder’s discretion and has to be justified against the competition scope, and subcontractors go through your own procurement process.