How to Pitch Perfect: Why Quantum Startups need more than a Demo Day
By Arianna Elena Maschietto, Global Director of Startup Programs, QAI Ventures
Why Pitching still breaks most Quantum Startups
Lately, I’ve been having a lot of conversations about what really helps founders succeed, not just survive a program, but come out sharper, clearer, and ready to actually grow.
One thing keeps coming up: how they pitch.
In Quantum and Quantum AI startups, this is where things often stall. You’ve got years of research behind your solution and now you’re expected to explain it to someone who’s not a physicist, not a peer, and often not even technical.
That’s when it breaks. And that’s exactly why we run Pitch Punch.
Pitch Punch: Built for Quantum Startups, not for applause
This isn’t demo day prep. It’s not about claps or compliments.
Pitch Punch is a live-fire session where you pitch and we interrupt. If it’s unclear, we fix it. If the value doesn’t land, we reframe it. If no one gets it, we dig in: Why not? What’s missing?
It’s uncomfortable. And that’s the point.
Because progress doesn’t come from polishing what you already know how to say. It comes from confronting what’s not landing and getting sharper.
At QAI Ventures, we’re very intentional about this. We carefully build a high-profile network of mentors and partners who help our founders prepare—not in theory, but for real-world conversations. Why? Because they are one of them. Corporate buyers. Strategic investors. Scientists-turned-operators.
And when our founders pitch, we make sure the audience isn’t just friendly. It’s representative of who they’ll meet in real life. That way, the feedback is actually useful. And the learning sticks.
Startups, Mentorship, and Investors as a Sparring Partner: No swiping here. It’s meant to be built for the long run.
I’ve worked in programs where the speaker list looked great on paper, but it didn’t move the needle for founders.
We are incredibly selective with our mentors; that’s what makes us a good sparring partner for our founders. It’s not about status. It’s about whether they can actually coach. We look for people with real technical depth and real commercial experience. People who challenge the founders, not just cheer them on.
The goal is to put founders in the room with someone who’s lived through the hard part, who has built a company in quantum or AI or deep tech, and who’s figured out how to make it work. Our mentor network spans a diverse range of experts who support our startups’ growth. While they don’t necessarily need to have founded a company, they must bring deep expertise in the areas founders need to navigate and combine subject-matter knowledge with the empathy to truly relate to the founders and their challenges.
This isn’t swiping. This is long-term alignment. Mentorship for scale.
How to sell to a corporate (Without losing them in Slide 2)
For most Quantum AI founders, the pitch that matters most isn’t to a VC, it’s to a corporate buyer. Someone with budget, but without a physics degree.
And if your pitch doesn’t land in the first 60 seconds? You lose the room.
Pitch Punch gets you ready to:
● Speak to buyers, not just believers
● Translate quantum tech into business outcomes
● Communicate across departments, from innovation leads to CFOs
● Adjust tone depending on who’s in the room
Because sales in quantum isn’t about dumbing things down. It’s about getting your value across fast, so they invite you back.
Quantum Founders don’t need polish. They need practice.
Some of the best feedback we’ve gotten came after Pitch Punch, when a founder found their sentence. The one that opened a door. Got the follow-up. Landed the intro.
I’ve seen Quantum founders rework their pitch mid-program, and suddenly corporate interest followed. Why? Because they stopped explaining the tech and started explaining the value.
It’s not magic. It’s just practice.
Real-time, high-friction, honest practice.
So yes, it might hurt. But I love Pitch Punch. And if you’re serious about growth, you should too. Pitch Punch is for founders building in Quantum and Quantum AI, who need to raise capital, sell into enterprise, or secure a strategic partner. If that’s you, you can’t afford to be vague or overly technical.
Yes, it might hurt the first time. But what you walk away with is better than polish. You walk away with clarity. And one clear sentence that gets a corporate to say: “Tell me more.”
Are you a founder who wants to master your pitch and elevate your startup to the next stage?
QAI Ventures offers Accelerator Programs in Europe, North America, and Asia. Read more on our website or reach out to Arianna Elena Maschietto, our Global Director Startup Programs.
