What investors actually look for in startups?

Getting a great idea out of the lab and into industrial-scale production takes more than good science. It takes capital, the right facility, and someone who's done it before. In this episode, Matt Rowe,  Co-Founder, Executive Director, Outset Ventures walks through what it actually takes to scale a hard science or engineering company in New Zealand. He shares lessons from a decade as an early employee at a Kiwi-founded biotech that scaled to giant industrial facilities around the world, from co-founding several deep tech ventures in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), and from backing a world-first green steelmaking technology now heading to industrial trials at a New Zealand steelworks. He covers why property and infrastructure matter so much in a startup's early days, how venture funding works differently for industrialists than for software founders, the "test tube to tank to tanker" journey most deep tech companies face, and what he tells engineers and scientists who think they've found a breakthrough but haven't yet talked to a customer. If you liked what you heard today, you may be interested to come and see HERA's new Innovation Center at HERA House in Manukau. Built to give manufacturers, constructors, researchers and startups the space to develop, test and demonstrate what they're working on. - Find Mat Rowe - https://outset.ventures/mat-rowe Resources and links - Connect with HERA team - https://hera.org.nz/about-us/our-people/hera-team/ - Learn more about HERA's Industry 4.0 rangahau: https://hera.org.nz/research/industry-x-0/ - Subscribe to our podcast: https://www.hera.org.nz/podcasts/ - For live updates, follow us on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/hera-innovationinmetals/ 📬 Got questions or feedback? Reach us at **info@hera.org.nz**