In Greek mythology, Daedalus crafted wings of feathers and wax for himself and his son Icarus to escape imprisonment. He gave Icarus explicit instructions: fly neither too low (the sea spray will dampen the wings) nor too high (the sun will melt the wax). Stay the middle course.
Icarus, exhilarated by flight and convinced the hard part was behind him, soared higher and higher. The wings worked perfectly, until they didn't. The wax melted, the feathers scattered, and Icarus plummeted into the sea.
As Product Managers in RUO life science tools, we face our own Icarus moment. The product works, thanks to R&D, beta-testers, manufacturing and so many more. User validation is complete. The “wings are built”, and we're airborne. The exhilaration is real: "We did it! The hard part is over. Now we just launch."
This is precisely when some Product Managers (PMs) fly too close to the sun.
The assumption that "product-ready equals launch-ready" has sunk more commercialization efforts than any technical failure. You have functional requirements met, user requirements validated, and manufacturing scoped. But you don't yet have the go-to-market strategy that will turn researcher interest into adoption.
The sea below? A perfectly good product that generates zero revenue because you didn't plan the commercial launch with the same rigor you planned the product development.
At Milestone 2, you're at a decision gate: are we ready to commit resources to commercial launch?
Most PMs focus on the wrong question.
They ask: "Does the product work and can we make it?"
The right question is:
"Do we have a credible plan to turn product availability
into customer adoption and revenue?"
Here's what "launch-ready" actually means at Milestone 2, and it's not about executing tactics. It's about having a strategy, a proof plan, and operational readiness that your executive team can pressure-test before you commit launch budget.
The Planning Question: Who are our first 100 customers, and why will they buy before everyone else?
The mistake: "Our target market is all researchers doing X." That's not a launch strategy, that's a fantasy.
At Milestone 2, you need ruthless segmentation. In Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm," the gap between early adopters (who'll try anything) and the pragmatist majority (who need proof) kills most technology products. RUO tools are no different.
Your beachhead must be specific:
Why specificity matters: Your proof, positioning, and pricing all flow from your beachhead choice. Try to be everything to everyone at launch, and you'll generate no proof compelling enough to cross the chasm.
| Want the newest thing | The Chasm | Want complete solution / convenience |
| Innovators (2.5%): Great for beta, and KOLs, but terrible for revenue. They're already using your product | Early Majority (34%): Won't buy until 12-18 months post-launch. They need proof from early adopters. | |
| Early Adopters (13.5%): Your launch target. They want competitive advantage and will take calculated risks with credible evidence. | Late Majority (34%): Needs to be beyond first version of the product, received many positive reviews. Proof from early majority is essential. |
The Milestone 2 Deliverable: One-page beachhead strategy naming your primary segment and ICP <link to previous blog>, why they'll buy first, segment size (in units and revenue), and the specific problem you solve that current solutions don't. If you can't name 20 specific labs/companies in your beachhead, you don't have a strategy.
The Planning Question: What evidence do we need to convince early adopters to buy and create social proof for the pragmatist majority?
You can have perfect positioning and smart pricing, but without proof, researchers won't risk their experiments on your product.
The RUO Proof Hierarchy (in order of impact):
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Tier 1: Peer-Validated Publications |
Tier 2: Customer Proof Stories |
Tier 3: Head-to-Head Competitive Data |
Tier 4: Application Notes and Technical Data |
Tier 5: Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Endorsements |
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Timelines: 12-18 months from data generation to publication (at minimum) |
Timelines: 6-12 months |
Start during milestone 1 |
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Action: Identify 3-5 co-development partners (academics are very helpful) who will publish using your product. Get written commitments. If you're planning to launch in 6 months and haven't started this process, you'll launch without your most powerful proof. |
Action: Get 5 beta customers to commit to testimonials. Draft the case studies now based on their beta results. Don't wait until launch to ask, the urgency disappears. |
Action: Design and execute comparison studies as early as possible. |
Action: Create 3-4 application notes covering your beachhead segment's key use cases. These become your website content, sales collateral, and technical support foundation. |
Action: Identify 3-5 KOLs in your beachhead. If they're not already using your product in beta, you're too late. |
Early adopters will buy with Tier 2-3 proof (customer stories + competitive data). The pragmatist majority demands Tier 1 proof (publications). Your launch will generate revenue from early adopters (13.5% of market), but you won't cross the chasm to the majority (34% of market) until you have multiple publications and/or a solid installed base. Plan for that 12-18 month gap.
The Milestone 2 Deliverable: Proof roadmap showing what evidence exists today, what's in progress with expected completion dates, and what's still a gap. Include publication pipeline (submissions, under review, accepted). If your roadmap shows critical proof pieces arriving 6+ months after launch, you'll struggle with adoption.
The Planning Question: Why will researchers switch from their current solution, and what's our pricing logic?
Your positioning must directly address the switching cost. Researchers won't switch for "10% better." They switch when:
The Positioning Framework:
"For [beachhead segment] who [specific problem], [Product Name] is a [category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [current alternative], we [unique differentiation]."
Example: "For CAR-T manufacturers who struggle with T-cell subset QC taking 6+ hours, CytoFast is a flow cytometry panel that delivers results in 90 minutes with automated analysis. Unlike custom 10-color panels requiring Ph.D.-level expertise, we provide pre-validated panels any technician can run."
Pricing Strategy:
At Milestone 2, pricing isn't "COGS × 4." It's strategic.
Value-Based Pricing: Calculate economic value to customer (time saved, experiments saved, samples saved) and capture 30-50% of that value.
Competitive-Plus Pricing: Price above competitor if you have clear 10X differentiation on a critical dimension.
Penetration Pricing: Price below true value to accelerate adoption if you have downstream revenue (consumables, services, upgrades).
The Milestone 2 Deliverable: Positioning statement with competitive comparison matrix showing where you win decisively. Pricing strategy document with three scenarios (aggressive, baseline, premium) showing unit volume, revenue, and margin projections for Year 1-3. If you can't defend why a researcher would pay your price, it's wrong.
The Planning Question: What operational capabilities must exist on Day 1 of launch, and what's our plan to build them?
The unglamorous reality: you can't sell what you can't deliver, support, or fulfill.
Critical Infrastructure Elements:
The Milestone 2 Deliverable: Gap analysis spreadsheet with current state, required state, owner, and timeline to close each gap. If critical gaps close after planned launch date, your timeline is fiction.
The Milestone 2 Deliverable Package
At the Milestone 2 gate review, present these four documents:
The question leadership should ask: "Do we have a credible plan to generate revenue, and have we stress-tested the assumptions?"
If you can't present these with confidence, you're not ready to commit launch budget. You're Icarus, flying high on product success, unaware the wax is melting.
Don't Confuse Product Validation with Market Validation
The most common mistake at Milestone 2: assuming that because researchers liked your product in beta, they'll buy it at launch.
Beta customers are innovators who'll try anything. They're not representative of your market. The early adopters who drive your first-year revenue need proof. The pragmatist majority who determine long-term success need publications and social proof.
Your Milestone 2 planning must bridge this gap. If your proof strategy shows publications arriving 18 months post-launch, you're planning for slow adoption and extended time-to-profitability. That might be acceptable, but it must be explicit.
Daedalus gave Icarus good advice: stay the middle course. Not too low (timid market entry with insufficient investment) and not too high (overconfident launch without proof or infrastructure).
Plan your commercial launch with the same rigor you planned your product development. The hard part isn't over when R&D delivers. It's just beginning.
At Milestone 2, resist the temptation to rush to launch. Build your proof. Define your beachhead. Validate your positioning and pricing. Close your operational gaps.
The researchers who'll buy your product are waiting for evidence, not just availability. Give them proof, and you'll cross the chasm. Launch without it, and you'll discover, too late, that the wax has melted.