“You really need a unique, new product. If you have less than this, don’t bother,” said Co-founder of tiny embedded technology Weeteq Taner Dosluoglu.

Although the event was aimed at startups securing investment, ChipStart UK, a two-year pilot program backed by £1.3 million of British government funding, also aims to provide early-stage companies involved in the design of semiconductors with the guidance they need to bring new products to market. Therefore, Dosluoglu story of failure to success was well suited.

Having previously co-founded Endura, a fabless semiconductor company that started in San Diego and expanded R&D operations to Dublin, and having raised millions in funding, Dosluoglu had interesting insights to how even seeming success can end without meeting its goals.

“You need to see yourself as having everything you need to being a unicorn in three years,” says Dosluoglu.

One of the reasons for this, Dosluoglu explains, is from his failure at Endura. Because they did not make £25 million plus in three years, they were unable to begin paying financers, suppliers, do research and continue making products at the same time. Three years, is end of the ‘honeymoon’ period says Dosluoglu, so that is when everyone will begin expecting your startup to start making enough money with your products to begin paying back investments and other commitments.

“If we were able to create £25 million with these two products, we would have been a unicorn right now,” lamented Dosluoglu.

So although Dosluoglu left Endura, he still took with him lessons to bring with him to Weeteq.

Alongside the importance of his £25 million by year three pitch, the Weeteq Co-founder stressed other points to semiconductor startups to consider, many of which likely ring true to founders in other industries too.

Startups focusing on hardware, have a hardware demo; get patents if you can, but prepare for other ways to secure IP; get customer validation and, an obvious one, but sufficient funding for your startup.

Yet, Dosluoglu ended the talk with some more specifics problems experienced during his time with his previous startup. Single sourcing, whether that would be suppliers, funders, or customers, can leave you vulnerable. Equally, not integrating your internal ecosystem, marketing with product development, can be losing you purchases by not understanding the products secondary opportunities. And lastly, linking back to his main point, not linking your growth with revenue, will leave you with a expenses that have no way of getting paid, which will bite you down the line as they gradually pull further apart.