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- Win the new Talent war
Hi!
Last month I returned to Farnborough International Airshow after ten long years. I met hundreds of startups with the most innovative tech in defence, and many of them were excited about expanding into Europe or the US. Now, not only AI but also Defense & Aerospace companies are fighting the war on talent.
Helsing's just raised $1.8 billion funding, while Anduril's has +2,000 open roles. Both Airbus and Boeing are ramping up production to deliver on their 16’000 plane backlog. Capital is no longer the issue, Talent is!
Exponential funding across AI, Defense and Aerospace is heating up the war on talent.
How then should you find the right people for your startup?
Ben Horowitz said it best:
Applying engineering hiring techniques to a sales organization is like eating poison ivy to get more green vegetables.
In simple words, you will get the opposite of what you want.
How one wrong sales hire kills growth
The average bad B2B sales hire costs $177,171, not including lost pipeline.
Most common two mistakes deep tech founders make: they hire too early, or they hire the wrong profile. Often both. In deep tech, where buyers require technical fluency and sales cycles span years, it burns the runway you cannot recover.
There is no universal profile for commercial talent in deep tech. You do not know your target industry until you reach Product-Market Fit, which means you are not sure which Sales profile you need. Yet Startup Genome found that 70% of startups hire sales personnel before reaching PMF, building teams 3 times larger than consistent peers at the same stage.
The right Sales profile becomes clear once you find your market. Define your Ideal Customer Profile to clarify your commercial hire core competences. They must understand your product to have the conversation, and your buyer's challenges to close it.
Follow Sparksense LinkedIn for weekly updates on Deep Tech Sales trends.
3 checks before your next sales hire
Check your sales readiness before you define the sales job role.
Ask three questions:
Do you have Product Market Fit (PMF)?
Do you know your target industry?
Can your pipeline run without you? Evaluate your GTM stage
1. Pre-PMF: do not commit to a Senior profile.
Do not make a full-time Senior commercial hire before you know your target market.
Bring in a managed BD partner or hire a Junior BD to test markets without locking into the wrong (expensive) profile.
2. Post-PMF: hire for industry depth, not product knowledge.
Hire someone with buyer networks in your validated industry, who closes without you in the room.
Define the role around buyer market access, not high level company knowledge
3. Work with the person before any full-time hire.
Run a project or manage freelance engagement before any permanent contract.
Test the relationship under real commercial pressure before you commit.
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3 digital tools to manage your team
Once you have the right sales hire in place, the next step is managing them efficiently.
These are tools we use daily at Sparksense to do exactly that. We recommend them to any deep tech founder building their first structured team.
Manage contracts, payroll, and compliance from one place.
Onboard a new hire in under 24 hours.
Track hours across your full commercial team.
Control cost before you commit to scaling headcount.
Align your commercial team without email chains, wherever they are located
Organise conversations by sector or account to move faster.
Not ready for a full-time commercial hire?
Let's build your pipeline before you commit to headcount.
PhotonFirst built incremental sales without new sales hire
Sometimes the right hire decision is no hire at all. PhotonFirst entered scale-up needing recurring customers, not a full-time salesperson. Their technology required a commercial partner who could hold a credible conversation and reach the right buyers without the overhead of an internal hire. |  |
Sparksense became that partner. Bi-weekly pipeline updates, trade show presence, and direct lead qualification built structured access to buyers across their target markets.
"We have entered many fruitful customer relationships thanks to the services of Sparksense. Many of those relationships have also created recurring business for PhotonFirst."
You do not always need a sales hire to drive recurring revenue. It requires the right commercial access at the right moment.
Are you struggling to gain traction or compete with industry giants? We help startups find hidden market opportunities by connecting them with second-tier players that hold untapped potential.
Company: IDS Ingegneria Dei Sistemi Founded: 1980, Pisa, Italy Employees: ~250 |  |
IDS has built radar, electromagnetic, and unmanned systems for defence, maritime, and civil applications across more than 30 countries. If your startup works in radar processing, autonomous systems, or electromagnetic simulation their application engineering teams are the right door to knock on.
Relevant Technologies: Ground-penetrating radar, counter-UAV radar, electromagnetic engineering, unmanned systems integration, satellite communications
Making your first commercial hire?
Let's check if your GTM is ready before you commit to headcount.
Spark your network: Let’s meet at upcoming industry gatherings
Q2B Copenhagen | Copenhagen, Denmark | September 9-10, 2026
We want to meet Deep Tech founders and industry leaders at the intersection of quantum computing and commercial application. If you build in quantum sensing, precision instruments, or quantum hardware and want to reach the right buyers in Europe, let's connect.
Semicon India | New Delhi, India | September 17-19, 2026
Siddharth, wants to meet Deep Tech founders from Asia who are ready to bring their technology to the European or North American market. Reach out if you build in semiconductors, photonics, or advanced materials and want your first qualified customers in the EU or North America.
ECOC Exhibition | Málaga, Spain | September 21-23, 2026
Europe's largest optical communications exhibition is where we connect with engineers and decision-makers in fibre, photonics, and optical networking. If you build in photonics, fiber sensing, or optical components and are looking for your first qualified buyers in Europe, come find us.
Mark your calendar and let's connect at these game-changing events!
250 Deep Tech entrepreneurs have partnered with us, Sparksense knows what commercial traction looks like at every stage. Book a call with me today!
Looking for a practical starting point?
The talent war is won before you make the hire. Know your market, find the right profile, then commit.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly.
Hire smart,
Hervé Flutto,
Managing Director & Founder of Sparksense LLC.
About Sparksense LLC.
With 250 global clients supported over the last 8 years, Sparksense is the trusted Sales Team for B2B Tech Startups. With a smarter outreach, Sparksense’s team of over 30+ advisors has ignited sales for hardware and software solutions across Europe, North America and Asia – thanks to its robust, proven business development skills and relevant market access to decision makers across key industries.
Sparksense GmbH, Panoramaweg 15, 5070 Frick, Switzerland