Emin Askerov
Cleantech FOAK Advisor
Services
Scaling a FOAK is not one problem. It's a dozen problems arriving at the same time, in an order nobody warned you about. Below is where I typically step in.
You need revenue — but your offtake isn't signed yet
For a FOAK, a signed offtake isn't just a commercial milestone. It's what makes your next funding round possible, your supply chain negotiable, and your investors calm. I've negotiated industrial contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the operator seat — not as an advisor watching from the side.
I help you structure and negotiate the full commercial pathway: from your first MOU through to a binding offtake agreement, including pricing logic, risk allocation, and the negotiation positions that protect you without losing the deal.
Relevant if: You have potential offtakers in conversation but aren't converting them, your current draft terms worry you, or you don't yet know how to find the right first customer.
You need to raise — but your materials aren't ready
Most FOAK fundraising fails not because the technology is weak, but because the story isn't built for the people writing the cheques. I've sat on both sides of that table. I know what European deep-tech investors are looking for, and I know the specific gaps that kill otherwise fundable deals — an unrealistic roadmap, a missing team, no unit economics, no clear path from pilot to NOAK.
I help you build the full fundraising package: pitch deck, financial model, investment teaser, and negotiation strategy. And I tell you honestly if something isn't ready, before an investor does.
Relevant if: You're preparing for Series A or beyond, your current deck isn't landing, or you want an experienced operator's read on your materials before they go out.
You need to execute the FOAK itself
Site selection. Capex planning. Supply chain. HR and training. Investor reporting. The hundred decisions between a working demo and a factory that delivers on time and on budget. This is where most FOAK projects break — not because the technology stops working, but because the execution disciplines aren't there.
I help you build a FOAK execution plan that is both realistic and investable, and I stay involved through the critical phases where decisions have the longest consequences.
Relevant if: You're moving from demo to FOAK, you're already in construction and hitting unexpected walls, or your investors are asking for a credible scale-up roadmap you don't yet have.
You need to manage the people around your FOAK
Corporate investors who want more control than they're entitled to. Strategic partners who move slowly and blame you for it. A board that doesn't fully understand what building a FOAK actually involves. These relationships can derail a project as surely as a technical failure — and they require a different kind of navigation.
I help founders manage investors, corporate partners, and boards from a position of clarity rather than anxiety — including taking an independent board seat where that's the right tool.
Relevant if: You're dealing with a difficult investor relationship, preparing for a board conversation you're not sure how to handle, or navigating a corporate partner who is starting to slow you down.
Not sure which of these fits your situation? That's what the first call is for. Or, read how I work first.