From Tech to Deep Tech

Exhibit 3. Key challenges faced by startups
Needs: Market Access,
Technical Expertise,
and Business
Knowledge
-
Funding is the most important resource;
but market access, technical expertise, and
business knowledge are crucial, too, startups
say, when asked about the resources they
need most. (See Exhibit 4.)
as crucial, 39% cited access to technical
expertise and knowledge, and 26% named
business expertise. Although only 22% of
startups listed talent acquisition as critical,
investors emphasize it when choosing
where to invest, and one-third of corporates
view it as one of the biggest challenges in
driving innovation. As Appendix 3 details,
the perceived hierarchy of needs varies from
country to country. Moreover, as individual
startups move from one level of maturity to
the next, their needs change significantly.
Approximately 60% of the deep-tech startups
that we talked to identified funding as their
most critical resource, and 80% ranked
it in their top three. But 61% of survey
respondents ranked market access
(a distribution network, for example, or
access to a database or customer base)
12