Deep Tech Commercialisation · The Practitioner Framework · © 2026 Rajesh SHARMA

Your technology
is ready.
The market has friction.

A rigorous equation-based framework for eliminating commercial adoption failures in deep tech ventures — from the lab bench to category leadership.

Use the Free Instruments → Read the Framework
The Governing Equation · Innovation Friction Framework
P(success)  =  Technology Quality × Execution Quality μhuman × Nlegacy × τcycle × Ccapital
μHuman resistance
NLegacy weight
τSales cycle
CCapital required
97%
Deep tech ventures fail to commercialise
42%
Fail at the Problem layer alone
5
Failure layers — sequential, preventable
CRL 5
The critical threshold — first real revenue
The Five Failure Layers

97% of deep tech ventures fail to commercialise.
They fail for the same five reasons, in the same sequence.

Each layer must be eliminated before the next becomes the binding constraint. Funding the wrong layer is the most common and most expensive mistake in deep tech commercialisation.

Layer 1
Problem Friction
The technology solves a problem the market does not recognise, does not prioritise, or does not pay to solve. Makes all other layers irrelevant.
42%
Layer 2
Access Friction
The right buyer cannot be reached. Procurement cycles, gatekeeper structures, and relationship dependencies block decision-makers.
18%
Layer 3
Trust Friction
The buyer recognises the problem and can be reached, but does not trust the vendor, the technology, or the evidence. The first paid customer is the only cure.
16%
Layer 4
Process Friction
Trust is established but internal procurement processes, compliance requirements, and budget cycles prevent purchase completion. N_legacy is the dominant variable.
14%
Layer 5
Adoption Friction
The contract is signed but actual deployment stalls. μ_human re-activates at the user level. The product exists but does not change behaviour.
10%
The Four Denominators

What sits below the line
determines everything.

The numerator — technology and execution — is what founders obsess over. The denominator is where companies die. Each variable has a specific, engineerable reduction mechanism.

μhuman
Human Resistance
Psychology, loss aversion, career risk, cultural inertia. The internal friction every buyer carries before any product demo.
Reduced by: Reference customers · risk-sharing pricing · Three Truths narrative
Nlegacy
Legacy Normal Force
Incumbent systems, vendor contracts, regulatory certifications, sunk infrastructure. The structural weight your technology must displace — or route around.
Reduced by: Beachhead segmentation · greenfield entry · compatibility bridges
τcycle
Temporal Friction
Sales cycle × approval layers. Every month consumed is a month of capital burned. τ and C_capital are directly coupled — the most dangerous denominator interaction.
Reduced by: Pilot-first models · pre-committed LOIs · procurement mapping
Ccapital
Capital Friction
Total capital required to reach cash-flow positive. When C_required ÷ C_available approaches 1.0, the company fails regardless of all other variables.
Reduced by: Path A or C selection · CRL 5 as primary milestone · revenue-based financing
Five Instruments · Free to Use

The framework applied to
your specific situation.

Each instrument targets a specific decision point in the commercialisation journey. Use them in sequence or individually as your situation demands.

Instrument I · Research-to-Application
Research to Application Decision Tool
For: PhD researchers · scientists · TTO officers
A six-step guided wizard helping science-trained founders assess whether their research is ready for commercialisation and which path — A, B, or C — is most likely to succeed.
Output

Path A / B / C recommendation with specific first actions per path and IF friction profile

⏰ 30–60 min · Use at the research-to-application decision point
Open Instrument I
Instrument II · Pre-Commitment Canvas
Pre-Commitment Canvas
For: Founders before raising capital or hiring
The most important instrument. A comprehensive pre-commitment assessment mapping all five failure layers before irreversible resources are committed.
Output

Full IF score by segment · TRL/CRL gap · Five Honest Questions verdict · Capital sufficiency check

⏰ 2–3 hours · Use before any capital commitment
Open Instrument II
Instrument III · Quarterly Report Card
Quarterly Report Card
For: Active ventures · board meetings · investor updates
A stage-aware quarterly diagnostic tracking friction elimination across all five layers. Generates a report card showing CRL velocity and 90-day priorities.
Output

Printable report card · Layer elimination scorecard · CRL progression · 90-day priorities

⏰ 30 min · Use every quarter and every board meeting
Open Instrument III
Instrument IV · Corporate Innovation Canvas
Corporate Innovation Canvas
For: Innovators inside large organisations
A corporate-adapted canvas for navigating internal political friction. Maps budget cycle dependencies, executive sponsor risk, and the build vs buy vs partner decision.
Output

Internal vs external path recommendation · Sponsor risk map · Internal friction reduction plan

⏰ 2 hours · Use before proposing an internal initiative
Open Instrument IV
Instrument V · Crisis Diagnostic
Crisis Diagnostic
For: Any venture when something has gone wrong
A rapid 30-minute diagnostic for ventures in distress. Identifies which failure layer has re-activated and whether the correct response is eliminate, pivot, or change path entirely.
Output

Crisis type · Reactivated layer · Continue / Pivot / Change Path signal · 30-day protocol

⏰ 30 min · Use immediately when a crisis event occurs
Open Instrument V
All Five Instruments
Full Suite Hub →
View all instruments with journey map, denominator guide, and usage notes
Also available as single offline file
Commercial Readiness Level

CRL 5 is the only milestone
that changes everything.

Nine levels of commercial maturity. At CRL 5 — first real invoice paid — something discontinuous happens: capital access, customer trust, and investor confidence all shift simultaneously.

CRL 1
Commercial Hypothesis
Market problem identified. No customer interaction yet. Hypothesis only.
Hypothesis
CRL 2
Customer Discovery Complete
20+ customer interviews. Problem confirmed. Willingness to pay evidenced.
Discovery
CRL 3
First Customer Conversation
Qualified prospect engaged. Interest confirmed. No commitment yet.
Engagement
CRL 4
LOI or Paid Pilot Commitment
Letter of intent signed or paid pilot agreed. Conditional commitment only.
Commitment
CRL 5
★ First Real Revenue — The Critical Threshold
Invoice issued and paid. An unconditional market verdict. Everything changes at this level.
★ Threshold
CRL 6
Second Customer
Reference chain begins. CRL 5 is not a fluke. Pattern of commercial validity established.
Validation
CRL 7
Repeatable Commercial Process
Sales motion documented. Predictable pipeline. Scalable model visible.
Process
CRL 8
Scalable Revenue Engine
Consistent revenue growth. Expansion within existing customers. CAC/LTV established.
Scale
CRL 9
Category Leadership
Default choice in target segment. Competitive moat via N_legacy and reference network.
Leadership
Three Audiences

The framework serves
three interconnected communities.

Deep Tech Founders
From lab bench to first revenue
You have the technology. You are building the company. The IF framework gives you the diagnostic infrastructure to sequence your commercial engineering correctly.
  • Identify which failure layer is active right now
  • Choose the right commercialisation path before committing capital
  • Use the Signal-Friction Matrix to find your Beach Head customer
  • Track CRL velocity at every board meeting
Start with Instrument II
Deep Tech Investors
Diagnose before it becomes a write-off
The IF Quarterly Report Card gives you a consistent diagnostic language across your portfolio. Stop hearing “we’re making progress” and start seeing CRL velocity.
  • Apply IF diagnostic at due diligence
  • Use CRL as standard portfolio reporting metric
  • Identify which denominator variable threatens each company
  • Compare portfolio on a consistent commercial maturity scale
Start with Instrument III
Innovation Institutions
Standard diagnostic infrastructure for your cohorts
EIC Accelerator cohorts. BPI France programmes. IIT incubators. The IF instruments replace ad hoc assessment with a rigorous, reproducible framework.
  • IF Canvas as standard pre-programme diagnostic
  • CRL as consistent milestone reporting across all cohorts
  • Five Failure Layers as common language between analysts and founders
  • Institutional licensing: €15,000–50,000/year per programme
Discuss Partnership
About the Author

29 years of watching deep tech fail
for the same reasons.

Rajesh SHARMA is CEO of Telsun, based in Paris, France. The Innovation Friction framework was built from 29 years of practitioner experience — not academic theory — watching deep tech ventures with strong technology fail commercially for predictable, preventable reasons.

🎓
IIT Kanpur 1994 · MBA AIM + Melbourne Business School · Advanced Diploma Sciences Po Paris · LBS + Wharton PE/VC (2009)
🏆
2 successful exits: COO Astellia (turnaround → EXFO Nasdaq, 108 operators, 60+ countries) · Helped engineer SIRADEL exit → ENGIE Group
🌍
Nortel Networks EMEA 10 years · Citrix Systems · 29-year career Fortune 100 + high-growth innovators across Europe & India
🌐
Active deep tech investor: Enerbrain (WEF Pioneer, EIC, EDF lead investor) · ToothPic (Cybersecurity, Italy) · Airth (India)
⭐
Leaders of Tomorrow — St Gallen / McKinsey 1998 · INSEAD Corporate Entrepreneurship panel 10+ years · PAN IIT Europe Alumni advisory board
SSRN Working Paper · April 2026
Innovation Friction: A Practitioner Framework for the Systematic Elimination of Commercial Adoption Failures in Deep Tech Ventures
Rajesh SHARMA · CEO Telsun · Paris, France
Read on SSRN ↗
Astellia
Telecom analytics · 3rd largest globally · 108 operators · 60+ countries · Turnaround as COO
Exit → EXFO · Nasdaq
SIRADEL
Radio propagation software · European market leader · engineering-to-commercial transformation
Exit → ENGIE Group
IF Dispatch · Fortnightly

One deep tech venture.
Analysed through the equation.

Every fortnight: a real deep tech commercialisation case examined layer by layer, with the IF equation applied explicitly. What failed, what the friction was, and what should have been done differently.

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For Institutions

The framework as standard
programme infrastructure.

EIC Accelerator cohorts. BPI France deep tech programmes. IIT incubators. The IF instruments become your diagnostic toolkit for pre-screening, milestone monitoring, and portfolio reporting.

EIC Accelerator
European Innovation Council
CRL as standard portfolio reporting metric. IF Canvas as pre-grant diagnostic. Quarterly Report Card replacing bespoke monitoring frameworks. Reduces assessment time, increases signal quality across the portfolio.
BPI France
French Tech Acceleration
IF Canvas as standard diagnostic in French Tech acceleration programmes. Five Failure Layers as common language between BPI analysts and portfolio founders. CRL baseline for all cohort entries at intake.
IIT Incubators
SINE · FITT · IIT Madras
Pre-incubation diagnostic using Instrument I. Three Paths taxonomy for technology transfer decisions. India-Europe deep tech corridor as bilateral pilot programme with mutual CRL reporting standards.
Discuss Institutional Partnership →