Who signs a first PO at a materials company
The first purchase order for a trial is rarely signed by the person who loved your science. Map the three seats or you will stall in 'interesting.'
The First Yes Desk
Editorial
A materials company does not have one buyer. It has three seats that have to line up, and founders usually talk to the wrong one first.
The champion
A technical person who wants the result. Process engineer, R&D, technical service. They will run the test if someone else pays for the hassle. They cannot sign a PO. If this is your only relationship, you have a fan, not a trial.
The operator
The plant or lab that has to host it. They care about Tuesday: downtime, PPE, cleanup, what happens to the panels. They can kill a trial in one sentence. They rarely start one.
The budget
Category, development, or a plant manager with a discretionary trial budget. First POs for a 30-day trial are often small enough to skip full procurement. That is the point. Stay under the number that triggers a tender.
How the first PO actually happens
Champion wants the data. Operator agrees the line can take it. Budget holder signs a trial PO for material plus a defined protocol. You invoice for the trial quantity, not for "innovation services."
If you skip the operator, the PO gets signed and the material sits in receiving. If you skip the budget, you get a lab day that never becomes a commercial signal.
What to put on the page they forward
A one-pager a champion can send upward without rewriting. Metric, quantity, safety, 30-day window. No adjectives. The champion's reputation is on the line when they hit forward.
Name the function, not "the industry." Then write the page for the person who has to say yes out loud in a Monday meeting.
Put it to work
See how close you are to a first paid pilot.
The score is free and takes two minutes. It scores you on the four things a buyer checks first.
Take the readiness scoreKeep reading
