Venture Studios & Venture Builders

A growing number of big company leaders like the idea of hiring a firm like this to help them develop that elusive “next big thing.” But it’s a confusing landscape. There are hundreds of organizations of different shapes, sizes, and capabilities that call themselves venture studios, or say that they offer venture building capabilities. We’re trying to make sense of it….

T.A. McCann, Managing Director at Seattle-based Pioneer Square Labs, spoke with us about how PSL’s models work, the ventures it has built, and what corporate leaders need to consider before partnering with a venture studio. 

As part of our series exploring the landscape of venture studios, we spoke with Jordan Schlipf, Founder and CEO of Rainmaking Venture Studio UK, about the studio’s operations, partners and models. 

Lisa Rippington, Director of Revenue Operations at U+, a venture builder, shared information about the collaboration model U+ uses, corporate partnerships, and more in an interview for our series exploring the world of venture studios and venture builders.

As part of our venture studio series, we spoke with Ben Roess, who oversees marketing at High Alpha Innovation, to learn about High Alpha Innovation’s collaboration model, successful corporate partnerships, and a key question leaders should ask before partnering with a venture studio.

As part of our venture studios series, we’ll be profiling a range of the most active venture studio firms. Marcus Daniels, Founding Partner and CEO of Highline Beta, spoke about the studio’s experience working with corporations like Anheuser-Busch InBev, RBC Ventures, and more. 

Co-Created is a venture studio headquartered in New York City, which helps corporations to create both spin-ins and spin-outs. As part of our venture studios initiative, we spoke with Ron J. Williams, Partner at Co-Created, to hear about the firm’s collaboration model, the corporations it has worked with, and more. 

In a recent webcast, Elliott Parker of High Alpha Innovation noted that building new ventures is not always simple — or perfectly convenient. But, for real change and growth, he said, organizations have to be willing to move beyond the status quo. Watch the webcast replay or get the slides…

This InnoLead webcast replay explores how three leading venture building firms — High Alpha Innovation, Highline Beta, and U+ — work with large corporations. Elliott Parker, CEO of High Alpha Innovation; Ben Yoskovitz, Founding Partner of Highline Beta; and Sean Sheppard, Managing Director of U+, discuss top corporate venture building “dos” and “don’ts,” what differentiates their firms from others, and successful venture building tips. Alex Slawsby, InnoLead’s Chief Growth Officer, hosts.

Linda Yates, CEO and Founder of Mach49, joined us for a Master Class on building a venture factory inside a large organization. She discussed the factors that go into that process, took audience questions, and shared valuable insights from her book, The Unicorn Within.

In our recent webcast, we had the chance to hear from Sean Sheppard, Managing Partner at U+, and Martin Tarlie, a Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst at GMO, a Boston-based investment firm. Alex Slawsby, InnoLead’s Chief Growth Officer, moderated.

In our recent webcast on venture studios, Bryan Smith, Director of Product, Mobility Solutions at Bridgestone, and Brent Cross, Director of Transformational Innovation and Commercialization at OSF Healthcare, discussed their own experiences partnering with venture studios. This webinar is part of ongoing venture studio series, geared at helping the IL communtiy better understand what venture studios are and how they work. 

In this short video, Elliott Parker of High Alpha Innovation explains what a venture studio is; various structures; and how to measure success.

Stanford adjunct professor Steve Blank discusses how venture studios work — and their pros and cons. Scott Kirsner, CEO of InnoLead, and Alex Slawsby, Chief Growth Officer of InnoLead, also consult with Blank about incubators, accelerators, and other startup mechanics.

As part of our venture studio series, we spoke with Alper Celen. He is a Founding Partner at Enhance Ventures, a venture studio based in Dubai. He discussed the evolution of venture studios, including possibilities for the future. 

As part of our venture studios and builders initiative, Mach49 shared details of its successful collaborations with Schneider Electric, and the company’s corporate venture fund, SE Ventures. The firm has helped launch and invest in a number of companies focused on sustainability and renewable energy.