Smart Scaling: Lessons on Customer Discovery & CEO Involvement
In this session, Vincent Martinez, co-founder of Nanoleq, a Swiss-based smart textiles company specializing in stretchable electronics for health monitoring, will share invaluable lessons from his entrepreneurial journey. In November 2024, Nanoleq was acquired by Myant Corp., a Canadian leader in advanced materials for healthcare. This strategic acquisition aims to integrate Nanoleq's advanced sensor technologies into Myant's expanding portfolio of medical devices, enhancing Myant's mission to pioneer the future of connected health.
Vincent will dive into the pivotal lessons that drove Nanoleq’s success: how early customer feedback shapes product-market fit, why CEOs need to be directly involved in sales, and the dangers of scaling too early. Whether you’re building a B2B or B2C product, Vincent's insights into knowing your market, finding the right use case, and carefully scaling before achieving product-market fit can help avoid costly missteps and set your startup up for sustainable growth.
This session will be a must for founders and CEOs looking to scale with precision and build products that truly meet market needs. Don't miss out on these game-changing insights from a successful founder who has lived through both the challenges and triumphs of growing a startup.
Opening Remarks @ 9:30am PT
Join us for opening remarks with Dina Wagner, Head of Member Success at Founders Network, to get the latest updates from the Network and opportunities for getting involved.
Keynote Speaker @ 9:40am PT
Vincent Martinez is the co-founder of Nanoleq (acquired by Myant), a pioneering smart textiles company that developed stretchable electronics for health monitoring. Born in France and based in Zurich for the past 12 years, Vincent holds a material engineering degree from UTT (France) and a PhD in micro-technologies from ETH Zurich. Throughout his career, Vincent has demonstrated a passion for advancing our understanding of the human body through technology. His optimism and curiosity have driven his work, as he strives to build meaningful products that contribute to a better knowledge of ourselves.
Since founding Nanoleq, Vincent has been responsible for the company’s vision, overall strategy, management, fundraising, and business development. Under his leadership, Nanoleq pivoted from a B2B focus on manufacturing sensors for textiles to launching the Oxa Life product—a B2C wearable for breathing and ECG monitoring. Nanoleq’s acquisition by Myant six months ago marked a new phase, where Vincent’s strategic vision helped accelerate user growth and recurring revenue.
In addition to his entrepreneurial accomplishments, Vincent has been recognized with multiple awards, including the ETH Pioneer Fellowship (2016) and the De Vigier Award (2018). He leads a dedicated team committed to improving health through the next generation of monitoring textiles.
Stage-Based Roundtables @ 10:30am PT
Guests Are Welcome!
Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.
All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.
Confidentiality Policy:
All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.