- A single order can make all the difference

Entering the defence sector as a start-up is demanding, particularly for deep-tech companies.

This is one of several lessons highlighted by Jeanette Hvam, chief executive of Decpt. 

The Danish SME has transitioned from start-up to scale-up over the past year, hiring staff and opening offices in Ukraine and the United States.

I previously ran a start-up producing sensors. In that line of business, you could sell one, then two, then three. In defence, it works differently

Jeanette Hvam, CEO, Decpt

- I previously ran a start-up producing sensors. In that line of business, you could sell one, then two, then three. In defence, it works differently - you either secure a contract or you do not. A single order can make all the difference, Hvam says.

From academia to application

Few would have predicted that Hvam would lead an expanding defence scale-up based just north of Copenhagen.

She holds a PhD in materials science from the University of Southern Denmark, but found academic research too theoretical for her entrepreneurial ambitions.

- I wanted to see research translated into real-world applications. I value developing products closer to the market and using end-user feedback to shape development, which is difficult to obtain within a university setting, she says.

- Today, I rarely use my academic background directly. The focus is on business plans, executing strategy and raising capital, and I enjoy that.

After a period teaching physics at secondary school level, Hvam co-founded a company developing a sensing device to measure the freshness of meat and fish and estimate remaining shelf life.

This led her to Danish firm Inmold, which works with nanostructured polymer foils. Its founder identified potential defence applications, and in 2022 Decpt was established as a spin-off, with Hvam as chief executive.

- The most difficult task now is scaling up after a long period with effectively two and a half employees. Our strategy has evolved significantly since launch, and operations have accelerated markedly over the past year, she says. 

Structural barriers

Drawing on her relatively recent entry into the defence sector, Hvam identifies several barriers to the emergence of new start-ups.

Across the Nordics, Finland has the most developed environment for defence start-ups. 

In Denmark, there was limited national focus on defence innovation when Jeanette Hvam started. 

Much of the equipment - and especially innovation - had already passed through the most demanding development phases elsewhere, she says, pointing to the relative absence of accelerator programmes, defence innovation funding and venture capital.

- However, the start-up environment in Denmark and across the Nordics is developing.

The start-up environment in Denmark and across the Nordics is developing.

Jeanette Hvam, CEO, Decpt

What distinguishes defence is its degree of state dependence: companies typically require endorsement from national armed forces to succeed in wider markets.

- The more defence organisations engage with innovation, the more likely they are to enable new start-ups. This ultimately depends on political prioritisation.

- It is a structural issue, she says.

One practical constraint on innovation, she argues, is limited access to end-user testing and feedback. Ukraine is a notable exception, including in procurement.

Ukraine has accelerated procurement by decentralising the acquisition of many systems to individual units, an approach now beginning to emerge in the United States.

You need to test products in real-world conditions.

Jeanette Hvam, CEO, Decpt

- You need to test products in real-world conditions. That access exists in Ukraine. It is fundamental to innovation: develop, gather feedback, refine and repeat. We need similar conditions in the Nordics, combined with access to funding.

Partnerships and regional ambition

As a small company, Decpt must prioritise carefully. 

Hvam is therefore seeking partnerships with established defence primes. She confirms discussions with several in the Nordics but declines to provide further detail.

- The more we procure from each other and collaborate, the stronger the Nordics will become. We share many common strengths, she says.