Sven Harmsen, corporate venture capitalist at Nova by Saint-Gobain, discusses the ongoing fundraising requirements of hard-tech startups.
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“The typical thing is that the startup feels like, oh, this is our last round. Usually they need another three rounds. If not more and there, they need a lot of support.”
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More from Sven Harmsen
Insight
Harmsen: Husband-and-wife founding teams rarely succeed compared to diverse teams
“If you have like a family startup where husband and wife start a company that can work and we have an example for that, but it's rare. So it's usually more that you have a group of people with different backgrounds.”
Sven HarmsenAug 4, 2025▶ 15:13Bridging Innovation and Industry: Inside Corporate Venture Investing in Materials and Hard Tech
Insight
Harmsen: Failed founders are sometimes better to back than billion-dollar winners
“And actually sometimes it's better. Somebody is there who Made the experience and was not successful because he knows exactly what he doesn't have to do again, rather than people who say, oh yeah, my startup was successful. I sold it for a billion because some…”
Sven HarmsenAug 4, 2025▶ 15:52Bridging Innovation and Industry: Inside Corporate Venture Investing in Materials and Hard Tech
Insight
Harmsen: Startups must use contract manufacturers before building facilities
“Contract manufacturer when it comes to their first pilot manufacturing batches because you cannot build your own manufacturing facility if you don't even have a viable product.”
Sven HarmsenAug 4, 2025▶ 17:49Bridging Innovation and Industry: Inside Corporate Venture Investing in Materials and Hard Tech
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Harmsen: Drying Grant Funding Creates Opportunities for Equity Investors
“Currently, we don't see that many grants. This is drying out. Again, this is an opportunity for investors. So the companies need more dilutive money because there's not so much non-dilutive money in the market, and that is a great opportunity for investors.”
Sven HarmsenAug 4, 2025▶ 24:10Bridging Innovation and Industry: Inside Corporate Venture Investing in Materials and Hard Tech
Disclosure
Harmsen: Nova Requires an Internal Saint-Gobain Sponsor for Every Investment
“We invest typically very early. Seed, Series A is a sweet spot. We have flexibility. The key Measure for us is that we are a very strategic investor, so we always need to find a fit with the parent company. Always need to find somebody serving as a sponsor or …”
Sven HarmsenAug 4, 2025▶ 3:51Bridging Innovation and Industry: Inside Corporate Venture Investing in Materials and Hard Tech
AssertionPartly supported
Harmsen: Materials startups rely more on debt than digital companies
“They work more with loans. They work with venture debt more than I think digital companies do.”
Sven HarmsenAug 4, 2025▶ 17:35Bridging Innovation and Industry: Inside Corporate Venture Investing in Materials and Hard Tech
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