Corporate venturing has moved from the periphery of innovation strategy to the center of the C-suite agenda. Faced with slowing core growth, accelerating technological change, and rising uncertainty, many established companies have turned to corporate venturing to explore new markets, test disruptive business models, and build future growth options without betting the firm or negatively impacting the core business.

Yet despite its growing popularity, corporate venturing remains poorly understood and frequently underperforms.

This quick start guide translates the discipline of venture capital practices, e.g. thesis-led investing, portfolio logic, milestone-based funding, and a ruthless focus on market learning into a corporate context.