Verkatehdas filled up on Thursday, 1 October, with a somewhat different crowd from a typical startup event. Technology companies, investors, defence and security actors, industry representatives and municipalities were all present. The Forum attracted close to 200 participants representing more than ten nationalities. The programme combined expert keynotes, startup pitches, reverse pitches from end users and industry, an investor discussion and plenty of time for networking and new encounters.

The event was organised under the theme Where startups meet real demand in defence, security and resilience. The phrase also captures the basic idea behind BeScaled. The Finnish-Estonian market validation programme helps startups developing civilian technologies explore opportunities for their solutions in defence, security and resilience markets. The aim is to test real end-user needs and the dual-use potential and market fit of technologies, helping companies make an evidence-based decision on whether entering a new market makes sense.  

At the Forum, the theme became tangible. The programme began with perspectives on innovation within the Finnish Defence Forces and the growth story of ICEYE, followed by pitches from BeScaled startups. The reverse pitches then turned the traditional startup format on its head: instead of startups presenting their solutions, representatives from industry and the public sector presented their own needs and challenges. Towards the end of the afternoon, attention shifted to investors and the investment landscape surrounding defence, security and resilience. 

Across the different presentations, the same practical challenge kept resurfacing. There is no shortage of promising technology. Getting that technology into actual use is a much more complicated matter: the alignment of technology with genuine end-user needs, systems integration, regulation, testing, procurement and financing is the central challenge.  

First, understand the problem you are solving 

A great deal of new technology with potential applications in defence and security is currently being developed. For a startup, the attraction of a new market is easy to understand. If a company already has software, a sensor, an energy solution or another technology originally developed for civilian markets, could there be a new application for it in rapidly evolving security markets? 

BeScaled deliberately turns that question around. Instead of starting with the technology, the first task is to understand what someone actually needs. This thinking was embedded in the structure of the Forum itself: the reverse-pitch session was designed for industry representatives and other ecosystem actors to present their needs and challenges directly to startups and innovators.  

In theory, the idea sounds relatively straightforward. In practice, this is precisely where many new technologies encounter difficulties. The main bottleneck in the market is often not a lack of technology, but the challenge of bringing together genuine end-user needs, systems integration, regulation, testing, procurement and financing. 

A good pitch alone is rarely enough for investors 

Companies from the first BeScaled cohort presented their solutions at the Forum’s pitch competition. The presenting companies were Dual Impact Finland, GaltTec, NaturAI, Thistle Oü and Tora Tactical Fitness, each approaching the defence, security and resilience markets from a different technological starting point. pitches were reviewed by a jury consisting of Mario Aguilera (Founder, Indomitum and Former Special Forces Officer, EUDIS Coach), Anna-Maija Kuosmanen (Lammi Savings Bank) and Jaakko Salminen (FiBAN angel investor). The pitch competition was won by Thistle Oü, which received the 3,000 € Best Pitch Award from Lammi Savings Bank. 

The award provided a concrete conclusion to the startup session, but the discussions throughout the day also highlighted a broader point: a compelling pitch is only one part of demonstrating that a technology is ready for a new market. The questions that determine market readiness are ultimately quite practical. Is the customer problem real? Is the end user sufficiently well understood? Does the technology work? Can the solution be integrated into the environment in which it is intended to operate? And does the company have a realistic understanding of how to enter the market? 

That is why the most valuable outcome of BeScaled may not be that a company becomes better at selling its idea. More valuable may be gaining enough evidence to decide whether the solution should be taken into the defence, security or resilience market in the first place, and with which use case.  

BeScaled is designed specifically as a go-to-market validation process: startups test real end-user needs, dual-use potential and market fit before committing significant resources. And if the process shows that the product needs to change, or that the chosen market is not the right one for the company, that is not necessarily a negative outcome. On the contrary, the validation process has produced valuable information early enough to act on it. 

How does new technology fit into what already exists? 

In defence and security environments, new technology is rarely introduced on a blank slate. Systems, processes and established ways of working are already in place, and a new solution must fit into that environment in one way or another. What matters, therefore, is not only what a new technology can do, but whether it can work as part of an existing whole. 

This came through at the Forum from both an industrial and a defence perspective. As Patria’s Matti Saarikko noted, industry needs more than new features. It needs solutions that can be connected to existing systems. The keynote by Suvi Apell on innovation within the Finnish Defence Forces, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of systems thinking: instead of examining an individual device or solution in isolation, its role within a broader capability should be considered.

For a technology developer, the distinction is important. The question is no longer simply whether the technology works. It is equally important to determine whether it works where it is actually needed, together with the users, processes and other systems surrounding it. 

Growth does not begin only once the product is finished 

Jouni Kytömaa’s ICEYE keynote brought the perspective of a growth company into the discussion. ICEYE example highlighted step-by-step validation, testing hypotheses and being prepared to change the product, offering or business model based on evidence from customers.

For a programme such as BeScaled, this is more relevant than the idea of simply taking a finished civilian technology into a new market unchanged. A company may enter the programme with technology that is already good and functional, but it still needs to determine which use case is most promising in the new market, who would actually use the solution and what the customer’s operating environment requires from the product. What is being tested, therefore, is not only the technology but also the company’s assumptions about the market. 

Seen this way, market validation is not a single test after which a product receives a stamp of approval. It is a learning process in which the understanding of the customer, the use case and the market becomes progressively more precise. At its best, the result is a much clearer understanding of what the company should do next. 

What if the city is the problem owner? 

One of the day’s interesting perspectives came from Tartu’s Emergency and Resilience Coordinator Rauno Arna. In his presentation Rauno pointed to an interesting potential role for municipalities: they can be problem owners, end users and real-world testing environments for new solutions.  

A city does not have to be merely an event host or a place where companies are invited to network. Cities themselves have concrete resilience-related needs, while public services, infrastructure and the ability to keep everyday life functioning create an environment in which new technologies may find their first genuine use cases. 

Ultimately, someone also has to finance growth 

The afternoon investor discussion examined the same overall challenge from the perspective of financing. The official programme listed Ville Vesterinen as moderator, with Jakob Sandell from Tesi, Kaj Hagros (Redstone Nordics), Jukka Hakola (FiBAN angel investor) and Asko Hänninen (Nordic Corporate Finance) represented on the panel.  

From the investment perspective, the conversation returned to the same familiar questions: where is the customer, and what evidence is there of a market? Technical appeal alone is not enough for investability. Customer evidence, a credible team, a scalable business model and a realistic route to market also matter. The discussion additionally emphasised understanding genuine end-user needs, anticipating future needs and the importance of networks.  

The path for a technology company therefore looks more complicated than a simple story of ”innovation, investment, growth”. First, the company has to identify a problem that someone genuinely benefits from solving. It then needs evidence that the solution works and an understanding of whether it can be deployed in a real operating environment. Only then does the company move closer to procurement, financing and scale. 

Meeting is only the beginning 

BeScaled Forum brought together many of the actors required along this path. Startup pitches, reverse pitches opening up industry (Patria) and public-sector needs (Tartu Municipality), keynotes from the Finnish Defence Forces and ICEYE, the investor discussion and networking around the exhibition stands all approached the same challenge from different directions.  

The true impact of an event like this cannot, however, be assessed the following morning. The more interesting question is how many of these conversations continue after the Forum, and whether they eventually lead to testing, pilots, customer relationships, collaboration, financing or procurement. The currently available post-event material does not yet provide evidence of such outcomes, so they should be treated as questions for the next stage rather than results already achieved. 

This is also where BeScaled has perhaps its most interesting opportunity. Networking has value, but even greater value can come from creating the next step after the initial encounter: a startup refining its use case with an end user, its technology being assessed in a real operating environment, and the company gaining evidence as early as possible on whether the solution is worth pursuing. 

We need a path from real need to end-user understanding, use-case validation, integration and testing, evidence of impact, procurement and financing, and finally scaling. This is where the Forum’s theme, Where startups meet real demand, begins to mean more than simply bringing the right people into the same room.  

Ultimately, what matters is not only that technology and demand meet. The more interesting question is what happens after that meeting, and whether it helps good technology move closer to real-world adoption and the market. 

Writer: Ville Koiste, Head of Service Development, Linnan Kehitys Oy