First, investing in new ventures can allow the parent company to better leverage its own technologies and platforms and/or its other corporate assets. Investments in new ventures can generate exposure and access to emerging complementary or disrupting technologies, support and influence the development of new applications, and stimulate and shape the demand for the parent company’s technologies.
External ventures can also add their products to corporate distribution channels, utilize excess capacity and provide attractive professional development opportunities for corporate staff. They can also be used to put pressure on and/or benchmark internal suppliers.
Second, investing in new ventures can allow the parent company to build options for future business development, as initial investments can lead to outright acquisitions with significant strategic value. Investing in start-ups also allows the parent company to build contacts and networks with entrepreneurs, scientists and other investors that could lead to further innovation opportunities.
Finally, investing in new ventures can allow the parent company to learn in a fast-track way about new business opportunities, the early recognition of market discontinuities, and emerging dominant designs or more entrepreneurial approaches. Hence it can allow the parent company to identify and monitor new opportunities, and to externalize some R&D activities.
Investing in new ventures can also help the parent company to bring about internal cultural changes, by exposing management to entrepreneurship and new types of collaborations and synergies.
But developing CVC initiatives requires dedicated networking, negotiation, due diligence, deal making and business development skills which are often difficult to attract, develop and retain in large organizations. Indeed, while internal projects can be difficult to set up and manage, external ones can be even more challenging (see Chapter 4).
First, CVC initiatives might involve dedicated incentive schemes (such as stock options or success fees) that are difficult to implement within a corporation. As a consequence, such initiatives often fail because of a lack of entrepreneurial talent and difficulty in attracting and hiring skilled fund managers.10Developing strong networks and ties with venture capital communities can therefore be critical.
Second, the management of a portfolio of investments in new ventures requires a careful balance between financial objectives (investors’ return) and strategic objectives (leveraging, option building and learning benefits). Indeed, most independent venture capitalist already struggle to achieve sustainable financial return, and adding a strategic dimension can create further complexity and ambiguity. In particular, it might be tricky to decide when an investment that is not financially profitable needs to be maintained for strategic reasons.
As a consequence, CVC initiatives often fail because parent firms are not able to deal with the financial risks and volatility involved in the management of such fast-paced environments, or because they fail to define and act according to clear strategic objectives. CVC initiatives also often fail because of a lack of sufficient autonomy and corporate commitment.
Third, the benefits and synergies outlined above suppose an effective integration of the new venture with the corporate culture and processes of the parent corporation, as well as effective collaborations with its business units. However, new ventures might not be ready to conform to such a culture, and business units might resist providing outsiders with access to their corporate jewels