Signals #18

2025-09-28 14:12 news digest

Signals by jagacomms – Issue #18

Clarity turns prototypes into visions worth funding

Decoded #1

Oklo & Altman’s $20 Billion Problem

When Sam Altman backed Oklo, the vision was bold: deploy small sodium fast reactors quickly, scale fast, and ride the AI energy boom. But Oklo promised too much too soon. Their credibility took a hit when reality didn’t match the story.

Lesson: Overpromising is not just risky, it’s contagious. One startup’s hype can set back an entire industry’s narrative.

Decoded #2

GOV.UK’s Turquoise Dot

The U.K. government rebranded its online portal with a tiny turquoise dot. Critics laughed — but the dot was deliberate: a visual cue, a rallying device, and a marker of user-first simplicity.

Lesson: Small symbols can carry huge weight. In comms, a dot can do more than a paragraph if it’s consistent, intentional, and owned.

On Our Radar

CanChip Beats Cancer

A German deep-tech startup building tumor-on-a-chip models for colorectal cancer. With just ten employees, CanChip has already won European awards, published validation studies, and positioned itself as a leader in precision oncology.

Lesson: Science is a comms story about credibility. Proof points (awards, publications, pilots) build trust long before scale does.

Signals of Progress

15 Questions Every Startup Must Answer Before Pitching

Hundreds of pitches fail each year, but rarely because the idea is weak. The difference? Whether founders can answer 15 core questions with clarity. Those answers are often the bridge between “interesting tech” and “funded company.” Read more here.

Lesson: Progress isn’t about having the right idea — it’s about proving you have the right story.

Closer

From Oklo’s overreach to CanChip’s disciplined credibility, the signal is clear: comms defines trust in deep tech. A dot can reframe government services. A framework can sharpen a pitch.

The question for founders is simple: will your story build confidence, or break it?