StoreDot’s Blueprint: How to Build Trust When Your Technology Challenges Scientific Consensus

When over a hundred professors tell you your technology is impossible, you have two choices: give up or prove them wrong. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, StoreDot founder Doron Myersdorf revealed how his company built credibility for their ultra-fast charging battery technology in the face of overwhelming scientific skepticism.

The Credibility Challenge

“Many, I want to say, 100 professors that came to visit us with the VCs that wanted to invest here, or university experts and so forth, that came, they all told me, ‘Duran, you’re wasting this 200 million, this can never happen. You’re doing something that is impossible to do. Go read the books in physics, why it cannot be done,'” Doron recalls.

For deeptech founders, this level of expert skepticism presents a unique go-to-market challenge: how do you build trust when conventional wisdom says your technology can’t exist?

The Demonstration-First Approach

StoreDot’s answer was surprisingly straightforward: show, don’t tell. “For us it’s relatively easy because the proof is in the pudding and the pudding is the battery,” Doron explains. “If you can deliver a battery that has a data sheet as a specification and you can demonstrate at the customer site that everything that you said in this data sheet is actually validated on their premises, then basically this is where the trust is being built.”

This demonstration-first approach has helped StoreDot secure partnerships with major automotive manufacturers including Mercedes Daimler, Volvo, and Polestar. Each successful demonstration builds credibility for their next customer engagement.

Question Assumptions, Not Physics

StoreDot’s breakthrough came from challenging assumptions about materials rather than fundamental physics. “What they forgot is that everything starts with the materials,” Doron shares. “If you work on the material science of the solution, then you can basically break the boundaries of what is known to be possible.”

This distinction proved crucial in their communications strategy. Rather than claiming to break physical laws, they focused on showing how new materials could achieve what traditional approaches couldn’t.

Building Trust Through Clear Metrics

Instead of making vague claims about fast charging, StoreDot anchored their communications in specific, measurable performance targets. “The product that we are shipping now, we call it 100 in five, that’s 100 miles for each five minutes of charging,” Doron explains. These concrete metrics give potential customers and partners clear benchmarks to validate.

The Power of Persistent Validation

Building trust takes time, especially when challenging scientific consensus. “I don’t think patience is the appropriate term. I haven’t been patient. I have been pushy and I have been persistent,” Doron emphasizes. This persistence has been crucial in gradually converting skeptics into believers.

Lessons for Deeptech Founders

StoreDot’s experience offers valuable lessons for founders developing revolutionary technology:

1. Focus on demonstrable proof over theoretical arguments
2. Challenge assumptions rather than fundamental principles
3. Use clear, measurable metrics to build credibility
4. Be prepared for sustained skepticism from experts
5. Let successful demonstrations build momentum with customers

The ultimate validation comes from the market. As Doron describes their goal: “When they go and buy the vehicle or they are interested in a new electric vehicle, being a Tesla or any of the other brands, they come and ask ‘is StoreDot inside, can I charge in minutes?’ And if people will ask that we did our job.”

For deeptech founders, StoreDot’s journey shows that while you can’t argue with skeptics, you can prove them wrong through consistent demonstration and validation. Sometimes the most powerful response to “it’s impossible” is simply showing it’s already been done.