Lab tools rarely make headlines, yet almost every breakthrough in biology depends on them. They are also some of the hardest companies to build: the products are complex, the customers are careful, and sales cycles are long.

We have backed six life science tool companies since 2016. Here is some of what they have taught us.

Sell to scientists, not budgets

The best tool companies we have backed start with a small group of scientists who love the product. Those scientists become champions inside their institutions, and the budget follows.

Companies that start by selling to procurement teams tend to win small contracts and struggle to grow from there.

Reliability beats features

A scientist will forgive a missing feature. They will not forgive an instrument that ruins a three-week experiment. The teams that win spend their early years making the product boringly reliable.

Plan for patience

Tool companies often take longer to reach meaningful revenue than software companies. That is fine, as long as everyone plans for it. We set larger reserves for these companies and agree on realistic milestones from the start.

If you are building a tool that makes research faster or more repeatable, we would like to hear from you.