HOW STRATEGIC MARKETING PROPELLED SEMIQON’S SUCCESS: 3 key lessons for deep tech startup CEOs
With SemiQon's groundbreaking advancements in quantum computing, CEO Himadri Majumdar sheds light on the pivotal role of strategic marketing in steering startups towards success.
"It is a great feeling when people, both in technical and business domains, recognize SemiQon and our vision for building quantum processors for the million qubit era. That is a strong testament to our marketing and communication efforts," says Himadri Majumdar, CEO and Co-founder of SemiQon.
The visionary journey to revolutionise quantum computing
In 2023, SemiQon emerged on the quantum tech scene with a bold ambition: creating a solution responding to the three major challenges currently slowing down the development of quantum computers globally – scalability, affordability, and sustainability. Co-founded by Himadri Majumdar, Janne Lehtinen, Mika Prunnila and Markku Kainlauri, SemiQon aims to bring more processing power to quantum computers in a way that addresses these three challenges. Their solution? A new type of quantum processor chip made from silicon semiconductors.
Today—over a year later— Majumdar is proud to say that SemiQon is now one of the globally recognized companies in the field of quantum computing. In addition, the company’s scalable semiconductor-based approach brings the semiconductor and quantum domains closer.
Curious about the journey that brought SemiQon to this point? This article dives into Majumdar's insights on the role of marketing in deep tech startup success, along with his top 3 lessons for fellow startup CEOs in their early ventures.
Lesson 1: Determine the role of marketing for your startup’s success
For SemiQon, strategic marketing wasn't just a buzzword—it was a guiding principle right from the start. The vision for marketing was as clear as the business vision, with equally high ambitions. Recognising the need to carve out a distinct identity, Himadri and his team aimed to amplify SemiQon's presence and establish it as a frontrunner in the quantum computing domain.
“We had a strong need to let the community know of our emergence and presence. As our technology was already sound and proven, at prototype-level, it was relevant to focus on a clear go-to-market plan. The first steps in creating that was to focus on strategic marketing and brand positioning”, explains Majumdar.
SemiQon’s vision for marketing was clear: establish the startup as a frontrunner in the quantum computing domain.
According to Majumdar, the best way for determining the role of marketing starts with the founding team asking themselves three simple questions: What do we want to say—what is our vision? Who do we want to engage with? And where and how do we reach these audiences?
Lesson 2: Build a team with the right capabilities for the challenge
Majumdar emphasizes the importance of the founding team in laying the foundation for an impactful marketing strategy:
“Having a diverse team armed with a clear understanding of technology status and the market, helped us to be decisive when building our message and determining our target audiences.”
Like many other deep tech startups, SemiQon operates in a very new technological field. In practice this meant making complex technical concepts accessible to a wide audience, spanning from academics to potential customers, investors, and policymakers. Identifying these audiences and crafting messages for the relevant platforms was crucial for SemiQon.
Today, SemiQon is one of the globally recognized companies in the field of quantum computing.
In addition to the founding team, Majumdar assembled a team of experts in brand, marketing, and communication to address the challenge.
“This is where an outside-in view of marketing experts like Brighten is good to have. We believe we were able to do it very successfully and Brighten brought clarity and structure to that need. “
Lesson 3: Focus your efforts
Deciding where to focus marketing efforts is crucial for any new startup relying on initial investment and grants to establish their business. For SemiQon, prioritizing digital platforms over traditional tactics proved effective.
Building thought leadership by involving team members to create and share content and showcase expertise is a core marketing focus area for SemiQon.
“We knew where our audience was - digital platforms allow us to amplify our message and engage with our audience more effectively. The traditional fairs, exhibitions and events are not just expensive but also lack the relevant customer audience at this very early stage of quantum computing”, reflects Majumdar.
Participating in physical events can also detract time from critical tasks, particularly for a small team. That's why SemiQon chose to concentrate on building a strong, distinctive brand and establishing thought leadership in specific areas. The team members assumed the role of company spokespersons, creating and sharing content that showcases expertise and unique industry positioning.
Future outlook: driving growth from a global customer-base
Looking ahead, SemiQon remains committed to leveraging strategic marketing to unlock new avenues of growth.
“We are at a pre-commercial or very early commercial stage right now. So, we are yet to test our product marketing skills. That will be one opportunity that I am keenly looking forward to”, shares Majumdar.
As the next step, SemiQon aims to leverage strategic marketing to unlock new avenues of growth.
With aspirations of expanding globally, SemiQon is well-positioned to continue its journey of innovation with Brighten by its side. Marketing will remain a key to SemiQon’s business operations, alongside communication.
“We want to maximize our global reach to like-minded countries within our customer base. Being in Finland is a geographical challenge that we will overcome using marketing tools. We have a few strategies up our sleeves that we intend to execute together with Brighten in future.”
Images: © SemiQon
Case SemiQon: Driving growth and building thought leadership towards the million qubit-era
The challenge
SemiQon has the ambition to become a trusted expert in the industry and drive growth amongst identified strategic clients.
SemiQon started a long-term marketing partnership with Brighten in January 2023 to ensure reaching their ambitious goals.
The collaboration
The ongoing collaboration covers: marketing strategy, strategic sparring & planning, always-on digital marketing and visibility in own and paid channels, ambassador programme, campaigns, event marketing and interim marketing management
