Finding Your Wedge: Top Go-to-Market Tips for Biotech & Deep-Tech Founders
An edited conversation with investor Sonal Pai on how to go from zero to one in biotech and deep tech.
I had a chance to catch up with Sonal Pai, a deep tech and biotech investor, on how to go from zero to one in this highly technical and regulated industry.
1. Start with a razor-sharp wedge and Validate the problem per domain
Sonal: “Deep-tech teams often pitch, ‘We’re going to own the entire drug-discovery automation stack.’ No. You need to identify the specific step you’re coming after—that’s your wedge.”
Your first market beachhead is a single, acute pain point you can knock out of the park. In biotech that might be liver-toxicity prediction; in space tech, orbital-debris tracking. Nail one thing, then—and only then—plot the adjacency moves.
Brooks: “A platform that claims to serve neuroscience, oncology, and autoimmunity must prove a real pain in each of those domains—because the competitive tech set is totally different.”
Domain agnosticism sounds sexy to investors, but users smell hand-waving. Before you broaden, show concrete traction—data, endorsements, or LoIs—inside the first vertical. The rest can stay on the slide deck roadmap.
2. Land-and-expand ≠ deep tech
Sonal: “Land-and-expand works in traditional SaaS, but not in drug discovery. Therapeutics demand a different playbook.”
In regulated, capital-intensive fields, each adjacent move usually targets a new budget owner (and a new scientific proof stack). Treat every expansion as if you’re launching a fresh product line: new validation data, new champions, new pricing logic.
3. Map the exact buyer inside a siloed org
Sonal: “I’ve worked in four pharma departments—each a self-contained universe. If you sell ‘to pharma’ you’ll fail. You must know which specific team, therapeutic area, and budget line you’re chasing.”
As per the above, Fortune-100 R&D, commercial, and manufacturing groups operate like federated city-states. Build stakeholder maps: who signs, who wields influence, who blocks. Your pitch, pilot scope, and evidence package should speak only to that tribe of <50 people.
4. Let customers pull you to the next layer
Sonal: “At Genentech we started with direct-to-HCP sales insights. We then asked the vendors to build personas, segmentation, and eventually large-scale brand-planning tools.”
When users beg for the sequel, you’ve earned the right to build it—and a reference base to pre-sell the upgrade. If your wedge is successful, the customer will point you in the right next direction- this can be something hinted towards but should not be shoved down the throat.
5. Ship 70 %—just an idea is too early for valuable feedback
Brooks: “Once a segment loves the concept, give them 70 % of something so they can critique it. At 25 % it’s a wasted call.”
Prototype depth matters. Enough fidelity for customers to place it in their workflow; lean enough to remain malleable. Think storyboard, clickable mock, or small-n pilot—whichever unlocks the richest feedback loop fastest.
TL;DR cheatsheet
Carve a hair-thin wedge—own one pain point.
Assume silos; pinpoint the budget holder.
Prove value in one domain before platform talk.
Let customers yank you to the next feature, not vice-versa.
Prototype at 70 %. Enough to spark real feedback.
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