Interview: Call Dustin Rossbliss Perry Jillian Manus — 2026-05-07
Key Themes
IMEC as a priority venue. Jillian pivoted away from leading with Matthew Freedman (General Paparo’s team) and toward IMEC as the first substantive stop. Her reasoning: IMEC sits at the center of semiconductor R&D evolution, and a conversation there will give the team the domain grounding they currently lack before approaching defense-adjacent contacts. The recommendation to visit in person on or around June 10th (post-Greece wedding) is actionable.
Max Mirgoli as the highest-priority intro. Jillian flagged Max — Chief Global Development Officer and EVP at IMEC, head of partnerships and venturing, board member, investor — as the most valuable first conversation. Key attributes: deep in the semiconductor bottleneck/distribution layer, loves teaching, extremely networked. Jillian will send his contact info and follow on after Bliss/Dustin send an initial outreach.
Credibility gap acknowledged. Jillian explicitly called out the team’s lack of semiconductor domain expertise as a liability in outreach. Her suggested mitigation: either add an advisor (Max himself is a candidate) or namedrop semiconductor-credentialed classmates (Samsung/Nvidia background; Adam, a semiconductor PhD) in emails to signal bench depth. Team is not seeking funding yet — goal is credibility and learning.
Uncertainty framing is the right email posture. Jillian coached that acknowledging the hypothesis may be wrong is a strength, not a weakness, at this stage. Emails should name the initial problem thesis, note the team is at the very beginning, and express genuine interest in hearing where the real problems are.
Three separate outreach emails needed. Max Mirgoli (priority), Olivier Rousseau at IMEC (director of venture development, runs accelerator, better fit than Thomas van Houton for early-stage teams), and Matthew Freedman. Copy Jillian on all; put her name in the subject line.
Notable Quotes
- “My gut says to talk to Max first. Because he’s part of the evolution of semiconductors and where the bottlenecks are.” — Jillian on prioritization
- “Matthew would respect that you’ve talked to Max first before speaking to him.” — Jillian on sequencing
- “Your hypothesis may be incorrect and we are at the very beginning of this process.” — Jillian coaching the email tone
- “You have a good team and that’s what we’re always looking for right.” — Jillian signaling she’s vouching based on team, not product
Surprises
- Jillian de-prioritized the defense pathway (Freedman/Paparo) relative to prior framing — IMEC is now the near-term anchor.
- IMEC’s structure as the world’s largest nonprofit semiconductor R&D center that actively funds companies solving industry problems could make it a strategic partner or even an accelerator entry point, not just an interview venue.
- Jillian volunteered that she’s at the EIC Summit in Brussels June 2–4, which means she won’t be available for the June 10th IMEC visit — but she’s comfortable organizing it remotely and may be able to pull Max in.
Open Questions
- What is Max Mirgoli’s current read on where the real bottlenecks are in the semiconductor supply chain? That’s the core RDI question this meeting was building toward.
- Is the IMEC accelerator a realistic near-term option, or is that premature?
- How much should the team surface its semiconductor-credentialed classmates in outreach vs. keeping the core team small and focused?
- What is Jillian’s daughter’s background, and is that intro still on the table for the team?