EIC Scaling Club report flags customer engagement as the top go-to-market challenge for European deep-tech scale-ups
- ›The EIC Scaling Club report finds securing and engaging customers is the top go-to-market challenge for European deep-tech scale-ups.
- ›Other frequent obstacles are sales execution, business expansion, market positioning, and operational efficiency.
- ›The study is based on interviews, workshops and surveys with 43 experts and primary data from EIC Scaling Club companies.
- ›Scale-ups and stakeholders disagree on priorities, with companies focusing on reach and sales while stakeholders emphasise competition analysis, business model optimisation and production scalability.
- ›The report is the first of a 10-part series and includes practical do and don t recommendations, a self assessment tool and suggested OKRs and KPIs.
Why the EIC Scaling Club report matters for European deep tech
A new report from the EIC Scaling Club, an EIC Business Acceleration Service, sets out the top go-to-market challenges European deep-tech scale-ups expect to face over the coming 12 months. The headline finding is familiar but still important. Scale-ups rate securing and engaging customers as their most pressing problem. Other frequently cited constraints include closing sales, expanding into new markets, positioning in competitive fields and improving operational efficiency.
The report is based on interviews, workshops and surveys with 43 participants drawn from deep-tech companies, investors, corporations, policymakers and mentors. It also analyses primary company data from a subset of EIC Scaling Club members. The study is framed as the first of a 10-part Scaleup Series designed to map common challenges across the growth journey of European deep-tech ventures.
What counts as a go-to-market challenge in deep tech
Five core development areas and priority actions
The report organises go-to-market work into five core development areas. For each area it lists four priority actions. The authors then examine which actions companies focused on in the prior 12 months and which they intend to prioritise over the next 12 months. They also compare companies responses with those of other stakeholders to surface misalignments.
| Core development area | Priority actions |
| Market | Target and forecast segments, Regulation and risk assessment, Competitive analysis and positioning, Personas and customer journeys |
| Customer | Customer list and targeting, Value proposition and technical refinement, Channel and delivery optimisation, Pricing and business model design |
| Sales | Sales forecasting, Sales leadership and targets, Hiring and training sales teams, Partner and reseller development |
| Expansion | Marketing and inbound lead generation, Media and industry recognition, Geographic expansion, Industry or product expansion |
| Operations | OKRs and KPIs, CRM and ERP systems, Digital sales and service support, Production scalability and brand standardisation |
Top findings and the shifts the report highlights
Key quantitative and qualitative points from the study include the following. First, engaging customers ranks highest among near term priorities. Second, companies report shifting emphasis toward widening customer reach and improving delivery, strengthening sales forecasting and tightening OKRs and KPIs. Third, a consistent misalignment exists between what scale-ups plan to do and what investors, corporates and policy stakeholders say they value most.
Practical guidance from the report
The report does not stop at diagnosis. It includes 30 practical do s and don ts grouped against the five development areas, plus a self assessment tool, example objectives and key results and a suggested KPI dashboard to help companies build a six month improvement plan. The guidance mixes tactical moves such as running targeted pilots and automating repetitive processes with strategic moves such as choosing the highest value market segments and preparing production for scalability.
Selected do s and don ts by area
Suggested OKRs and KPIs
To help execution the report offers example objectives and measurable key results for the five areas. It also lists recommended KPIs that are immediately actionable. The examples are generic and intended to be adapted to company context and maturity.
| Area | Example objective | Example KPIs |
| Market | Achieve market leadership in target segment | Market share, segment penetration rate, forecast accuracy |
| Customer | Increase customer base and retention | Customer acquisition cost, retention rate, Net Promoter Score, customer satisfaction index |
| Sales | Grow annual sales and average deal size | Sales growth rate, sales target achievement rate, average deal size |
| Expansion | Enter new geographies and industries with traction | New market entry success rate, revenue per new market, media and industry recognition metrics |
| Operations | Improve operational efficiency and data driven decision making | Operational efficiency ratio, system integration level, percentage of decisions driven by OKRs and KPIs |
Methodology and sample
The research combined a literature review with four in-depth expert interviews and four workshops. A wider survey and workshops engaged 43 experts in total from scale-ups, investors, corporates, media and policymakers. The study triangulated qualitative inputs and quantified priorities by counting and ranking responses.
About the EIC Scaling Club and the Series
This report is the first of a planned series of 10 roadmaps that will examine recurring challenges faced by deep-tech ventures as they commercialise and scale. The authors and contributors include IESE researchers and a range of external experts. The document includes a Creative Commons licence and a disclaimer that the scientific output does not represent an official policy position of the European Commission.
Context in the wider EU innovation ecosystem
Deep-tech scaling is an explicit policy priority for EU institutions. The European Innovation Council, the EIC Fund and the EIC Business Acceleration Services offer funding, coaching and curated networks intended to close gaps in late stage capital, corporate partnerships and international expansion. The EIC BAS and related programmes target matching deals, procurement pilots and investor readiness support among awardees. The Scaling Club sits inside that constellation as a community and insight generator.
Limitations and cautious interpretation
Readers should interpret the findings with care. The sample is skewed toward companies already affiliated with the EIC Scaling Club and similar networks. The total number of experts consulted is modest and the company subset analysed is limited in size. The report itself acknowledges challenges such as industry terminology ambiguity and heterogeneity in company maturity, sectors and geographies. Those caveats reduce how far the findings can be generalised across the whole European deep-tech population.
The misalignment between companies and stakeholders is an important signal. It does not prove causal relationships between particular company actions and funding outcomes. It does however point to practical friction points that funders, corporates and scale-ups should address if they want to accelerate commercialisation.
What this means for founders, investors and policymakers
For founders the report offers a pragmatic checklist and a recommended metrics dashboard. The consistent advice is to pair customer facing activity with rigorous market intelligence and with production and brand readiness. For investors the report signals where portfolio companies may need hands on operational support rather than only capital. For policymakers the misalignment highlights the value of programmes that bridge company focus and stakeholder expectations, for example via matchmaking, procurement pilots and co funded services that target business model validation and production scale readiness.
Where to read the full report and next steps
The EIC Scaling Club report European Deep Tech Scaleups Go To Market Strategy is available on the EIC Scaling Club reports page. It is the first in a series of 10 roadmaps. The Club also offers recorded presentations, a self assessment tool and additional market roadmaps that companies and advisers can use to build six month action plans.
Methodology summary table
| Method | Details |
| Literature review | Academic journals, industry reports and secondary data to frame core areas |
| In depth interviews | Four semi structured interviews to validate indicators and framework |
| Workshops and survey | Four online and onsite workshops plus a broader survey engaging 43 experts |
| Primary company data | Subset of EIC Scaling Club companies, N about 48 for group metrics, with averages reported |
| Analysis | Coding and classification of qualitative inputs, quantification of priorities and peer review |
Final note
The EIC Scaling Club s report provides a useful, practitioner focused snapshot of go-to-market priorities among a set of European deep-tech scale-ups and stakeholders. Its practical levers and templates will be useful to many founders. At the same time the modest sample and insider orientation mean the findings should be treated as directional. Further independent and larger scale studies would help validate which priority actions most reliably correlate with faster commercial traction and successful scale.