The stakeholder complexity

A common pitfall for early-stage ventures is viewing the ‘user’ as a monolithic entity. In reality, the MedTech landscape is a web of competing interests. A solution might offer clinical excellence for a doctor, but if it fails to address the ‘economic pains’ of a hospital administrator or the efficiency needs of a technician, it will likely stall.

One of the biggest eye-openers we see when mentoring accelerator cohorts is the stakeholder mapping exercise. In MedTech, the ‘customer’ is rarely a single individual. Founders are pushed to move beyond their initial assumptions and clearly identify who holds decision-making power, who will actually use the solution, and who is financially invested in it. This often exposes critical gaps between the perceived value of a solution and how it’s evaluated across the healthcare ecosystem.

Refining a value proposition requires a shift from technical features to the ‘job to be done’. This perspective moves beyond functional utility to explore emotional and social drivers, such as peace of mind, risk reduction, and productivity. By mapping the specific ‘pains and gains’ for every stakeholder, a startup can evolve its narrative from a product pitch into a strategic market fit.

Identifying the opportunity gap

To bridge the gap between a founder’s vision and market reality, an objective validation methodology is required. This often involves utilizing opportunity algorithms to identify underserved needs. The process is deceptively simple but strategically profound: by measuring how important a specific outcome is to a respondent versus how satisfied they are with current solutions, startups can pinpoint the exact ‘attributes’ where the market is failing.

These gaps are where the most compelling value propositions are built. It is rarely about starting over from scratch; rather, it is about:

• Slicing attributes: Breaking down the solution into specific benefits that address validated needs.
• Challenging assumptions: Moving from ‘we think’ to ‘we know’ through structured respondent feedback.
• Story fine-tuning: Rephrasing the core solution to resonate with the person who holds the decision-making power.

Iteration as a competitive edge

The journey from an initial concept to a final pitch is rarely a straight line. It is an iterative cycle of presenting, challenging, and restructuring. The goal of this refinement process is to ensure that by the time a startup stands before an audience, they aren’t just selling an idea, they are solving a validated market pain. When a founder moves past the ‘baby syndrome’ and embraces the reality of the healthcare landscape, they turn their innovation into a sustainable business.

This is exactly the type of transformation we aim to drive when mentoring MedTech startups. Programs like the MedTech Accelerator are designed to support founders through this journey.

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Material matters: A stream-by-stream overview

Every material comes with its own set of trade-offs. Finding the right fit and innovation potential requires balancing performance with environmental impact:

• Aluminum: It is highly recyclable, but the initial production is incredibly energy-intensive. Current innovation focuses on increasing recycled content, lightweighting and improving collection infrastructure to reduce the carbon footprint.
• Cardboard: While renewable and widely recycled, issues such as deforestation and non-recyclable coatings remain. The goal is to source alternative fibers, simplify recycling processes and reduce the amount of material used.
• Glassware: It offers infinite recyclability but suffers from high transport costs due to its weight and fragility. Innovators are looking toward lightweighting, reusable packaging systems and logistics optimization to offset these hurdles.
• Plastics: Though the versatility and cost-effectiveness are unmatched, their reliance on fossil fuels is a major drawback. The industry is now pivoting toward bio-based plastics, improved recyclability and closed-loop systems.

The pitfalls of sustainable packaging innovation

More than just swapping materials, sustainable packaging requires systemic solutions. We generally see hurdles fall into three categories:

1. Technological hurdles

Sustainable materials don’t always offer the same performance as traditional packaging. Issues such as weaker barrier properties, reduced durability or limitations in print quality mean that further innovation is needed. At the same time, manufacturers are under pressure to scale quickly, even though adapting existing production lines to new materials can be both costly and technically complex. In addition, ensuring that sustainable packaging is genuinely recyclable or compostable usually requires substantial investment, not only in infrastructure but also in educating consumers.

2. Market challenges

Cost remains a major obstacle. Sustainable packaging solutions are often more expensive, which makes it harder to keep products affordable. Consumers may also avoid switching if they feel sustainability undermines convenience, appearance or product protection. On top of this, sourcing alternative materials and integrating them into existing supply chains often increases complexity and risk.

3. User challenges

For sustainable packaging to work in practice, it must be easy to use, easy to open and simple to dispose of. Clear and understandable labeling is crucial to helping consumers correctly recycle or compost packaging. Finally, widespread adoption relies on these solutions being consistently available across different retail channels, rather than limited to niche or premium offerings.

Piloting your way to success

Rather than jumping straight to a full-scale launch, FMCG companies can use strategic pilots at different points in the innovation journey to test assumptions and learn what truly works.

• Front-end innovation: Test consumer preferences for different materials, formats, and functionalities to guide early-stage innovation.
• New product development: Evaluate the performance of new sustainable packaging solutions in real-world conditions, ensuring they meet both consumer and product needs.
• New product introduction: Assess the feasibility of integrating sustainable packaging into existing manufacturing and distribution processes, optimizing for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

For these pilots and, more broadly, sustainable packaging innovation to succeed, multidisciplinary teams are essential.

• Material expertise: Deep knowledge of sustainable packaging materials and their properties.
• Technology scouting: Advanced tools to scout for out-of-the-box solutions at all technology readiness levels.
• Concept design: Creative concept and usability design to increase adoption rates.
• Consumer research: Conducting in-depth consumer research to understand preferences and behaviors.
• Target-based costing: Drive material selection, design, and manufacturing processes to meet the cost target while maintaining functionality and sustainability
• Pilot project design and execution: Designing and executing strategic pilots to de-risk innovation and ensure market success.
• Technology integration: Integrating cutting-edge technologies to optimize packaging performance and sustainability.

Ultimately, the circular packaging economy is not about finding a single ‘perfect’ material. It requires continuous optimization across the entire value chain. Lasting impact emerges where material expertise meets consumer-centric design. At Verhaert Strategic Innovation, we support FMCG companies in working through the challenges of sustainable packaging by combining deep technical expertise with a data-driven, pragmatic approach, helping create solutions that work for both consumers and the planet.

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Answering the investor’s core questions

A perfect business plan anticipates and answers every fundamental question a financier has before they decide to commit capital. If the plan is comprehensive and positive, it gives investors confidence that you understand the challenges ahead.

1. What are you solving?

The first priority is defining the customer problem and the solution your business offers. Investors need clarity on the market gap you’re filling. This should be supported by a concise, compelling “elevator pitch” that summarizes your value proposition quickly.

2. How do you make money?

This moves beyond the product and into the business model. You must clearly detail how revenue is generated and what your business execution plan looks like. Investors want to see the strategy—the milestones and building blocks—that will lead you to the defined ‘endgame’ or ultimate vision of the company.

3. What can I expect?

Ultimately, the investor is asking: “What can I expect from the business?” This is where you address market dynamics, competition, and what you expect from the investor in return. A good plan demonstrates why your assumptions are reasonable, often because they are based on actual experience or solid market research.

Setting the scene: market, team and competition

This section serves as your comprehensive opening argument, setting the stage for the entire proposal by establishing the credibility of your opportunity and the capability of your management team. This is where you connect the dots between a market need and the people who can exploit it.

• The market opening: Investors need to understand the size of the opportunity and the market dynamics they are operating. This demonstrates that you’re not just building a product, but a sustainable business. Make sure to detail your existing customers and key achievements to date, providing evidence that your solution already resonates.
• The team and organization: Investors invest in people first. The plan must include key team members and an organizational chart to demonstrate that the right expertise and experience are in place. Highlight the core team’s relevant track record and explain why this specific group is uniquely qualified to build the company you are trying to create.
• The competitor overview: Providing a clear overview of your competitors, including their key information and financials, shows realism. It proves you understand the landscape. Additionally, you highlight what makes your solution superior, why customers will choose you and how your competitive advantage will be maintained as you scale.

Visualizing the business engine

This section is critical for proving profitability. You need a visualization of the business engine: what money, effort and resources you put in, and what you get out in terms of money, preferably per ‘unit’ sold. This validates the underlying economics of your venture.

A crucial metric here is the relationship between customer lifetime value (CLTV) and customer acquisition costs (CAC). As a rule of thumb, investors typically look for a business where the CLTV is greater than 3 times the CAC. You must define your own relevant KPIs (revenues, margins, cash burn, run-rate) that show how your underlying value drivers develop.

Proving viability and need

The financial section is where the plan moves from being aspirational to actionable.

The forecasts

A funding-ready plan must include a robust financial plan with a projection for the next five years. This five-year time horizon allows investors to properly assess the return potential and the journey to scale. Ideally, this covers the income statement, the balance sheet and the cashflow statement.

Analysis of need

A clear analysis of cash need/cash burn is non-negotiable. The plan must explicitly answer, “How much money do you need and for what?” This shows you have thought about your working capital requirements and initial operational costs.

Valuation and structure

Finally, the plan must clearly lay out the business’s valuation, the sources and uses of funds, and the resulting shareholder/financing structure. This provides the blueprint for the investment deal itself.

The living document

The best business plans are positive and comprehensive, including all necessary information to truly understand and value the business. They provide assurance that the team is organized, the market is understood, and the financial requirements are calculated.

A business plan is not a static paperweight, it’s a foundation for the ‘Next steps’ and an ongoing dialogue with potential investors. By providing this level of detail, you transform a pitch into a professional proposal, significantly increasing your chances of securing the necessary capital.

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Tip 1: Start with the problem, not the technology

It’s easy to fall into the trap of being fascinated by your own technology. As a researcher, you know every detail of how it works, but the market doesn’t. What matters is the problem it solves and why it’s better than existing solutions.

Trick: Begin with the pain points. Ask yourself what real-world challenges your technology could address. Look across industries and societal needs, is it inefficiency, cost, safety, accessibility or something else? Frame your technology as the answer to a tangible problem.

Example: If your breakthrough is a new sensor material, instead of highlighting sensitivity, ask: ‘What if we could detect pollutants in real-time at levels previously impossible?’ or ‘What if this sensor could make autonomous vehicles safer in bad weather?’.

Tip 2: Identify what makes your technology unique

You know your technology inside and out. Now distill it to the core features that set it apart and the advantages those features bring. Don’t just list what it is; explain what it does better and why it matters.

Trick: Use a simple Feature-Advantage-Benefit framework.

• Feature: What does your technology have? (ex. uses quantum entanglement)
• Advantage: What does that feature do better than alternatives? (ex. enables unhackable communication)
• Benefit: What does that advantage mean for the user or market? (ex. ensures complete data security for sensitive transactions)

Where possible, quantify comparisons. Instead of ‘Our battery lasts long’ say ‘Our battery lasts 50% longer than the leading competitor, extending drone missions by an extra hour’.

Tip 3: Think beyond the obvious: The ‘What else?’ game

Your initial research might have a clear primary application, but truly impactful technologies often have ripple effects into unexpected areas. Thinking broadly can uncover entirely new markets.

Trick: Play the ‘What else?’ game. Gather a diverse team (colleagues, industry contacts, even outsiders) and ask: ‘If this technology existed, what else could it be used for?’ Look for analogies: if it solves problem X in one industry, could it solve a similar problem elsewhere?

Example: A precise navigation system developed for autonomous vehicles could also improve robotic surgery or warehouse automation.

Dual-use lens: For technologies with dual-use potential, explicitly consider both commercial and defense/security applications. If it’s effective for medical diagnostics, could it also enhance battlefield triage? If it improves supply chain logistics, could it be applied to military readiness? This approach ensures you’re capturing all possible high-impact opportunities.

Tip 4: Validate with the market, not just the lab

Even the best hypotheses need market validation with real users. Assumptions alone won’t tell you whether your killer application is truly valuable.

Trick: Conduct customer discovery interviews. Talk to potential users, experts, and decision-makers. Ask about their pain points, current solutions, and what they wish existed. Listen more than you speak — their feedback will reveal if your application hits the mark, or uncover problems you hadn’t considered.

Example: If your material could improve dental implants, speak with dentists, surgeons, and manufacturers. Is the real issue cost, durability, biocompatibility, or something else entirely?

Tip 5: Iterate, prioritize and focus

Once you’ve identified potential applications and unique advantages, refine your list. You can’t pursue everything at once.

Trick: Evaluate applications using clear criteria: market size and growth, competitive landscape, feasibility, team alignment and potential impact. Don’t be afraid to pivot — the first idea you considered may not be the most viable or impactful. Start small, test, learn and scale up.

Finding the killer application that creates real-world impact

Transitioning from technology research to real market impact requires more than scientific insight, it demands a strategic approach to uncover the applications that truly matter and demonstrate tangible value. At Verhaert Strategic Innovation, we help organizations identify their technology’s killer application and translate its unique strengths into new business opportunities. So the question is: which of your innovations could unlock its full potential in the market and make a real difference in the world?

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Technology transcending boundaries

Cutting-edge technologies are increasingly dissolving the traditional divide between civilian and defense applications, creating shared innovation pathways and accelerating progress across both domains. Dual-use technologies are those developed with a primary purpose in one sector but capable of delivering significant value in another. This convergence reflects a larger trend: challenges in society and security are becoming more interconnected, and the solutions required are often technologically similar.

Dual-use innovation is becoming a key driver of technological progress, economic resilience and strategic capability. This enables industry to benefit from high-performance technologies traditionally associated with defense, while defense ecosystems gain access to the agility, creativity and entrepreneurial drive found in commercial and academic research environments. Dual-use technologies are advancing innovation and strengthening both societal well-being and security readiness.

What is dual-use technology?

Dual-use technology is about innovations that are designed for civilian use but also possess the capability to be applied in defense or security. The defining feature is not the technology itself, but its adaptability across sectors. A single development, whether software, hardware, material or scientific method, can support public benefit while also enhancing national security, operational resilience or strategic capability.

The strength of dual-use technologies lies in their scalability and adaptability. A single technology breakthrough can now impact multiple sectors, from public health to national security, from energy to space exploration. Therefore, broadening their market potential but also accelerating innovation cycles, allowing research to translate more rapidly into practical solutions.

Here are some examples:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning: Powering predictive analytics in healthcare, smart manufacturing, and environmental monitoring, while also enabling advanced surveillance, targeting, and autonomous defense systems.
• Drones and autonomous systems: Transforming logistics, agriculture, and filmmaking, while equally essential for reconnaissance, border monitoring, and tactical support.
• Cybersecurity: Safeguarding personal data and critical infrastructure, and forming a foundational component of national defense, intelligence operations, and digital resilience.
• Advanced materials: Used in lightweight composites for commercial aviation, consumer electronics, and renewable energy systems, as well as in high-strength armour, aerospace components, and protective equipment.
• Biotechnology: Driving breakthroughs in disease treatment, diagnostics, and public health, while also enabling biodefense, rapid-response medical countermeasures, and resilience against emerging biological threats.

Dual-use highlights the shared technological foundations that can serve multiple sectors. Making dual-use technology a very powerful catalyst for economic growth, cross-sector collaboration, and strategic autonomy. Allowing government, industry, and research institutions to leverage investment more efficiently, collaboratively and ultimately ensuring that advancements in one domain strengthen capability in another.

Why researchers need to think like entrepreneurs

Moving dual-use research from concept to meaningful real-world capability isn’t just a question of scientific rigor—it demands strategic awareness, adaptability, and a willingness to engage beyond the traditional academic sphere. While academic outputs remain essential, they represent only the first step in realizing the broader impact of an innovation. To ensure that research reaches its full potential beyond the laboratory, researchers must also understand how their work can be positioned, developed, and deployed in real-world environments across multiple sectors.

This is where an entrepreneurial mindset becomes critical. It enables researchers to think not only about what they have developed, but who it is for, why it matters, and how it can be brought to market responsibly. Beyond scientific excellence, dual-use innovation requires navigating funding landscapes, compliance and regulatory requirements, partnerships with industry or government, and the practical steps from prototype development to scalable implementation.

Closing the research-to-market gap
Many strong innovations stall in the lab because commercialization requires skills beyond research. Pairing scientific expertise with entrepreneurial thinking allows technologies to move from prototypes to viable, market-ready solutions.

Recognizing broader opportunities
An entrepreneurial mindset helps researchers identify multiple use cases, engage with industry, and align their innovations with real market and end-user needs across both civilian and defense domains.

Navigating regulatory and ethical complexity
Dual-use technologies often involve sensitive legal and ethical considerations. Entrepreneurial awareness supports informed decision-making, responsible development, and compliance from the start.

Accelerating real-world impact
When researchers actively drive development—securing funding, forming partnerships, and building implementation pathways—their work reaches users faster, which is especially critical in defense and public-sector contexts.

Strengthening investment and talent attraction
Clear commercialization potential makes research more compelling to investors, industry partners, and skilled collaborators, enabling stronger ecosystems around emerging technologies.

Enabling cross-sector collaboration
Dual-use innovation depends on collaboration between academia, government, and industry. Entrepreneurial researchers are better positioned to build and sustain the partnerships required to bring solutions to scale.

Researchers can cultivate this mindset by gaining a foundational understanding of business, market dynamics, finance, and intellectual property; building networks with investors, industry leaders, policymakers, and fellow entrepreneurs; and embracing calculated risk-taking and iterative learning. It also involves applying problem-solving skills to real-world challenges and communicating the value and potential of their technology clearly to a diverse audience.

28 DIGITAL x Verhaert

We are proud to partner with 28 DIGITAL to provide this much-needed support to researchers and highlight the strategic importance of dual-use technologies. The intersection of cutting-edge science and dual-use innovation holds exceptional potential, opening pathways for meaningful real-world impact. When researchers adopt an entrepreneurial approach, they can move their breakthroughs from concept to tangible solutions that address both civilian and defense needs—shaping a future where their work serves a broader purpose. The journey from scientific discovery to societal benefit is fundamentally entrepreneurial, and researchers are at the center of this transformation.

Check out Verhaert Strategic Innovation‘s new pre-incubator program ‘SPIN: Rise Evolve DualTech‘, in partnership with 28 DIGITAL’s SPIN: Rise initiative, which will support researchers across Europe with hands-on entrepreneurship learnings and mentoring.

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How space data adds value

There are 3 core space technologies that offer practical benefits in other sectors: GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), Satcom (Satellite Communication) and Earth Observation (EO). Each category provides unique, actionable insights that are revolutionizing how businesses assess risk, optimize operations and connect with customers. Below is a closer look at how these applications create tangible value.

Enhanced risk assessment

Insurance companies can use EO data to gather valuable insights for assessing risks and estimating potential damages associated with natural disasters, climate change and property damage. This allows insurers to accurately price policies, optimize claims processing and mitigate potential losses.

Another example can be found in banking, where EO data can be used to monitor economic activity, assess infrastructure development and evaluate the financial health of businesses. This information can aid credit risk assessment and investment decisions.

Improved operational efficiency

For logistics and transportation, GNSS technology enables precise tracking of assets and fleets in real-time. As a result, this helps optimize routes, reduce fuel consumption and improve delivery efficiency, ultimately saving costs and overall efficiency for transportation and delivery services.

Similarly, supply chain management can benefit from EO data to monitor supply chains, track shipments and identify potential disruptions. It enables companies to move from reactive crisis management to proactive, data-driven optimization.

Enhanced customer service

Other than efficiency, space tech enables telecommunications companies to reach even new market segments. The technology enables reliable communication networks, even in remote areas, ensuring connectivity for businesses and their customers.

Another example is financial services. GNSS improves customer convenience not just by making mobile banking and payment transactions possible anywhere but by ensuring those transactions are processed with unparalleled speed, security and global operational reliability, improving customer convenience and accessibility.

Innovation and new business opportunities

Space data allows fintech companies to reach new markets and develop innovative financial products and services, such as location-based insurance or microloans for farmers. This is because of novel, accurate and often instant data points about assets, activities and regions that were previously data-poor.

Consulting companies can use their domain expertise to leverage space data and provide valuable insights and consulting services to clients. This decision-making support can apply to various sectors, such as agriculture, urban planning and environmental management.

Leveraging space data for your business

Successfully integrating space data requires a structured approach to ensure maximum benefit. The key steps include:

• Data assessment: Ensuring datasets meet requirements to address specific business challenges.
• Strategic sourcing: Scouting and set-up processes for collaboration with data providers and technical specialists.
• Strategic consulting: Providing guidance on how to leverage space data for business growth and innovation.

Embracing these strategic steps positions businesses for success, but sustaining a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving space data field requires a broad network to scout new application opportunities. This is why Verhaert Strategic Innovation is a key partner in initiatives like CASSINI, making us uniquely positioned to connect businesses with cutting-edge space technology and the talent driving its next phase of development.

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Moving beyond traditional waste management

Traditional waste management often focuses on disposal – landfilling or incineration. While these methods are necessary for managing certain waste types and reducing immediate volume, they inherently treat waste as an endpoint. This approach fails to recognize the potential value locked within waste streams, leading to resource depletion, high energy consumption for manufacturing new materials and significant environmental impact. The circular economy offers a critical alternative by treating waste as a potential raw material.

ILvA, the intermunicipal waste processing association for the ‘Land van Aalst’ region, is taking a bold step towards a circular economy with its Schendelbeke composting site. With support from VLAIO (Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship), they’re using strategic sourcing to transform the site into a hub for producing valuable resources from organic waste.

Strategic sourcing facilitates this transformation in 3 ways:

1. Innovation partnerships

ILvA is using an ‘innovation partnership’ procurement model. This allows them to collaborate with companies to co-develop and test innovative technologies for processing organic waste, specifically focusing on converting woody and reed-like fractions of green waste into biochar.

2. Focus on biochar

Biochar, a charcoal-like material, is produced through pyrolysis (heating in the absence of oxygen). It has numerous applications: soil improvement, carbon sequestration, water filtration and even as a renewable energy source. Because this production process requires highly specialized technology, ILvA utilized its innovation partnership model to secure the precise, cutting-edge pyrolysis equipment and expertise.

3. Pilot project

The project involves a pilot phase to test and validate the biochar production process at Schendelbeke. This pilot structure is used to manage the inherent complexity and uncertainty of new technologies. It allows for real-world optimization and ensures the chosen solution is technically effective, financially scalable, and ultimately de-risks the significant public investment before committing to full, industrial implementation.

A game-changer for climate and resource management

This project has the potential to be a game-changer for waste management and contribute to a more sustainable future:

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions: Producing biochar from organic waste can sequester carbon in the soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional composting or landfilling.
• Valuable resource creation: Biochar is a valuable soil amendment that can improve soil fertility, water retention and crop yields.
• Circular economy model: The project demonstrates a shift from a linear “take-make-dispose” model to a circular economy where waste is used as a resource.

Guiding the transition

Verhaert Strategic Innovation played a crucial role in the early stages of this project. This involved essential strategic sourcing expertise in:

• Stakeholder engagement: Organizing workshops and market consultations to gather technical and market input from potential users of biochar and technology providers.
• Technology scouting: Identifying and evaluating different pyrolysis technologies to assess their suitability and alignment with project goals.
• Strategic guidance: Providing strategic guidance to ILvA in developing the procurement strategy and facilitating the selection of the right innovation partner.

A model for circular transition

The ‘Circulaire Ecogrondstoffenhub Schendelbeke’ project is a shining example of how strategic sourcing can be used to drive the transition to a circular economy. By embracing innovation, fostering collaboration and leveraging the expertise of partners like Verhaert, ILvA is creating a model for sustainable waste management that can be replicated across Flanders and beyond.

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Why the shift matters: Draghi’s warning on sovereignty

The dependence on industry-led innovation is not merely a path to cost-saving, it is a geopolitical necessity linked inextricably to economic resilience. Draghi’s report warns that Europe faces a critical triple dependency, encompassing the innovation gap with the U.S. and China, the decarbonization mandate, and the urgent need to shore up defense. He argues forcefully that Europe cannot afford to choose between these priorities, as they are deeply intertwined.

The reliance on industry is critical because the commercial sector iterates faster, meaning if a European Ministry of Defence (MoD) cannot rapidly integrate private-sector breakthroughs in AI edge computing or drone technology, it will inevitably fall behind adversaries unconstrained by traditional acquisition timelines. Furthermore, Europe’s fragmented defense industry has created a systemic vulnerability with costly duplication, a problem that can only be fixed by harnessing the scale of the private sector through dual-use production, thereby reducing dependency and creating essential economies of scale. Defense must field affordable capability, such as thousands of cheap counter-drone systems, and since government R&D cannot fund this scale, industry-led mass manufacturing is the only viable path to reversing the negative cost exchange ratio.

The impact on industry: Opportunities and reckoning

The dual-use imperative creates an enormous, complex opportunity for the European technology industry, but success demands radical internal change. The rising tide of European defense spending, fueled by Draghi’s analysis, signals a predictable, high-value demand signal never before seen in peacetime Europe, which offers a mandate for scale. Companies that embrace dual-use design can secure long-term, stable government contracts (anchor tenancy) to fund their capital expenditure, which effectively de-risks the long development cycle inherent in deep tech. Defense procurement, when done correctly, simultaneously forces standardization and modularity, making the company’s product line more efficient and competitive in the global commercial market.

To seize this opportunity, adaptation is critical for all players. Industry must embrace the dual-use model by designing hardware around COTS components and modular architectures that can serve multiple markets. This is to ensure the product is cheap enough for commercial scale and robust enough for security. Start-ups, for their part, must invest in bridging the cultural divide by actively engaging with defense innovation hubs and developing the necessary expertise in security compliance and government accounting. This helps them move beyond small grants to secure large procurement contracts. Critically, industry must avoid the fatal trap of fragmentation and duplication by resisting the urge to lobby for bespoke national contracts, a practice that ultimately weakens the EU’s industrial capacity..

Building the new space and dual-use ecosystem

The complexity of orchestrating this pan-European industrial and cultural shift requires specialized expertise. Verhaert’s strategic innovation model plays a vital role in accelerating this transformation by helping build the necessary ecosystems for CASSINI for new space and EUDIS for European Defence Industry actions. The teams actively facilitate business acceleration by leading entrepreneurship within scientific areas, incubating new start-ups and accelerating promising scale-ups across Europe. Moreover, they connect early-stage space companies with investors across the continent through dedicated matchmaking events. This process not only validates dual-use start-ups but also strengthens the European innovation community, providing the infrastructure and networks required to transform fragmented national capabilities into a cohesive, strategically resilient, European-wide industrial base.

In short, the dual-use mandate—reinforced by Draghi’s urgent call for economic security—presents the European industry with a clear challenge: scale up, specialize and integrate, or risk ceding both commercial leadership and strategic autonomy to foreign competitors.

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What is ‘AI and automation at the core’?

‘AI and automation at the core’ refers to a strategic approach where artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation are not merely add-ons but are embedded as foundational elements in a company’s operations, products and services from their inception. It means:

• Intelligent operations: AI and automation are used to streamline internal processes, from customer service and data analysis to supply chain management and manufacturing. Think of AI-driven tools that predict equipment failures, automate routine administrative tasks or optimize logistics routes.
• Smart products and services: New offerings are designed with AI capabilities built in, offering personalized experiences, predictive functionalities and adaptive learning. This ranges from smart home devices that learn user preferences to healthcare solutions that provide personalized treatment recommendations.
• Data-driven decision making: AI processes vast amounts of data to uncover insights, identify trends and inform strategic decisions, enabling companies to react faster and more intelligently to market shifts.

This core integration goes beyond simple task automation, it’s about creating intelligent systems that can learn, adapt and operate with increasing autonomy, freeing up human capital for higher-value, more creative endeavors.

What to expect next as a company

The trajectory of AI and automation suggests several key developments companies should prepare for:

Hyper-personalization at scale
Expect AI to drive even deeper levels of personalization across all customer touchpoints. This will move beyond tailored product recommendations to dynamic, real-time adjustments of services and experiences based on individual user behavior and context.

Agentic AI systems
We’ll see more ‘agentic AI’, systems capable of independent decision-making, learning and action. This means AI moving from tools that assist humans to agents that can perform complex tasks autonomously, interacting with other systems and adapting to new information. This could manifest in self-managing inventory systems, autonomous customer support, or even AI-driven R&D.

‘No-code/low-code’ democratization
The ability to build sophisticated AI-powered applications without extensive coding knowledge will become even more widespread. This democratization of development tools will empower more business users and domain experts to create and deploy AI solutions, accelerating innovation cycles.

Blended human-AI workforces
The future workforce will be a seamless blend of human and AI capabilities. AI will handle repetitive, data-intensive or predictive tasks, while humans will focus on creativity, critical thinking, strategic problem-solving and managing complex relationships. As a result, companies will need to invest in reskilling their human workforce to collaborate effectively with AI.

Ethical AI and governance
As AI becomes more pervasive, the focus on ethical AI development, transparency, accountability and robust governance frameworks will intensify. Companies will need clear policies and practices to ensure AI is used responsibly and fairly.

Ecosystem-driven AI
AI solutions will increasingly be part of larger, interconnected ecosystems, requiring interoperability and collaboration with various partners and platforms.

Why you should consider AI and automation for new business creation

For companies looking to launch new ventures, integrating AI and automation at the core offers a distinct competitive advantage:

1. Lowering barriers to entry and accelerating time-to-market: AI-powered platforms and no-code/low-code tools significantly reduce the technical expertise and development time traditionally required to build new products and services. This enables faster prototyping, testing, and launching of new business ideas, even for non-technical founders.
2. Unlocking unprecedented efficiency and scalability: New businesses built on automated processes can operate with leaner teams and lower overheads from day one. AI can handle tasks that would otherwise require significant human effort, allowing start-ups to scale quickly without proportional increases in costs. This is particularly crucial for ventures aiming for rapid market penetration.
3. Delivering hyper-personalized and outcome-driven value: AI allows new businesses to offer products and services that are deeply personalized to individual customer needs and preferences. This capability is key to creating outcome-based models where customers pay for results, not just features. For example, an AI-driven fitness app can offer truly personalized workout plans and dietary advice, leading to better user outcomes and stronger retention.
4. Gaining superior insights and adaptability: By embedding AI for data collection and analysis from the outset, new businesses can gain continuous, real-time insights into market dynamics, customer behavior, and operational performance. This enables unparalleled agility, allowing them to pivot, refine their offerings, and identify new opportunities much faster than traditional businesses.
5. Creating differentiated and ‘sticky’ offerings: In crowded markets, AI and automation can be the differentiator. A service that learns and improves with use, or a product that automates a previously cumbersome task, creates a superior user experience that builds strong customer loyalty and makes it harder for competitors to replicate.

In essence, AI and automation are not just tools; they are the new infrastructure for innovation. By placing them at the core of new business creation, companies can build ventures that are inherently more efficient, scalable, customer-centric and resilient in the face of rapid market evolution. The future belongs to those who don’t just use AI, but build with AI.

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Moving beyond traditional waste management

With mass markets reaching saturation, the competitive landscape is fiercer than ever. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone (and often appealing to no one particularly well), savvy entrepreneurs are hyper-focusing on underserved micro-communities. These are groups of people with very specific needs, interests or problems that are not being adequately addressed by mainstream solutions.

Think of it as zooming in with a magnifying glass. Instead of aiming for ‘fitness enthusiasts’, a niche business might target ‘remote workers who want to integrate 10-minute stretching breaks into their workday’. This granular approach allows businesses to:

• Achieve product-market fit faster: By deeply understanding a small, specific audience, companies can design products and services that truly resonate with their target customers from day one. This reduces the risk of developing solutions that nobody wants or needs.
• Build stronger brand loyalty: When a product or service is tailor-made for a specific group, customers feel seen and understood. This fosters a sense of belonging and creates enthusiastic advocates for the brand.
• Reduce marketing costs: Marketing to a clearly defined niche is often more efficient and cost-effective. Messages can be highly targeted, reaching the right people through the right channels, leading to higher conversion rates.
• Command premium pricing: Solutions that perfectly address a specific pain point for a dedicated audience can often command higher prices, as the perceived value is significantly greater than generic alternatives.

The power of community-driven approaches

Hand-in-hand with niche focus is the emphasis on community-driven approaches. Entrepreneurs are not just selling to a market segment, they are building, nurturing and leveraging communities around their offerings. This involves fostering cultures of cooperation, mutual support, and shared identity among customers.

In practice, this means:

• Co-creation and feedback loops: Actively involving community members in the development process, gathering their feedback and incorporating their ideas directly into product and service improvements. This ensures ongoing relevance and a sense of ownership among users.
• Peer-to-peer support: Enabling customers to help each other, share best practices and troubleshoot issues within a dedicated community platform. This reduces the burden on customer support and builds strong bonds.
• Content and knowledge sharing: Curating or facilitating the creation of valuable content that serves the specific interests of the niche community, establishing the brand as a trusted authority and resource.
• Networking and partnership building: Digital platforms facilitate networking and partnership building, allowing niche businesses to connect with complementary services or even foster alliances among their users.

Examples in action from the CASSINI network

Verhaert Strategic Innovation plays a key role in the CASSINI ecosystem, a community-driven initiative to support new space ventures in Europe. Because of our contributions in supporting ventures from idea to growth through hackathons, matchmaking events and mentoring, we can see how this trend evolves at the source. From the entrepreneurs who have participated, we can see 2 clear entry points in this trend.

On the one hand, we see companies that are hyper-focusing on specific problems. Everimpact, for example, focuses on accelerating decarbonization with reliable carbon tracking and measuring CO2 and NOx emissions in shipping, a tailored solution within the broader sustainability trend. Ecosmic is a company that focuses on space debris monitoring. Their mission addresses a very specific and growing problem within the new space industry: the sustainability of space traffic and the need to reduce false collision alerts for satellite operators.

On the other hand, we see companies targeting clear micro-communities/industries. The company Aerospacelab provides end-to-end small satellite solutions and turnkey satellites with Earth observation payloads. While satellites are a product, their focus caters to a distinct segment of the space market (new space and space commercialization). Another example is Latitude, which offers a fully dedicated launcher to reach the space data they want for smallsat operators. This is a direct response to the specific needs of the small satellite market within the new space economy.

The new economic reality

The success stories from the CASSINI network clearly illustrate this new economic reality. The strategy for sustainable growth no longer lies in trying to capture the entire market, but in the deliberate, hyper-focused pursuit of niche market domination. By pairing this focus with a community-driven approach, fostering deep loyalty, mutual support, and co-creation among users, businesses build strong, defensible moats. These factors allow them to achieve superior product-market fit, command premium pricing, and gain enthusiastic advocates. Ultimately, the future of business isn’t just about finding a gap in the market, it’s about building a home within a niche.

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The post Carving your kingdom: The power of niche market domination and community focus appeared first on Verhaert Masters in Innovation.