Building a startup is no simple task regardless of the vertical you claim as your own. The reality, though, is that some startups — think robotics or climate tech — require a lot more time in the oven before they’re fully baked revenue generators.

A longer building time affects both startups and investors alike, which is why we’re thrilled that Gene Berdichevsky, CEO and co-founder of Sila; Erin Price-Wright, an early-stage technology investor; and Katie Rae, founding CEO and managing partner of The Engine will join us for a panel discussion at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 18–20 in San Francisco.

As the funding market cools and takes on a more conservative bent, how can founders get around revenue concerns? On the other side of the funding coin, how do investors weigh the risk when placing bets on startups that could take longer to produce viable income streams?

Those are just some of the questions our panel will address because, let’s face it, these concerns are not theoretical when you’re building — or betting on — startups ranging from hardware to hard science. We reckon a lot of great advice will come out of this discussion.

Under Gene Berdichevsky’s leadership, Sila, a next-generation battery materials company, launched Whoop 4.0, a new type of lithium-ion chemistry. Following investments by blue-chip companies, including Mercedes and Daimler, Sila is working on scaling its science for the electrification of everything: consumer electronics, electric vehicles, electrified flight, and evolution of our power grid to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Prior to co-founding Sila, Berdichevsky was the seventh employee at Tesla Motors, where he served as principal engineer on the Roadster battery, leading the development of the world’s first mass-produced automotive lithium-ion battery system.

Berdichevsky holds two degrees from Stanford University — a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and a master’s in engineering with a focus on energy and materials. He has co-authored 42 patents and four academic publications.