Arcturus’s Technical-Business Bridge: How One Deep Tech Company Eliminated Traditional Silos

Technical excellence alone rarely translates into market success. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Arcturus CTO Devin Horsman shared how they’ve tackled one of deep tech’s most persistent challenges: bridging the gap between technical innovation and business value.

The Traditional Gap

Most deep tech companies struggle with a fundamental disconnect: technical teams build what’s possible, while business teams sell what’s needed. Arcturus faced this challenge head-on while building infrastructure for volumetric video, but their approach to solving it offers valuable lessons for any technical founder.

Creating a Culture of Mini Product Managers

Rather than accepting the traditional divide between technical and business functions, Arcturus took a radical approach. “You want to have a mini product manager in everybody in the company,” Devin explains. This wasn’t just about cross-functional meetings or better communication channels. Instead, they focused on a deeper transformation: “You want them to understand what is it that our customer needs, what is it that we’re offering as a value prop and how can what I do in my day to day contribute most effectively to that?”

The Mind Meld Approach

For Arcturus, this integration wasn’t optional. “With a company like ours, where the technology is so bleeding edge, there almost necessarily has to be more of a mind meld happening between the units of the company that are more business oriented and the ones which are more technology oriented,” Devin notes.

This approach proved particularly valuable when their initial go-to-market strategy needed adjustment. When they discovered that newer capture stage partners struggled to communicate their value proposition, the technical team’s market understanding enabled them to quickly pivot their approach.

Building Psychological Safety

Creating this level of integration required careful attention to company culture. Devin emphasizes the importance of making it safe for everyone to share feedback: “feedback will come to you one way or the other.” The key is ensuring it comes through constructive channels rather than manifesting as hidden frustrations.

They found that standard practices like dismissing feedback immediately or holding critical feedback against team members created barriers to the free flow of information they needed. By actively working to eliminate these behaviors, they created an environment where technical and business insights could be shared freely.

The Results of Integration

This integrated approach has driven significant results. With a 150% increase in processing volume and 575% increase in end-viewer distribution over the past year, Arcturus demonstrates how breaking down silos can accelerate growth.

But perhaps more importantly, it’s enabled them to stay connected to market reality while pushing technical boundaries. “I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t just stick your head in the sand and make the thing that you think is cool, hoping that everybody else wants to use it,” Devin reflects.

Practical Steps for Implementation

For technical founders looking to implement similar changes, Arcturus’s experience suggests several key steps:

1. Make market understanding part of everyone’s job description
2. Create safe channels for feedback across traditional boundaries
3. Ensure technical decisions are grounded in customer needs
4. Build shared understanding of value proposition across all teams
5. Integrate market insights into technical planning processes

The lesson is clear: in deep tech, success requires more than just breaking down organizational silos. It requires creating a culture where technical and business thinking naturally integrate, enabling faster adaptation to market realities while maintaining technical excellence.