The Bedrock Strategy: Leveraging Industry Expertise to Scale Faster

Creating a new category in deep tech typically means years of market education. But what if the knowledge you need to spread already exists within the industry? In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Bedrock CEO Joselyn Lai revealed their strategic approach to accelerating market adoption by tapping into existing expertise networks.

Building on Established Knowledge

Instead of starting from scratch, Bedrock recognized that their target market already had valuable expertise. “All real estate developers and owners, they have a large ecosystem of architects and engineers and construction managers who they rely on. And that universe, especially architects and engineers, already know about geothermal,” Joselyn explains. This insight fundamentally shaped their go-to-market strategy.

Multi-Level Education Strategy

Rather than trying to educate everyone at once, Bedrock works through established channels. As Joselyn notes, “There are other kind of key players in the energy ecosystem, such as utilities and policymakers who do already understand what geothermal can do for society at a grid level.” This multi-level approach helps create both top-down and bottom-up momentum.

Aligning with Existing Incentives

A key part of their strategy involves connecting with stakeholders who already have sustainability goals. “So many companies increasingly have emissions reduction targets or net zero goals,” Joselyn shares. “And in order to build more properties or get old properties in compliance with efficiency or carbon targets, they often need to solve their heating and cooling.”

Simplifying the Regulatory Process

By working within existing frameworks, Bedrock makes adoption easier. As Joselyn explains, “This is not like other forms of big, clean energy infrastructure projects where you have to get federal permitting… Instead, geothermal heating and cooling for buildings. Air conditioning is usually regulated at the local or state level, and it’s often regulated like a water well.”

Learning Through Implementation

Their first major installation with CIM Group demonstrated the value of working through existing industry networks. Joselyn details: “We learned about just the integration between the geothermal system that we’re here to innovate on and connecting that to the h vac system inside the building. We learned a lot about that process of working with H Vac contractors.”

Building Trust Through Demonstrated Success

Rather than just talking about potential, Bedrock focuses on proving their solution works within existing systems. Their Austin installation showed they could “shrink the footprint of the geothermal system” to fit urban properties while proving they could “drill faster” and “drill more quietly” – addressing key concerns of property owners and managers.

Creating a New Financial Model

Beyond technical education, Bedrock focuses on making their solution financially viable. As Joselyn emphasizes, “Nothing good or positive for society can scale unless it also has a financial value proposition. And geothermal delivers that.”

Looking to the Future

The goal isn’t just to sell individual installations but to create a new industry standard. Joselyn envisions a future where their technology enables “many tens of thousands of rigs operating around the world that we’re licensing our hardware and our software to other construction players to go do geothermal as kind of the obvious default solution for buildings.”

For deep tech founders, Bedrock’s approach offers valuable lessons in market acceleration. Instead of trying to build everything from scratch, look for existing knowledge networks and trusted advisors who can help accelerate adoption. The key is finding ways to make your innovation fit within established systems while solving pressing industry problems.