ADVICE FOR START-UPS g
vision acquisitions demonstrates this is a very attractive sector for start-up companies and their investors.’
Clear positioning is vital Vision technology can be regarded as a horizontal sector serving different market verticals. Tere are many different product types, such as hardware, software, systems and services, and each requires tailored business models and separate channels to bring a product to market. In Yates’ view, one of the most important
things for a new company entering the vision sector to consider is which part of the overall value chain it addresses with its offering. Clear positioning in the value chain can allow a company to identify the best partners to help with the go-to-market, whether these are key suppliers, or strategic or channel partners. Such an approach also helps companies to target the right customers with products that meet their needs, as well as identify those companies that are actual competitors. ‘Particularly for new companies, this
understanding can also help clarify additional customer needs, which may be important for scaling and growth,’ Yates said. ‘For example, the long-term support and maintenance requirements that are very important in verticals, such as factory automation, and sometimes not fully appreciated by early-stage companies.’ When it comes to the strategies and
approaches machine vision start-ups adopt to address challenges, mitigate risks and exploit potential opportunities, Yates said many companies will go through a phase of market learning, often led by engagements with early customers and the adaptation of first products to a customer’s specific needs. ‘Tis can be a very effective way of
mitigating risk by working on a clearly defined real-world problem, generating revenue, and also creating credible reference cases to help secure other customers, or for support in raising finance,’ Yates explained. Another interesting strategy Yates has
seen evolving is the creation of well- defined innovation programmes by larger companies, either in the vision sector or in the wider automation market, specifically to address the interface to start-up companies. Here, the benefit to the early-stage company can be a better understanding of wider market needs through the interaction with an established player, as well as a potential valuable strategic partnership. ‘For a larger company, these types
of programmes provide a route to early validation and visibility of new technologies and products, without the risks associated with early-stage investment or acquisition,’ Yates said.
For Lukasson, the most important
approach for vision start-ups is to have a passion for the problem being solved. As long as this underlying motivation is in place, he believes there is a good chance the company can compete. ‘Don’t become a generalist,’ Lukasson
warned. ‘Tose general vision problems are being addressed by Google, Alibaba and co. Use your speed, speed is your major advantage as a start-up. ‘Everything in machine vision is changing
rapidly,’ he continued. ‘Tings that were not possible three years ago are a commodity today. Enterprises can’t change that fast, so their solutions are usually outdated when they are released. Tis is your opportunity!’
Multi-disciplinary approach Alex Shulman, co-founder and CEO of Saccade Vision, made the point that, unlike many other sectors, machine vision start-ups tend to work across different technology disciplines. ‘Even start-ups that develop pure software products often require understanding of sensor hardware, optics, physics, communication and integration protocols, as well as deep application- specific knowledge,’ he said. Saccade Vision, which was founded in
2020, launched its MEMS-based scanning 3D vision product at the 2022 Automatica trade fair. Te start-up has completed a number of pilot projects with integrators and end- customers, and has made post-pilot sales. For Shulman, one of the major challenges,
and risks, for successful computer vision applications is the quality of data acquisition, especially since this often depends on an optimal hardware set-up for a specific task. Companies trying to solve a real-life problem need to avoid a garbage-in, garbage-out situation, he advised. ‘Te camera resolution needs to
be sufficient, as well as the effect of illumination, processing power, optics and many other real-life factors – all must be considered,’ he said. ‘It is true that with powerful and sophisticated algorithms, sub-optimal imaging may sometimes be compensated. However, this will require significant software development efforts and eventually will affect the robustness of the solution. Tis is one of the reasons why computer vision start-ups often require a multidisciplinary approach.’
Understand your competitors Looking ahead, Yates believes it is important for companies to focus on where the value is being created for the customer, and to capture that value in a way that is simple for customers to implement. Typically, a vision product fits into a larger ecosystem, whether this is an automated manufacturing line,
24 IMAGING AND MACHINE VISION EUROPE VISION YEARBOOK 2022/23
a driver assistance system, or by providing data to a cloud platform. ‘Making it easy for a customer to adopt a
new vision tech product within an ecosystem they fully understand helps reduce barriers and shortens the time to achieve the first all-important market entry, from which the company can grow and evolve,’ Yates said. Yates also stressed the importance of
understanding the real capabilities and true weaknesses of competitive solutions – especially since many applications in the vision sector have been addressed with solutions that have resulted from significant development efforts and a deep understanding of customer needs, not all of which may be visible to a newcomer. ‘Early and objective analysis of competitive
performance can significantly lessen the risk of failure or wasting precious resources within the company,’ said Yates. Over the medium-term, Yates observed
it is also important to have a strategy for the growth and future of the company that matches the founders’ and shareholders’ desires. Tis can provide a helpful, underlying
‘Early and objective analysis of competitive performance can significantly lessen risk’
structure throughout the development of a company and support strategic decisions, such as when and where to raise finance, what company status would be most attractive to achieve before seeking an acquisition, or when to engage with strategic partners. ‘Particularly if the company is thinking
about a potential M&A project in the future, a professional review of strategic readiness can be a useful exercise to complete, to identify development options which can best position the company for a future strategic acquisition,’ Yates said. Shulman stressed the importance of
quantifying the benefits for customers and proving fast return on investment. Tis can be by facilitating simpler and faster business processes for customers, preventing costly and dangerous processes, reducing direct costs, or by enabling improvement in the top line for customers. Meanwhile, Lukasson’s advice was: ‘Keep
your speed, this is one of your biggest assets.’ He added: ‘Don’t forget you need a kick-ass sales and marketing team to sell your product. Technology alone will not get you anywhere. Finding good sales people is as hard as finding good developers or data scientists.’ Ultimately, as Lukasson stated, start-ups
should ‘be bold and be ready to pivot multiple times to find the right product-market fit’. O
@imveurope |
www.imveurope.com
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