Quantum Systems has reached a milestone with a valuation of €3 billion, backed by a €180 million boost in their Series C funding round. For female entrepreneurs like me, stories like this resonate deeply. They serve as reminders of the perseverance and strategy required to raise capital and build something groundbreaking in competitive fields. On top of that, the UK’s Autumn Budget stirred reactions among startups, with policies aimed at fostering innovation. Meanwhile, EIT Food’s EWA program continues breaking barriers in agrifood innovation by supporting women-led initiatives. Let’s unpack these events and dive into the lessons they offer.
Quantum Systems: Breaking Through in a Tight Market
Quantum Systems is a German drone company specializing in both defense and commercial technology. Over the last year, they pulled off one major coup after another. Their recent €180 million round, which tripled their valuation in under a year, highlights a trend: investors are doubling down on tech with applications in volatile global markets. What fueled this momentum? A strong product-market fit and substantial government demand.
For entrepreneurs, whether in deeptech or consumer sectors, the takeaway is loud and clear: work relentlessly on creating demand and align your product to solve critical problems.
The funding round brought in big names like Insight Partners and Peter Thiel-backed funding, showing that even during periods of cautious spending, ventures with strong metrics and scalable solutions can attract attention. In my experience bootstrapping startups, I’ve learned that traction speaks louder than pitch decks.
But there’s a flipside: raising this kind of capital comes with pressure to scale quickly. Lesson? Build resilient processes underpinning your growth.
What the UK Autumn Budget Means for Startups
The Autumn Budget has captured headlines, and UK startups aren’t holding back their opinions. The government’s call for businesses to “build here, and we’ll back you” was praised, but some questioned the feasibility of accessing actual support. Policies targeting R&D tax credits and AI infrastructure promise relief in principle.
For entrepreneurs, navigating grant systems and tax structures can feel like navigating a labyrinth. One of my key lessons has been to not solely rely on big promises at the policy level but to shake every branch for smaller opportunities.
For instance, during the first few years at CADChain, my team and I pooled knowledge from incubators across Europe to fine-tune grant applications. And yes, while the paperwork is draining, it’s worth every ounce of effort when the results pay off.
So, what’s the strategy here? Stay proactive about local policies and don’t dismiss any funding opportunity on face value. If you’re running a company in AI or applying sustainability measures to tech, extra eyes on local grants might yield unexpected gains.
EIT Food’s EWA Program: Empowering Women in Agrifood
Looking into EIT Food’s EWA (Empowering Women in Agrifood) program, you see a refreshing focus on women entrepreneurship. The program offers access to mentoring and networks, plus a much-needed perspective on working in industries that traditionally exclude us.
As part of EWA, participants build skills in how to approach funding, scale ideas, and face challenges uniquely tied to breaking into male-dominated industries. What I love about the program is its clear road to providing actionable knowledge, especially for female entrepreneurs who might lack easy access to guidance in a niche like agrifood.
One participant built her company around vertical farming, focusing on climate control systems for urban environments. The mentorship gave her not only technical advice but also insights on navigating investor bias, still a prevalent issue for women.
Thinking back on my career, I had to navigate similar gaps at nearly every turn. My advice? (A) Seek out programs like EWA that validate your potential and (B) test your ideas in smaller ecosystems before scaling.
What Can Female Entrepreneurs Learn Here?
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De-risk your business pitch: Whether pitching to investors or applying for grants, show reliability. For Quantum Systems, offering tech positioned to meet global defense needs sealed the deal. Reflect this in your own industry, even if it takes micro-adjustments to refine your pitch.
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Polish resourcefulness, not just funding strategy: When bootstrapping CADChain, every move was calculated down to the euro. Too many startups see funding as the first step, it’s not. Building a lean, practical base means you’re more attractive when funding does come into play.
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Take responsibility for due diligence: Neither the UK government nor any mentorship program will handhold you to success. Access tools like open grants databases or attend specific meetups to stay fully informed. I’ve managed funding for my startups across national and EU programs primarily because I stayed curious.
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Understand public-private tech shifts: Quantum Systems thrived because they aligned with broader global needs. Keep an eye on where your industry can meet gaps, don’t hesitate to innovate, especially if you’re in underutilized sectors like agritech or deeptech.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Scaling before nailing processes: A large investment without robust foundations often leads to organizational chaos.
- Letting stereotypes dictate your value proposition: Female entrepreneurs, especially in tech, are often questioned on their ability to scale. Take proactive steps to quantify your demand.
- Ignoring support opportunities: If you don’t look in community-driven spaces, like EIT Food’s EWA, you’re missing out on tailored mentorship.
How to Apply These Lessons in Practice
- Build on small successes while staying lean. Optimized operations help when you finally find investors.
- Watch for regional hubs offering niche mentorships. EIT’s EWA program caters to agrifood but similar supports exist for fintech and digital solutions.
- Don’t assume global trends exclude small ventures. Quantum Systems might be eyeing defense, but their strategy, combining government backing with commercial applications, works just as well for startups in other spaces.
Wrapping It Up
Being a female entrepreneur in Europe comes with unique challenges, but it’s an exciting time, too. Quantum Systems showed us the value of timing and solving major global pain points. The Autumn Budget reminds us to seize even small windows of opportunity. And the EWA program speaks volumes about leveraging networks to create impactful change.
As you navigate this field, remember: resilience and resourcefulness are always key. Structure your startup to survive long enough to attract big players, but never tie yourself to one outcome. Success, I’ve learned, is less about serendipity and more about meticulous planning and adaptive moves. Keep going, you’re rewriting the rules in an ecosystem that needs your perspective.
FAQ
1. How did Quantum Systems achieve a €3 billion valuation?
Quantum Systems tripled its valuation to €3 billion after securing €180 million in Series C funding. Their success stems from strong government demand and their ability to align products with critical defense and commercial market needs. Read more about Quantum Systems’ €3 billion valuation
2. Who were the key investors in Quantum Systems’ recent funding round?
Key backers in their latest funding round included Insight Partners and Peter Thiel-backed capital. The €180 million Series C funding attracted several big names in the investment world.
3. What lessons can entrepreneurs learn from Quantum Systems’ success?
Quantum Systems teaches entrepreneurs the importance of creating demand-driven products and aligning solutions with large-scale global needs. Building resilient processes to manage growth is essential too.
4. What were the key points of the UK Autumn Budget for startups?
The UK Autumn Budget focused on fostering innovation, with policies targeting R&D tax credits and AI infrastructure. The government declared its commitment to support businesses investing in local innovation. See startups’ reaction to the UK Autumn Budget
5. How does the EIT Food EWA program help women entrepreneurs in agrifood?
The EWA program supports women entrepreneurs with mentoring, networks, and guidance to address challenges in male-dominated industries like agrifood. Participants gain skills for funding, scaling, and navigating industry-specific challenges. Learn more about the EIT Food EWA program
6. What industries did EIT Food EWA program participants innovate in?
Participants in the EIT Food EWA program introduced ideas such as climate-controlled vertical farming for urban environments, addressing food security and sustainability challenges.
7. What’s the key takeaway for female entrepreneurs based on the article?
Female entrepreneurs can leverage tailored programs like EWA, focus on refining business pitches to de-risk investments, and actively explore local funding opportunities. Understanding public-private tech collaborations is also vital.
8. What were the implications of Quantum Systems’ funding for the drone industry?
Quantum Systems has set a benchmark for innovation in the European drone industry, showing the potential to attract high valuation with a clear product-market fit and government partnerships. Explore Quantum Systems’ funding success
9. What are some common mistakes startups should avoid concerning funding?
Startups often fail by scaling prematurely without solid processes, ignoring localized support opportunities, and underestimating the importance of quantifying demand to counteract potential bias.
10. Why is the UK government's focus on R&D tax credits significant?
R&D tax credits provide financial relief for startups innovating in AI and technology, but accessing these benefits requires strategic planning and persistence. Understand more about R&D initiatives
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
