Ten hard-won lessons from a decade of mobility innovation

After a decade of supporting mobility innovation, the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Zenzic have worked with hundreds of start-ups and SMEs, helping them take their innovation from concept to commercialisation. We’ve seen the breakthroughs and the breakdowns – the big deals and the cautionary tales. Here, Joshua Denne, Head of Product at APC, and Mark Cracknell, Programme Director for Zenzic, reflect on the top ten lessons that separate the companies that accelerate from those that stall.

The mobility sector is brutal. We are heavy on hardware, and unlike software, you can’t pivot on a whim. The product lifecycle is longer, the capital burn is higher, the asset requirement is intense, and proving technical viability is only half the battle. Commercial traction is what defines winners.

We launched the next evolution of our mobility start-up accelerator ‘Mobilise’ in January 2025. These ten hard-won lessons from the past decade have shaped how we hope to support the next generation of mobility start-ups.

1. The right support at the right stage

The UK’s mobility ecosystem is rich in its diversity: we have global corporate OEMs and suppliers, established supply businesses, small-and-steady SMEs, high-ambition scaleups, and bleeding-edge start-ups. Taking a single approach to supporting each of these segments does not deliver the best outcomes. A start-up taking its core technology to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) needs fundamentally different help than one scaling manufacturing capacity. A global OEM does not need the same intervention as an established UK-based supplier. Our focus in this article is on start-ups and the programmes we have developed to accelerate them.

For start-ups at the seed stage, funding for technology validation is immediately critical and an entrepreneur’s first priority. However, due to long product introduction periods, the high cost of development, and the challenging commercial environment, commercialisation expertise, IP strategy, and Investment readiness also need to be an early priority – support with the target market, and help preparing for relevant early-adopter market requirements are absolutely critical.

Mismatched support can leave a lot of value on the table. We’ve seen companies attempt to deliver large application readiness programmes before they’ve validated their technology, only to burn through cash with limited traction. Likewise, we have seen many start-ups waste time and resources shooting for an unrealistic market segment. The right support at the right stage accelerates, but the wrong support at the wrong time can be a distraction.

Mobilise is a structured early-stage accelerator programme that supports ambitious start-ups, university spinouts, or pivoting SMEs that are developing innovative mobility-related early-stage, zero-emission or Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) technologies, products, services, or solutions to accelerate the transition to a safer, smarter, more sustainable future.

2. Early adopters beat ‘build it and they will come’

Proof of traction trumps proof of concept. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that superior tech will automatically attract buyers. It won’t. Companies that spend years perfecting their product, without bringing early adopters on board, often fail. Likewise, focusing on large multinational customers as innovators or early adopters is a fatal error. We can think of just a handful of companies that have converted commercial deals with global multinationals as their first or early adopters.

The winners engage potential customers early. They focus on initial customer segments that can allow market entry at pace, ideally at a premium, even if the total market size is smaller. In an ideal world, they go beyond letters of intent (LOIs) to secure paid pilots and joint development agreements before scaling. These commitments provide validation and create customer pull, making the eventual commercial launch far less risky.

We’ve seen companies with inferior technology win market share because they had early adopter buy-in. Meanwhile, technically superior start-ups struggle because they waited for the ‘perfect product.’

3. Redefining MVP in hardware: Segment, model, product

The classic concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) doesn’t always translate perfectly to hardware or deep tech. You can’t really ship a half-baked prototype in a highly regulated market. Instead, we think in terms of:

• Minimum Viable Segment: Proving the value in a specific niche (e.g., low-volume EVs before targeting mainstream OEMs), which is big enough to make sense for initial product development, and small enough and innovative enough to be your first customer.
• Minimum Viable Business Model: Demonstrating through a focused go-to-market strategy, developing the minimum viable asset set to service your identified first customer segment.
• Minimum Viable Product: A product with just enough functionality to attract customer traction (including regulatory requirements) of this first segment.

For mobility start-ups, an MVP ≠ prototype. It’s about proving an initial business model, of which your product is just one part.

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