signalforgegtm.com v2 · 2026

You built hardware that works. I make it sell.

SignalForge is an operator-led go-to-market practice for hardware, deep tech, energy, and robotics companies between $1M and $20M in revenue. Fixed-scope engagements that find why deals stall, build the pipeline engine, and hand it back to your team.

$25M+ solar sold across three companies· $7M+ pipeline built with zero sales team· Four-time founder · One clean exit, Energy Fox 2025
Book a 30-minute Signal Audit →
Three gaps mapped live. No pitch, no deck. · Or score your motion first: the free 5-minute Diagnostic →
Deep tech. Energy. Hardware. Robotics. If it's hard to explain, it won't sell.
01 / 07 The Problem

Most companies don't lose because the product fails. They lose because the market never understands it.

01

Brilliant products. Weak signal.

02

Sales compensates instead of scaling.

03

Marketing simplifies and kills differentiation.

02 / 07 Core Thesis

Sales headcount is not the leverage point. Inbound architecture is.

The job is to hand the buyer the exact narrative they will repeat in three internal meetings you will never attend.

03 / 07 Methodology

The Engine.

01 · Extract Signal

What actually matters.

Discovery that surfaces the full decision committee in the first call, not the fifth.

02 · Translate Narrative

Make it obvious.

Your engineering edge becomes the exact sentence the buyer repeats to their CFO.

03 · Build Engine

Go-to-market system.

Routing, qualification gates, stage conversion diagnostics. Systems, not decks.

04 · Drive Pipeline

Repeatable revenue.

In the room before the shortlist forms.

Read the methodology essay Proof to Pipeline →
04 / 07 Engagements

Four ways to engage.

Fixed scope. Fixed price. Operator-led. Built to hand back.

TIER 0010-14 DAYS

Hardware Go-to-Market Diagnostic

Twelve-dimension assessment of your engine. The score tells you which tier is the next move, or that the next move is no outside help at all. The $4,500 fee credits in full toward a Sprint.

$4,500→
TIER 018-10 WEEKS

Signal Extraction Sprint

We identify why your product is not converting and what is structurally broken. A fixed-scope diagnosis with a prioritized fix list. The fee credits toward a GTM Engine Build.

By inquiry→
TIER 024-6 MONTHS

GTM Engine Build

Full system rebuild across positioning, narrative, pipeline architecture, and deal design. A working motion, documented and deployed. The fee credits toward a Fractional CRO Retainer.

By inquiry→
TIER 2.56-MONTH MIN

Fractional CRO Retainer

Embedded operator in your seat. We run the engine until your in-house team owns it.

By inquiry→
05 / 07 Proof

Built from execution.

Named outcomes across deep tech, energy, hardware, and robotics.

Energy Fox Founder + CEO · 2022 to 2025

Energy Fox

Mid-Atlantic commercial solar contractor

Built $7M+ contracted pipeline with zero salespeople. Clean exit 2025.

Tric Robotics Fractional Chief Revenue Officer

Tric Robotics

UV-C agricultural robotics

Closed the Series A after restructuring discovery. Motion documented and handed back.

Founder / CEO   Adam Stager
SolarCity Builder Energy Manager

SolarCity

Residential solar

257% of quota. $13M in sales.

Additional outcomes

Falchion Systems (funded validation, defense) · Voltaic Coatings (Fortune 500 letters of intent) · The Mantis 3D Printer (commercialized) · Organtick (national grant, CPG launch) · Jesco Projects (India-US channel) · Solid Innovations (acquired) · Gameface Grooming (raised) · Heudia (raised) · Energize Delaware ($34M+ clean energy capital deployed) · Clean Energy USA (213% lead conversion lift)

Full track record →

06 / 07 Insights

Operator-grade thinking on hardware go-to-market.

Four pillars. The structural problems hardware founders search for at 11pm. We publish what we run.

Open the Insights hub →
PILLAR 01FOUNDATIONAL

Why hardware doesn't sell like SaaS.

9-to-18-month cycles. Multi-stakeholder procurement. Technically literate, commercially conservative buyers. SaaS playbooks die on contact.

Read the essay →
PILLAR 02METHODOLOGY

Proof to Pipeline.

The four-stage methodology behind every engagement. Extract Signal, Translate Narrative, Build Engine, Drive Pipeline. Documented so your team can run it.

Read the essay →
PILLAR 03HIRING

Hiring the hardware sales function.

First sales lead. Fractional vs. full-time Chief Revenue Officer. The $1M revenue handoff. Where 70% of first Vice President of Sales hires fail and how not to be the statistic.

Read the essay →
PILLAR 04CONVERSION

Pilot to production.

Median pilot-to-production conversion is 12% (IDC 2025). We publish the playbook for the deals that convert. Innovation budget to business unit. Pilot pricing. The 90-day review.

Read the essay →
Also on the site   Hardware GTM Benchmarks 2026 →  ·   GTM consulting for deep tech and hardware →  ·   GTM consulting for hardware startups →  ·   Fractional CRO vs consultant vs full-time hire →
Signal Notes   Construction robotics GTM: the jobsite pilot cliff →  ·   Robotics GTM: capital now follows deployment →  ·   The hardware buying committee →  ·   The first hardware sales hire →  ·   The milestone is not the market →

Forge Friday

The hardware go-to-market newsletter, launching soon. One operator-grade essay, no fluff. Join the list and the first issue lands in your inbox.

07 / 07 Audience

Who this is for.

SignalForge engagements

Technical founders.

Deep tech and hardware companies post-product-market-fit. Sub-500 people. Stuck between $1M and $20M in annual revenue with a product that works and a pipeline that doesn't compound. Energy infrastructure. Robotics. Advanced manufacturing. Agtech.

Not for idea-stage companies.

Architecture feels like delay because it is invisible.
Boards reward the visible. Operators know better.

/ The principle behind the principal

Creativity isn't soft. It's a commercial weapon.

Most technical founders don't know they need it until they've lost the deal.

+ Principal
Keith Modzelewski
Headshot · Keith Modzelewski

Run by Keith Modzelewski.

Four-Time Founder. Energy Fox (Mid-Atlantic commercial solar contractor, sold 2025). Voltaic Coatings (deep-tech materials, Italy Polymer Challenge top-3 finalist, Startup Chile awardee, NSF Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1, 2010 to 2015). The four ventures span solar, deep-tech materials, media, and real estate, with one clean exit to date, Energy Fox in 2025. 15+ year revenue operator across clean energy, hardware, robotics, agtech, and manufacturing tech.

/Kauffman Global Scholar 2012
/NSF Small Business Innovation Research evaluator (Phase 1 + 2) · Innovation Corps mentor
/Advisor · Ben Franklin Technology Partners · TecBridgePA
/MBA + BFA, University of Delaware

Full background →

30 minutes · three gaps · no pitch, no deck

Find the three gaps.

A 30-minute Signal Audit maps your top three pipeline gaps, live, and what would close each one. Some founders take the audit and never speak to me again. That is a fine outcome.

Book a Signal Audit →
Boards and CEOs: for a confidential commercial-leadership conversation, keith@signalforgegtm.com
If it works but doesn't sell, fix that.