Cypher Session: From Great Technology to a Business Investors Can Back
Cypher Session with Keith Magowan: From Great Technology to a Business Investors Can Back
Cypher Sessions are an educational workshop series by Energytech Cypher that connects startup founders with experienced industry professionals, experts, and partners. Each session focuses on a specific topic relevant to startups, offering practical insights, guidance, and the chance to learn directly from people with industry experience.
About the Session
Many energy and climate-tech founders focus heavily on developing their technology and raising capital. But the questions that ultimately determine whether a business can succeed at scale are often left unanswered until an investor or customer raises them.
In this session, Keith Magowan will walk through a real-world example of an early-stage energy infrastructure startup he has supported. The company initially focused on its technology and capital raise but had drifted away from its unique selling proposition (USP). It had not clearly identified its customers, understood what would make them change, engaged the stakeholders who could block its progress, or fully defined the business itself.
Keith will share the nine questions they worked through, including why the company exists, where it fits in the value chain, what it should own versus contract, how it will deliver the 10th unit, and what investors are actually backing. Defining the company’s purpose became the turning point, opening a faster route to first revenue while its longer-term technology development continued.
What You’ll Learn
How to identify gaps between technology development and building a viable business
Why understanding customers, stakeholders, and the value chain matters
The nine questions founders should work through when defining their business
How to decide what to own, what to contract, and how to scale delivery
What investors are really looking for when evaluating a business
Who Should Attend
Energy, climate-tech, and infrastructure startup founders
Early-stage entrepreneurs preparing for investment or commercialization
Anyone working to turn innovative technology into a commercially viable, scalable business
About the Speaker
Keith Magowan is the Founder & Principal of Basalt Consulting LLC. He spent 28 years with BP and Shell delivering major offshore projects, from subsea capital projects to green hydrogen.
Today, he combines that big-company experience with hands-on strategy work, writing market-entry and business strategies and then supporting clients as they implement and scale them. His recent work includes a subsea datacenter startup, field development plans for national oil companies, and a market-entry strategy for an engineering consulting firm moving into offshore and subsea oil and gas.
What You’ll Take Away
Attendees will receive a one-page founder self-check covering the nine questions discussed during the session. It will help you assess your own business and identify the areas that need further attention.
Session Format (60 minutes)
10 minutes: The starting point and warning signs
25 minutes: The nine questions and what changed
5 minutes: Applying the questions to your own business
15–20 minutes: Q&A