Optica is a leading global society that connects the optics and photonics community through research, education, and industry collaboration. The organization plays a key role in advancing the field by supporting entrepreneurs, researchers, and companies that are shaping the future of optical technologies.
Our VP of Marketing, Jennifer Sertl, participated in the inaugural Optica Startup Meeting 2025, a two day workshop designed to give optics and photonics entrepreneurs practical frameworks, market insights, and opportunities to connect with peers and investors. Optica has been a strong supporter of Circle Optics for several years. In 2023, the organization featured our CEO and Founder, Zak Niazi, in a profile highlighting the company’s pioneering work in panoramic imaging systems. As part of the Luminate Accelerator and the Rochester innovation community, Circle Optics has built close ties with Optica through shared programs, events, and mutual commitment to advancing the optics and photonics ecosystem.
Three sessions stood out for their relevance to Circle Optics’ work. The first was a focused session on revisiting the Business Model Canvas, which provided a valuable reset as we plan for our next stage of growth. The second was the Founder Panel, which shared practical lessons from company builders. The third was the Investor Panel, which offered insight into how deep tech ventures are evaluated by the investment community.
The Business Model Canvas is a common tool in the startup ecosystem that helps teams map out the nine essential building blocks of a business. It provides a clear way to connect technology to customer segments, value propositions, channels, revenue streams, and key activities, and to adjust these elements as new information emerges.
Revisiting this tool during the workshop was helpful. Circle Optics created its first canvas a few years ago, and returning to it now with clearer use cases in perimeter security, counter UAS, and immersive simulation reinforced its value. We will build a canvas for each camera system to keep our strategy clear and aligned as we grow. The Business Model Canvas serves as a practical framework for testing assumptions, refining our understanding of customers and channels, and keeping our revenue models connected to real market feedback. As part of the workshop,Sertl was also able to pitch Circle Optics, sharing how the company is advancing situational intelligence for defense, aerospace, and immersive simulation markets.
The Investor Panel was made up of Alexander Fang, Entrada Ventures, and Homan Yuen, Keymaker.
The panel offered a direct view of how venture capital firms assess deep tech companies. Rather than focusing on high level TAM projections, investors emphasized bottoms up market modeling — understanding unit economics, realistic adoption curves, and how revenue will actually be generated.
Key learnings:
- Founders first. Investors look for technically strong but also coachable founders who communicate clearly and can adjust strategy.
- Referrals carry weight. “The power of your network is not who you know; it’s who your contacts know.” Strong introductions often make the difference in early fundraising.
- Transparency builds trust. Investors see board meetings as strategic working sessions, not formal reporting exercises.
- Match engagement styles. Some founders want active investor involvement; others prefer more independence. Being explicit upfront matters.
The Founder Panel featured a range of entrepreneurs and industry leaders from the optics and deep tech ecosystem:
Ashley Flipchin, one of the first 30 employees at OpenAI, shared how launching GPT 2 and GPT 3 taught her to pivot quickly and ship early to learn from real users.
Stephen Fantone described how an early career decision to walk away from a secure corporate role led to the creation of his company, now 43 years old.
Gordon Keeler, after funding more than 100 startups at DARPA, discussed how he applied those lessons to start Beacon Photonics.
Mark Lutkowitz, an industry analyst and commentator, offered perspective on how optics companies can better frame their value propositions for broader markets and communicate more effectively with commercial partners.
Samantha Scott explained how her own medical diagnosis motivated the founding of JuneBrain, which connects ophthalmology and AI to make neurological disease monitoring more accessible.
Key learnings:
- Purpose can come from personal experience. Founders often start with a specific problem they care about deeply.
- Customer discovery is critical. Scott emphasized that NSF I-Corps interviews reshaped her product strategy based on clinical workflows, not assumptions.
- Endurance matters. Fantone’s advice to his younger self: “You’ll face some very dark times… the key is not to give up. Keep moving. Things will resolve.”
The panel also shared the Heilemeier Catechism, a five-question framework used at DARPA. It’s a practical filter to check whether a project has a clear technical and market path:
- What are you trying to do?
- How is it done today, and what are the limitations?
- What is your new approach?
- Who cares (why does it matter, and to whom)?
- How will you get there (time, cost, milestones)?
This framework is especially useful for avoiding “technology looking for a problem” scenarios, which are common in deep tech.
For Circle Optics, Optica Startup Meeting 2025 was a useful checkpoint. As our technology continues to mature, we need to keep refining our business model, validating market fit through customer conversations, and building strong, transparent partnerships.
