Corporate Startup Engagement

Stay future proof in a digital world.

Corporate Startup Engagement (CSE) has certainly arrived in Europe and evolved from a trend, to a key element within corporate strategy to stay future proof in a digital world. Most corporates have been experimenting over the last years in terms of startups programs. Startup challenges have become a new normal for all kinds of industries, as targeted calling for ideas, talents, services or products can speed up innovation significantly and will provide valuable insights on what already out there today.

STARTUP SCOUTING SERVICES

Stay future proof in a digital world.

CORPORATE ACCELERATOR

Precise strategic direction and clear goals.

CORPORATE VENTURE FUNDS

Financial profit and control over most recent innovations.

The best talents and startups

Explore exponential technologies

The goal for each corporate is obviously to attract the best talent and startups in a specific field, but competition increased, and it became much harder to find true raw diamonds. Our clients on the other hand do not run random trial programs anymore – the underlying objectives became much clearer, which is also important to differentiate from peers while addressing the smartest talents out there.

In the last years we have worked with more than 30 corporates, advised and accompanied until launch and beyond their corporate startup programs as a trusted entrepreneurial partner. We are proud to have played a small role within their success-stories when it comes to startup engagement.

Holistic Landscape of

Corporate Venturing

We developed a model for tailored corporate startup engagement models, which suit both your needs and objectives. Our clients match available resources with objectives and bring sustainable projects to life, which help them to speed up innovation while reducing risks and costs. Based on our models, solid track-record and learnings, we understand how to fit the holistic landscape of corporate startup engagement programs to companies. Last, but not least we more than an eye on strategic interactions between your portfolio and organisation.

SUCCESSFUL CSE

REFERENCES

Do you want to know more?

Contact our senior investment managers / partners to learn more and see if we are the right partners for your Corporate Startup Engagement.

OUR SERVICES

Unique Strategic Modelling

We have developed a unique method to develop the right strategy and program for corporates, considering key strategic and operational dimensions like:

Technology
indicates the level of innovation (incremental vs. disruptive) a corporate is willing to address. This implies also the willingness to take risks and accept failure or write-offs within such a program.
Transparency
Sets the need for measurability and (usually) quantitative transparency. Research-driven or very early stage-orientated programs have a not so secure outcome than other programs or plain collaborations.
Image Transfer (Marketing & PR)
Indicates to what extent a program shall strengthen an image of the corporate. However, this holds true for potential reputational risks of a program as well.
Implementation Effort
The level of involvement in implementing a program (human resources or invested days from specific business units.)
Financial Engagement
The level of commitment in terms of funding or investment power corresponds with reputational risks and also with chances of positive impacts on the balance sheet.
The level of integration
Shows how deep a program will be integrated within existing business units and therefore gives an indication how much of a strategic control a corporate requires when working with startups. Full control usually means the acquisition, no control usually means non-equity collaboration.

Advisors might be famous for producing concepts on paper and beautiful powerpoints. We are different. We are entrepreneurial partners! We won’t leave after a workshop, we are ready to support you all the way from planning, execution to success. Our managment will stand right beside you, when results are measured and objectives are re-adjusted for the next leap.

STARTUP SCOUTING

Our award-winning team have been true pioneers of startup scouting in Europe. Having supported governmental initiatives like “Innovation to Company”, an initiative of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, for more than 3 years, as founders of a leading scouting software tool (originally Dealmatrix.com) and key-partner of multiple Accelerators we have gained quite extensive experience in this field.

Startup Scouting

We analyse more than 2,500 startups every year.

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Supporting startups and investors

an emerging european ecosystem

Today, most of our network is pooled and united within European Super Angels Club, an initiative we started with partners from KPMG Austria as an answer to an emerging European ecosystem and in order to position us as a valuable partner for startups and investors or business partners like corporates, small- medium enterprises (SME), family offices, high-net-worth individuals and venture capital funds.

We see more than 2,500 Startups apply every year at European Super Angels Club and a constantly increased number of corporate partners supporting the club. Finally, we are proud about our performance within the syndication fund managed by Venionaire Ventures until today.

Largest pan-european investor network

Our services

Together with our team from European Super Angels Club, we are happy to consider setting up special projects, such as targeted (niche) scouting events or campaigns

Do you want to know more?

Contact our senior investment managers / partners to learn more and see if we are the right partners for your Corporate Startup Engagement.

Corporate Accelerator

Exponential technologies became available to everyone. Prices for computational power, storage and even machine-learning engines are dropping rapidly, while accessibility of technologies is increasing, as a result of the digitalization and democratization of the internet. Technology is moving into our homes and lives through connected devices. The internet of things is no longer only available for industry automation. Robotics, drones, blockchain and artificial intelligence will increase innovation momentum even further in the coming years and this will be a challenge for large corporates and internal R&D. Industrial market leaders face competition from software companies and which are eating the world piece by piece.

Corporate Accelerator

Precise strategic direction and clear goals.

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Corporate Accelerator

precise strategic direction and clear goals

Large organizations struggle to keep up with this extreme pace. Startups out-grow their competition by leveraging exponential technologies and reinventing the market repeatedly. The concepts of OKRs, distributed agile teams and exponential organizations and related remote working hacks, have been invented by startups and became the new normal for incumbent industries through the covid19 outbreak in 2020. Corporates today compete with (exponential) organizations, which are ten times better, faster and cheaper than theirs.

Startup programs, such as Incubators, Intrapreneurship centers or Accelerators are great to kickstart a grassroot effect in your organization. Objectives and resources need to be planned wisely and your organization needs to be prepared for this carefully if you want those projects to be beneficial for your company.

Corporate sometimes run those programs, as

equity, or
non-equity programs,

depending on their objectives and resources they want to invest up-front for a certain output. Partnering and investing after an accelerator program bears the risk that startups might become valuable suppliers, while the valuation of the individual company increases. On the other hand, equity programs are risky as you might end up with some zombies in our portfolio. Planning a Corporate Accelerator requires corporates to define a precise strategic direction and clear goals for the accelerator to be economically viable and sustainable for an enterprise.

Let`s start with a workshop!

Contact our senior investment managers / partners to learn more and see if we can help you.

Management will need to answer difficult questions about their true goals:

Are we looking for conversation of disruption and how would we deal with it?
Are we commitment to building exponential businesses and is our company ready for this transformation?
Are we looking for a program which continuously involves the management board and C-level?
What does digital transformation mean for our incumbent business and are we ready to re-allocate resources?

Once answers to those questions and some more are found and committed, you will need to set aside enough resources for such a program to work well. A rule of thumb we have learned to be solid is, you need to allocate 20-30% of the money that your organization would like to see a business to create within 3 years aside if you want your investment program to succeed. You won’t build a EUR 500 million (new) business with a EUR 20 Million fund, average performance of venture funds will show that you would rather need EUR 100m to 200m to achieve this goal.

Corporate Venture Funds

Today, it is clear that big corporates do not have the monopoly over innovation. Often, small but dynamic companies emerge in high-tech sectors and constitute a serious threat for some industry giants. However, the high reactivity of these small companies is generally impaired by problems of financing. The strategical and financial advantages are clear, calling more than ever for Corporate Venture Capital.

Corporate Venture Funds

Financial profit and control over most recent innovations.

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Combine financial profit with control over

most recent innovations

Larger firms which want to achieve financial profits and control the most recent innovations often have recourse to corporate venture capital (CVC) as strategic mode of financing. The advantages it brings to every stage of the project (launch, refinancing and project output) compared to financing by venture capital funds will be key factors for future development. However, building a partnership which allies fairness to strategical and financial benefits for both parties is extremely complex, and the cause of numerous failures. This is exactly where Venionaire’s expertise can help.

From setup to administration

OUR SERVICES

Fund Setup
We handle the structuring process and setup of funds, such as Accelerator Fund or Corporate Venture Fund.
Drafting of Fund Documentation
We take care of all legal documentation aspects of setting up your fund.
Fund Strategy
We develop a portfolio strategy & a business-plan, including costs structure, capital call structure, etc.
Deal-sourcing and screening
We provide you with a personalized and high quality deal-flow, according to your needs and expectations.
Fund Administration
We manage all aspects of your fund’s administration, in particular monitoring, controlling and reporting in adherence to both national and international standards.

WHERE TO FIND US

VIENNA, OFFICE (HQ)

Babenbergerstraße 9/12,
A-1010 Vienna, Austria (EU)
office@venionaire.com

SAN FRANCISCO, USA

1355 Market St. #488
San Francisco CA 94103
sfo@venionaire.com

NEW YORK CITY, USA

122 East 37th Street
First Floor
New York, NY 10016
nyc@venionaire.com

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FOR STARTUPS

Venionaire Capital exclusively invests through the European Super Angels Club, for more information and application please go to the website. We do not accept direct investment proposals via this website.