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Strategy: A Clear Plan for Finding Pilot Projects
Find a Pilot
Reach an agreement with a real organization.
The company provides a real use case / problem.
The company grants insight into their specific processes related to the use case.
The company agrees to evaluate the solution based on KPIs.
The company is willing to consider commercial terms afterwards.
Sometimes paid, sometimes not — but always formalized.
There is a specific customer (not an abstract one).
The customer is a legal entity.
A specific department within the company is involved.
A person within the company holds the role: Head / Director / Innovation / Operations.
A written agreement is reached on the pilot scope, including:
What exactly will be done;
Where;
How many users;
Duration (typically 4–12 weeks).
There are KPIs for the pilot (even rough ones), such as:
Reduce training time by 30%
Reduce errors
Increase retention
Save X hours / money
There is a formal document (at least one of):
Pilot Agreement
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Letter of Intent (LOI)
Innovation Program Acceptance Letter
In PDF format
The pilot starts immediately after the demo, not a year later.
Actions / Milestones on the Path to a Pilot:
Initial call held, potential customer liked the idea.
On-site demo at the customer's office.
The customer examines where the proposed use cases could be applied.
Discuss pilots even without a demo if:
The pain point is real and significant.
The customer is a large corporation.
The solution is strategic.
Parallel development of the project and search for pilot projects.
Paid vs. Unpaid Pilot
Paid Pilot (Ideal)
$10k–100k
Demonstrates that budget exists.
Significantly strengthens the investment case.
Unpaid Pilot is acceptable if it includes:
Access to data.
A formal document.
An LOI regarding commercial terms post-pilot.
What a "Pilot" Looks Like in One Sentence (for an investor):
“We are running an 8-week XR training pilot with a government entity in the UAE, covering 120 employees, with defined KPIs and an LOI for commercial rollout upon success.”
Note: This is gold for an investor. Only a startup that has already gone through this entire journey begins to understand the following:
The need for investors decreases dramatically because where there is an unpaid pilot, a paid one may also be possible.
It is a typical investor mistake: the desire to minimize risks often leads to a situation where having an investor complicates processes and is not advisable in 9 out of 10 cases for a startup or developing project.
In a scenario where the value, benefit, and importance of an investor are reduced to extreme cases, which can also be addressed through strategy and planning.
Focus on Pilots
“We are primarily seeking a pilot to execute a pilot; investment or partial payment for the pilot implementation is a welcome bonus.”
Find a pilot.
Get an LOI.
Show traction.
Raise investment.
Conditional LOI, Design Partner, and Pre-Pilot Agreements
If you are 12 months away from a demo:
“We are in the R&D stage, demo in 12 months, currently forming design partners and early adopters for future pilots.”
Stage 1. Months 0–3
Goal: Generate interest without a product.
What you can do right now:
Describe 1 specific use case.
Show:
Mockups
Architecture
Roadmap
Expected ROI
Stage 2. Months 3–6
Goal: Conditional LOI / Design Partner Letter.
This is the crucial point.
It declares that you are not looking for just a 'pilot,' but for:
A Design Partner
An Early Access Partner
An Innovation Partner
LOI wording at this stage:
“The Company intends to engage as a design partner and evaluate the solution once a functional demo is available, with the intention to proceed to a pilot and potential commercial deployment subject to successful results.”
Stage 3. Months 6–9
Goal: Pre-pilot agreement.
What changes:
A partial demo emerges.
Prototype.
Simulation / video / controlled environment.
Document:
MoU or LOI.
Tied to a future pilot.
Stage 4. Months 9–12
Goal: Signed pilot scope.
By the time of the demo, you should have:
Agreed upon:
Where the pilot will take place.
Who will participate.
What the KPIs are.
A document ready for signature.
Having a Pilot Project and Seeking Investment
Suitable investors when you have a pilot project:
Angel investors.
Corporate innovation arms.
Government funds / grants.
Possibly:
Family offices.
Definitely unsuitable:
Classic Venture Capital (VC) firms.
Growth funds.
Funds without a deeptech focus.
Pitch Example When You Have a Pilot Project
“We are a deeptech XR company.
Our demo is scheduled in 12 months.
We are currently working with two government entities as design partners and have signed conditional LOIs for pilot projects upon demo readiness.”
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