Few people can imagine a world without Twitter – now called X. This platform changed the way we communicate, share news, and start global conversations. And this platform exists thanks to a venture builder. That’s right; Obvious Corp. was key in building this billion-dollar enterprise. This example alone shows how powerful venture building can be in turning bold ideas into world-changing realities.
This guide will walk you through that transformative journey. It will also explain what makes venture building such a game-changer for investors and scale-ups alike.
What Is Venture Building?
Venture building is the practice of growing a startup from scratch by treating the business itself as the product. Essentially, a team of experts works together to turn an idea into a successful company. But here’s the kicker. Most members of this team come from the same organization.
They might be part of a larger corporate entity, which funds startup development. This is known as corporate venture building. The team could also come from a dedicated venture builder – an organization set up specifically to create and scale new businesses. These professionals – serial entrepreneurs, marketers, developers, and other specialists – work together to start the company and guide it through every stage of growth. It’s similar to SaaS – software as a service. But this time, the “software” is a fully built business.
Venture builders can also team up with external entrepreneurs or parties to start a new venture together. This is called joint venture building.
And the list doesn’t stop there. Venture builders can form different partnerships to drive innovation. Regardless of the approach, their goal is always the same – offering resources, expertise, and hands-on support to bring their idea(s) to life.
This hands-on approach is precisely what makes venture building different from venture capital. You see, venture capital firms will typically invest in a business and step back. A venture builder, on the other hand, is deeply involved in the venture itself, in creating it and running it. This approach immensely benefits the startup itself, as well as any investors and partners. Simply put, there’s less to worry about, as the company is properly guided from the get-go.
The Benefits of Venture Building
Venture building is highly beneficial to all the parties involved.
Let’s start with corporate venture building. The corporations behind these ventures get to open up new revenue streams and explore new markets without jeopardizing their core activities. This allows them to stay competitive and innovative without taking on the high risks usually associated with starting new ventures. There’s also the possibility to attract – and retain – top talent, as venture building appeals to skilled professionals seeking new challenges.
Investors will find venture building quite appealing, too.
After all, the company they invest in is much more likely to succeed with the hands-on support and guidance that venture builders provide. However, investors themselves can also play a more active role in venture building. They can influence the company’s direction and share their expertise to help the company succeed. In time, these investors will build a portfolio of high-growth companies. And the best part is that they will be directly involved in growing some of them.
Sometimes, this growth doesn’t start from scratch. Venture building can also help existing ideas and ventures reach new heights. In this case, we’re no longer talking about a startup. We’re talking about a scaleup.
Scaleups benefit from venture building by gaining access to a range of resources designed to speed up their growth. Corporate expertise, networks, funding…you name it, and venture building can provide it. This approach is also less risky. After all, the traditional early-stage challenges – like team building and product development – have already been addressed. As a result, scaleups can scale up in record time, with market dominance right around the corner.
Venture Building: The Step-by-Step Process
Venture building sets up companies for success from the get-go. Still, there are quite a few steps to go through before that success can materialize. Here’s what a typical venture-building process looks like.
Step 1 – Research
If you’re lucky, a lucrative idea might just fall into your lap. But let’s be real – most great business ideas don’t just appear out of thin air. No, they require thoughtful research. And this is what Step 1 is all about.
In this step, the team explores the market to identify gaps, emerging trends, or unmet customer needs. This research lays the foundation for a strong idea with the highest chance of success.
Step 2 – Ideation
At this point, it’s clear which direction the new company should go in. However, the company itself is far from fully formed. In fact, even the idea is still in its early stages. So, the team gets down to brainstorming.
In the ideation phase, the goal is to think of a wide range of ideas that align with the identified market opportunities. Workshops and feasibility studies will help the team refine any initial concept. It’s about shaping their idea into something tangible – something that can be tested and validated. Only then can the team move forward.
Step 3 – Concept Development
After zeroing in on an idea, the team can go fully in. This involves defining the company’s vision and mission. The goal here is simple. Everyone should be on the same page regarding the company’s core purpose and long-term goals.
Step 4 – Team Formation
A company is only as good as its employees. That’s why forming a quality core team is one of the most important phases of venture building.
A common way to build this team is to start from the top – identifying the key roles. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)… whatever C-suite roles the company calls for. The venture builder will likely retain most – if not all – of the control in the company. This helps reduce the risk of failure, as having too many stakeholders too early can slow down progress.
As for the team, they can come from the venture builder or be hired externally. Either way, this team should consist only of exceptional talent. This might not sound easy to pull off, but remember – venture building always attracts top talent. After all, the startup – or the scaleup – is backed by substantial resources. This instantly makes it more stable and supportive for new employees.
The team will also have to possess knowledge from various domains. Some of these domains are business development, marketing, sales, and industry-specific knowledge. Also, once gathered, the team isn’t set in stone. It will likely expand as the business grows.
Step 5 – Product Development and Validation
The core idea is locked in. The same goes for the core team. So, it’s time to actually develop the company’s product. Since the focus on customer value is one of the key success factors in venture building, customer opinion will be heavily involved in this phase.
Usually, the venture builder will begin by creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The MVP is a version of the product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and gather feedback. This approach allows the team to extensively test the product and refine it based on their findings. The goal is to validate the product’s appeal and ensure it can solve real-world problems. In other words, the venture builder ensures the product is market-fit before scaling its production.
Step 6 – Go-to-Market Strategy
Just because a product is market-fit doesn’t mean the customers will accept it with open hands. The product still needs to be introduced to the right audience in a way that resonates with them. So, this phase is all about marketing.
That’s why the marketing team of the new company tends to increase in the number of members. After all, there are numerous marketing areas to cover. Digital marketing, public relations, sales strategies… the product will have to be positioned in each one correctly.
Ideally, there will be a lot of buzz for the product launch. But it won’t stop there. By making more and more people aware of the product and building relationships with early adopters, the team works toward one thing – long-term success.
Step 7 – Launch
The launch of the product is where everything comes together. It’s a big moment for the entire team. But it’s far from the end. The venture builder will closely monitor the launch, gathering real-time feedback. This will allow the team to continue moving in the right direction, or make course corrections as needed. At some point, this direction might split, as the company expands into new markets or customer segments. When you have an extraordinary team working behind the scenes, anything is possible.
Venture Into Venture Building
Venture building is undoubtedly a key driver of innovation and economic growth. When done properly, it can create significant value for everyone involved. But that’s just the thing. Acing venture building takes more than just a creative idea. You need to have strong leadership that shares the same vision and prioritizes data-driven decision-making. The focus should always be on results, not just ideas. And the only way to successfully achieve those results is to stay agile and adaptive, adjusting to changing market conditions and customer needs at all times. When you add invaluable access to resources, expertise, and networks into the mix, you create the perfect recipe for success.
