Before a quantum scale-up raises its next €50 million, one question matters: what exactly needs to become true with that money?

In Part 1 of my Beyond the Qubit conversation with Yvonne Greeuw from Invest-NL, we discuss how investors evaluate deep-tech companies beyond the technology itself. Yvonne explains how they think about investment theses, key milestones, commercial validation, and the progress a company needs to make before its next financing round.

One idea stood out: do not blindly optimize for KPIs. A company can hit its targets and still be working on the wrong things. For quantum computing startups, the critical milestone might be proving manufacturability, securing a reference customer, or showing that a technology can solve a meaningful problem for end users.

We also explore the Dutch quantum ecosystem, different quantum computing modalities, the transition from research to commercial products, and what investors look for as companies mature. For founders and investors, the challenge is not simply to measure progress. It is to identify which achievements will materially strengthen the investment case.

💡 In this episode, we cover:

• How Invest-NL evaluates deep-tech investment opportunities

• Why a strong investment thesis starts with identifying the real bottleneck

• What value inflection points mean for a company's next funding round

• Why founders should not optimize blindly for KPIs

• How quantum startups can move from technical progress to commercial validation

• Why qubit counts alone do not tell the full story

• How different quantum computing modalities affect investment decisions

• What changes when a startup moves from early-stage funding toward Series A and Series B

• Why investor conversations should focus on the risks that need to be removed

• How to think about the next €50 million as a set of milestones, not just more runway

Chapters

00:00 – Meet Yvonne Greeuw from Invest-NL

02:00 – What Invest-NL does and how it evaluates companies

04:00 – Building an investment thesis around the real bottleneck

06:00 – Evaluating technology and the opportunity it creates

08:00 – Testing assumptions and validating the investment case

10:00 – The role of people, communication, and alignment

14:00 – Keeping founders and stakeholders aligned as things change

16:00 – When a company's original investment thesis needs to change

18:00 – Strengthening the investment thesis with evidence

20:00 – Invest-NL and the Dutch quantum ecosystem

24:00 – Building the quantum ecosystem around startups

26:00 – Evaluating different quantum computing modalities

29:00 – Learning from experts and market analysis

31:00 – Moving from research progress toward end-user relevance

34:00 – What changes as a company approaches Series B

36:00 – Technical challenges and the path toward useful quantum systems

38:00 – Quantum hardware, infrastructure, and scaling challenges

41:00 – What creates a durable competitive advantage

44:00 – Common mistakes founders make when speaking to investors

46:00 – Pitching as a commercial strategy

48:00 – Why rejection does not always mean the company is wrong

50:00 – Defining milestones across technology, commercial progress, and team

51:00 – Why founders should not blindly optimize for KPIs

52:00 – Preparing a company for institutional investment

If you work in quantum computing, deep tech, or venture capital, share this episode with someone thinking about how to turn technical progress into a stronger investment case.

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Disclaimer: This post is shared on a personal basis. I do not represent any company. This is not investment advice.