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Pole Position: Navigate Critical Challenges in Deeptech

Join the leading programme to drive your deeptech from breakthrough towards global impact!

Pole Position in short

Scaling a deeptech company poses unique challenges: developing complex technology, navigating a complicated ecosystem, understanding your critical value chain, securing growth funding, and maintaining team morale. Success demands vision, focus, and endurance.

Pole Position is Techleap’s flagship programme for high-potential deeptech companies. We work with you and your peers through this critical growth phase to sharpen the vision, strengthen market access strategies, address leadership and funding challenges, and accelerate growth.

Are you an ambitious deeptech venture ready to accelerate and get in Pole Position ?

Techleap and Pole Position is all about founders for founders, so you’ll also be challenged to the bone and gain insights from founders and CEOs of leading companies.

Participating in this programme will also give you access to the power of the Techleap brand and community. We will invite you to meetings and events where you’ll have the opportunity to connect with top international founders, industry leaders, government, and deeptech investors.

Apply Here

Who is the programme for?

We’re seeking the most ambitious Deeptech ventures with global impact potential and scaling ambitions. Our next cohort focuses on ‘Future of Energy’ – breakthrough products & services combining advanced hardware and digital technologies.

Minimum requirements (Criteria):

• Netherlands-based
• Led by a dedicated full-time founder team and a minimum of 15+ FTE
• Progressing towards or secured Product Market Fit (PMF)
• Initially funded (min. €4.5M), seeking significant capital
• Developing breakthrough Deeptech (scientific or technology-based)
• Aligned with the cohort’s theme
• Driven by a founder mentality (growth mindset, ambition, willingness to give back, and be challenged by peers and seasoned entrepreneurs)
• Ready to transition from successful pilot to commercial deployment or already commercially active

Applied Nanolayers

“The Pole Position programme allowed me to connect with other deep tech founders about common challenges we all share even if the technology we work on can differ wildly. I highly recommend the programme as I had many useful takeaways on team growth, funding, pitching, and scaling.”
– Applied Nanolayers

CarbonX 2

“If you enter the Pole Position arena open-minded, ready to receive “tough-love”, magical things happen – leaving you with new ideas or new things to doubt, finally creating a no-nonsense and razor-sharp action plan”
– CarbonX

VSParticle

“So far, the most insightful time and effort I’ve spent on learning how to successfully scale our organisation and connecting with fellow deep-tech entrepreneurs.”
– VSParticle

Quinteq Energy

“Participating in Pole Position has taken us to that edge with new insights, knowledge and most of all a network of peers and experts that challenged us on our direction and decisions and will remain part of the QuinteQ Energy journey for many years to come.”
– Quinteq Energy

No Palm Ingredients

“The Pole Position programme has forced us to increasingly move between day-to-day focus and a helicopter view, allowing us to plan further ahead than we would otherwise have done.”
– No Palm Ingredients

Nostics

“From the beginning on I had the feeling that I was in a safe space where I could speak up and discuss my challenges.”
– Nostics

CarbonX 1

“It is rare in the world of entrepreneurs to get the chance to take a step back… do a full-360 degree review on your business and beliefs, together with peers, challengers, and seasoned industry leaders.”
– CarbonX

Thorizon

“During the programme, we received invaluable feedback from an ambitious and supportive peer group, and from experienced deep-tech entrepreneurs. As a result, we increased the ambition level of our funding strategy, leading to a much better understanding of the business case and roadmap needed to realize our mission.”
– Thorizon