The Corporate Venturing Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

🎙️ Welcome to the sixth episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

How do you build new ventures inside a global corporate—and still move with startup speed?

In this episode, I sit down with Jasdeep Sawhney (Managing Director) and Dan Northover (Venture Principal) from InMotion Ventures, the venture studio of Jaguar Land Rover, to explore how they’re building successful ventures that orbit the corporate mothership—strategically aligned, but free to move fast.

We discuss:

🚗 What makes InMotion Ventures a hybrid between a studio and a corporate builder

🛰️ Orbiting the mothership: how to stay close enough to benefit, far enough to stay agile

📊 Their five-phase playbook: from ideation to scale-up

🧱 Building ventures while protecting brand equity in a luxury market

📈 Business model innovation—from ride-hailing to car subscriptions

🧠 Lessons from collaborating across legal, brand, and engineering teams

🎯 Knowing when to spin a venture back into the core—or keep it independent

Whether you’re setting up a new studio or refining your corporate venture model, this episode cuts through the theory and shows how it works on the ground—structure, agility, governance, and stakeholder buy-in included.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures

• Bundl Venture Club

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow, rate, and share The Corporate Venturing Podcast.

Stay curious, keep innovating—and we’ll see you next time!

🎙️ Welcome to the fifth episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Proving the Return on Investment (ROI) of corporate venturing is one of the most persistent—and misunderstood—challenges innovation leaders face. It’s not just about the money. It’s about showing how innovation drives strategic growth, cultural change, and long-term value creation.

In this episode, I sit down with Peter Roeber, innovation leader at Gore, a global material science company known for Gore-Tex and its strong innovation culture. Peter shares how Gore evaluates its venturing efforts, balances financial and strategic returns, and uses early wins to build momentum and stakeholder confidence.

We discuss:

💡 How Gore defines ROI across strategic and financial dimensions

📊 Metrics that matter—from TAM/SAM analysis to real-win-worth frameworks

🧠 The importance of learning velocity and how exploration teams act as “strategic scouts”

💬 Communicating innovation success to executive stakeholders and securing long-term buy-in

🎯 How to recognize and track intangible returns—like brand credibility, talent attraction, and culture change

⚠️ Lessons learned from misaligned ventures—and how to avoid getting the rug pulled out

Whether you’re building new ventures or evaluating the impact of your innovation portfolio, this episode offers deep, practical advice on how to prove the value of your work.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures

• Bundl Venture Club

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow, rate, and share The Corporate Venturing Podcast.

Stay curious, keep innovating and we’ll see you next time!

Welcome to the fourth episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Corporate innovation leaders often debate: Should we invest in external startups or build new ventures from within? The answer may be both.

In this episode, I sit down with Giacomo Manzoni, Head of Corporate Venture Building, and Sebastiano Silvestri, Head of Corporate Venture Capital at ⁠A2A⁠—Italy’s leading multi-utility company focused on sustainability and energy transition. Together, they share how A2A is harnessing both CVC and CVB to drive long-term innovation and strategic impact.

We discuss:

• Why a2a established both a Corporate Venture Capital and a Corporate Venture Building unit—and how they complement each other.
• How to structure CVC initiatives to deliver not just financial returns but real industrial synergies.
• Building new ventures from within: the talent attraction advantage, IP generation, and the role of C-level sponsorship.
• Metrics that matter: From portfolio performance to internal adoption and cultural shifts.
• The biggest challenges in setting up CVC/CVB programs—governance, talent, and cultural mindset.
• Future trends: AI agents, digital twins of innovation teams, and simplifying startup collaboration through agile procurement.

Whether you’re launching a CVC fund, building a startup from inside your company, or designing a hybrid innovation strategy—this episode offers an in-depth, practical look into how A2A is doing it all.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures

• Bundl Venture Club

Don’t forget to follow, rate, and hit the bell button to stay updated on the latest episodes.

Stay curious, keep innovating, and we’ll see you next time on The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Note: We experienced a minor technical issue with the microphone during this recording, so the audio quality may not be perfect at times. Thanks for your patience—we promise the insights are worth it!

Welcome to another episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Startups are becoming an increasingly vital source of innovation for corporations—but what does it take to build successful partnerships? How can large enterprises collaborate effectively with agile startups to drive real business impact?

In this episode, I sit down with Karen Dams, Strategy and M&A Manager at Brussels Airport, and Andrew Erlick, Innovation Manager at Reckitt, to explore the art of sourcing and engaging startups. Drawing from their experience in industries as diverse as aviation and consumer goods, they share practical insights on:

• Why startups are a crucial driver of innovation and agility for corporations.

• How large companies can effectively identify and evaluate promising startups.

• The best collaboration models—venture clienting, accelerators, corporate venture capital, and beyond.

• Overcoming common challenges in startup engagement, from internal resistance to governance hurdles.

• The future of corporate-startup partnerships—what trends are shaping the next wave of innovation?

Whether you’re leading an innovation team, a startup founder looking to partner with corporates, or simply curious about the evolving world of corporate venturing, this episode offers actionable strategies to navigate the landscape successfully.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures

• Bundl Venture Club

Don’t forget to follow, rate, and hit the bell button to stay updated on the latest episodes.

Stay curious, keep innovating, and we’ll see you next time on The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Welcome to the second episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Corporate venturing has become a key strategy for companies looking to stay ahead in an evolving business landscape. But what makes it so impactful for growth, and how can leaders ensure their venturing efforts succeed?

In this episode, I sit down with Phil Hague, Innovation Design Director at 3M, to explore the role of corporate venturing in driving business success. Drawing from his experience leading innovation at companies like Procter & Gamble, Lenovo, and Microsoft, Phil shares practical insights on:

• Why corporate venturing matters and how companies leveraging it outperform their market peers.

• Balancing short-term ROI with long-term strategic goals—is innovation really just a cost center?

• How to measure the success of venturing initiatives, beyond financial returns.

• Creating an innovation-friendly culture and overcoming internal resistance.

• Corporate venturing vs. traditional R&D—how they can work together instead of competing for resources.

• Collaborating with startups—what makes corporate-startup partnerships successful?

• Emerging trends in corporate venturing.

Whether you’re leading a venturing team, working to build a culture of innovation, or looking for strategies to future-proof your business, this episode provides real-world insights to help you navigate corporate venturing successfully.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures

• Bundl Venture Club

Don’t forget to follow, rate, and hit the bell button to stay updated on the latest episodes.

Stay curious, keep innovating, and we’ll see you next time on The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Welcome to the first episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Corporate venturing is often defined as “the practice of established companies collaborating with or investing in startups to drive innovation and growth.” But what does that really mean in practice, and why has it become such a crucial strategy for companies to stay competitive in today’s fast-changing business landscape?

In this episode, I sit down with Thomas Van Halewyck, Founder and CEO of Bundl, to explore the foundations of corporate venturing. From understanding its key elements—collaboration, investment, and venture building—to unpacking why traditional R&D is no longer enough, we cover:

• Why startups are emerging as powerful innovation partners for corporates.
• The steps organizations need to take to set up corporate venturing programs.
• Real-world examples of leaders in corporate venturing, like Google Ventures.
• How to overcome common pitfalls and foster a culture of experimentation and entrepreneurship.

Whether you’re just getting started with corporate venturing or looking to take your efforts to the next level, this episode provides actionable insights to help you unlock growth, embrace innovation, and future-proof your business.

Powered by the Bundl Venture Club, this podcast series offers exclusive insights and invaluable perspectives to help you win internal support and build the ventures of tomorrow.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures
• Bundl Venture Club

Don’t forget to follow, rate, and hit the bell button to stay updated on the latest episodes.

Stay curious, keep innovating, and we’ll see you next time on The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

🎙️ Welcome to The Corporate Venturing Podcast, where we explore how established companies are transforming through Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing. I’m Davide Ritorto, your host, bringing you insights and strategies from the leaders shaping the future of corporate venturing.

Powered by ⁠Bundl Venture Club⁠, this podcast connects corporate entrepreneurs worldwide. Join us as we dive into the challenges and opportunities that drive corporate innovation.

💡 Subscribe and hit the bell to stay updated on each new episode. And for weekly insights, check out my newsletter, ⁠Open Road Ventures⁠!

Let’s push the boundaries of corporate venturing, together!

🎙️ Welcome to a special solo episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

You know those meetings or keynotes where terms like Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing get thrown around like they mean the same thing? Spoiler: they don’t.

In this episode, I take a step back to clear the confusion — and properly introduce myself along the way (yes, finally… after six episodes).

We unpack:

🚪 What Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing really means — beyond the buzzwords

💡 The difference between integrating external knowledge and betting on ventures

💸 How Corporate Venturing fits under the Open Innovation umbrella — and where it requires real capital

🛠️ Practical tools: from venture building to accelerators, CVC, and venture clienting

🎯 When to use Open Innovation vs. Corporate Venturing in your discussions

⚡ Why Venture Clienting sits in between — and helps lower the barrier to startup collaboration

📈 How to sequence your approach — and avoid falling into pure “innovation theatre”

Whether you’re new to this world or refining your company’s innovation strategy, this episode helps cut through the noise — with research, real-world examples, and honest reflections from my experience and beyond.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures Newsletter

• Bundl Venture Club

If you enjoy this episode, follow the show, share it with your team, and stay curious. See you next time!

What is Venture Innovation? How can you scale it?

In this episode, I’m joined by Jelena Joffe Weil, Worldwide Leader for Venture Innovation at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Jelena and her team sit at the intersection of enterprises and startups, matching real problems with the right founders and helping both sides move from idea to impact.

We explore how collaborative innovation is changing in the age of GenAI, and what it actually takes to make these partnerships work at scale.

In this episode, Jelena shares insights on:

⚙️ What venture innovation really is

How AWS Venture Innovation helps enterprises de-risk and scale innovation, while giving startups the one thing they value most: access to decision-makers, not more credits.

🤖 Why AI is forcing “outside-in” innovation

How the shift from “move to cloud” to “AI at the core” pushed corporates to accept they can’t build everything alone—and need the right partners instead.

🎯 Picking use cases that matter

The three filters she uses to choose where to start: a clear problem, measurable business impact, and a real team with budget behind it. 

🏭 A concrete Next-Gen Lab example

How a global CPG company aligned 20+ leaders, met five pre-qualified startups in one day, and moved four of them to next steps—with one becoming the chosen partner for lab automation. 

📌 The “never start without” rule

Why her team refuses to begin without three basics: a sponsor, a focused theme/use case, and actual decision-makers in the room—otherwise you just create another pilot that goes nowhere. 

📈 KPIs for both sides of the table

How she separates business KPIs (time saved, costs cut, revenue uplift) from internal ones focused on ecosystem health, startup growth, and depth of relationships with business leaders.

🚀 Access = right person × right need ^ now

Her formula for startup go-to-market: getting founders in front of the right person, with the right need, at the right moment—and why building customer trust is the real secret sauce of “matchmaker magic”.

We close the episode on Jelena’s personal “why”: using emerging technology to make this world a little better by matching the work of courageous founders with the resources and scale of large organization.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures Newsletter

• Bundl Venture Club

🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded stories and practical lessons from inside the world of Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing.

🎙️ Welcome to a new episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

In Venture Clienting: Lessons from the Field, I’m joined by Lisa Kratochwill (Startup Engagement, VERBUND X) and José “Pepe” Pascual (former Head, Cencosud Ventures).

Lisa runs a multi-corporate program that takes real business challenges to pilot and beyond. Pepe built a venture-client engine in Latin America with clear KPIs, budget ownership, and a bias to action.

Together, we unpack what makes venture clienting work in practice, and where it breaks.

In this episode, Lisa and Pepe share insights on:

• 🧭 The simple rule for tool choice: when to client, when to build, and when to invest, and how to decide fast.

• 🧩 From use case to pilot: framing the problem, scouting the right startup, and setting success upfront.

• 📑 Procurement that helps, not hurts: pilot T&Cs, fast-track onboarding, and who signs the invoice.

• 📊 KPIs you can read on one slide: cost savings or new revenue, time-to-pilot, SLA/quality, and a powerful input metric: number of challenges identified.

• 💸 Budget ownership = speed: why a dedicated pilot budget and a clear “pilot owner” reduce friction.

• 🛡️ Compliance early: how regulation can block a “successful” PoC, and how to prevent late surprises.

• 🤝 Multi-corporate as a force multiplier: sharing risk, budget, and skills on cross-industry topics (e.g., vehicle-to-grid).

• 🔁 From pilot to scale: land small, prove value, then expand, what changes between site #1 and rollout.

• 🚫 Common pitfalls: scope creep, “tourism” pilots, and fuzzy goals that kill conversion.

• ⚡ Culture-shifting moments: the small wins that flip skeptics into champions.

We close by reflecting on the moments when a startup solution made the value of this work obvious to everyone in the room.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures Newsletter

• Bundl Venture Club

🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded stories and actionable insights from inside Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing.