Venture Building, what is that actually? Venture builders are companies/organizations dedicated to systematically producing new businesses, helping them grow and succeed. With a growth of 625% in the last seven years, the number of venture builders worldwide has grown to +-560. Venture builders specialize in five activities:
- Identify business ideas
- Building teams
- Create access to capital
- To lead
- Support through resources, talent and services
Each Venture Builder has his own specialties within these five activities, because not everyone is equally good at everything. We will explain these five activities in more detail using various examples, so that you soon know exactly what Venture Builders are and what you can approach a Venture Builder for.
THE SPECIALISATIONS OF VENTURE BUILDERS
IDENTIFY BUSINESS IDEAS
A Venture Builder himself comes up with ideas for new companies and brings these ideas to market OR is approached by external persons/parties who have a business idea. Validation of the business idea will always start. This can be done, for example, according to the lean startup method or online concept validation. The Venture Builder will have to quickly go from ‘nothing’ (just the idea on paper) to ‘something’ (a means to test the idea). Think of a Proof of Concept or Minimum Viable Product, but also of validation processes. Based on this information, you can choose to (1) further develop the product / idea, (2) refine the product / idea, (3) not develop the product / idea.
BUILDING TEAMS
Building a good team is perhaps the most important aspect of a Venture Builder. Getting a new business idea off the ground requires knowledge from different industries. This includes: development, marketing, sales, legal knowledge and business development, but also sector-specific knowledge. A Venture Builder has this knowledge in-house, or has a large network from which to draw.
ACCESS TO CAPITAL
When it is decided to further develop a business idea, capital is often an issue. A Venture Builder has access to capital to develop business ideas or has a network of investors and financiers who can be called in.
TO LEAD
Venture Builders specialize in leading startups. This can of course happen at different levels and in different phases. When the Venture Builder himself is the creator of the business idea, he will probably also fully take on the day-to-day management. Usually a so-called ‘venture lead’ is also appointed, this person is primarily responsible for the venture. However, the Venture Builder can also work on behalf of a partner. In that case, the degree of leadership can vary: from day-to-day management to an advisory role.
SUPPORT THROUGH RESOURCES, TALENT AND SERVICES
Due to their large network, access to tools and extensive knowledge, Venture Builders can support their partners in many areas. In addition to talent and access to capital, Venture Builders can also support through shared services. Think of things like: office, accountant, lawyer, ect.
revenue models of venture builders
THE REVENUE MODELS OF VENTURE BUILDERS
Venture Builders earn their income in several ways. Some opt for one specific revenue model, others make a combination of 2 or even 3 revenue models.
1. Invent, validate, develop and market business ideas yourself
Venture Builders can choose to come up with, validate, develop and market business ideas themselves. In this case, the umbrella company (the Venture Builder) is usually a corporation, under which several companies ‘hang’.
Case Minutes Software
DUODEKA is a Venture Builder that, among other things, conceives, validates, develops and markets its own business ideas. An example of this is Minutes Software. DUODEKA was very dissatisfied with its own meeting process, and found out that this applies to many companies and organizations. So it was decided to develop Minutes Software. A year later Notulen Software is a stand-alone company that falls under the DUODEKA cooperative.
With this revenue model, the Venture Builder earns back its investment by selling the product / service itself.
2. Venture Building as a Service
When Venture Builders deliver their work as a service, things get a bit more complicated. However, the starting point is normally when a company/organization approaches the Venture Builder with the idea for a new product/company. The Venture Builder can then provide a range of services for the customer:
- Validate the business idea
- Providing / seeking capital
- Develop the product (the software).
- Marketing the product
When this revenue model is chosen, the Venture Builder will be paid according to an hourly rate and/or a certain percentage of the shares of the newly developed company.
Case GG4U ~ Validating the business idea
DUODEKA, together with GG4U, validated the concept of an online gaming platform according to the Lean Startup Method. This was done with a riskiest assumption test. The test validated the potential of the platform. Interested gamers can now register on the website. As expected, the number of registrations in the first weeks has been overwhelming.Case Recruiting Friends ~ Validation & developing the product
Realizing a groundbreaking platform within the recruitment world: The Netherlands Vacature Group came to DUODEKA with this idea. Together we validated the idea. DUODEKA then took on the software development for the platform. Would you like to know more about this major project? Read more here!
3. Working for investors
Investors can invest money in ventures of the Venture Builder or in the entire cooperative. With this revenue model, the Venture Builder depends on the value that the companies to be developed will generate. The big money is then made when the venture is sold. This income is then shared with the investor, who contributed the initial capital.
WHY VENTURE BUILDERS ARE SUCCESSFUL IN THE STARTUP LANDSCAPE
Venture Builders distinguish themselves in the startup landscape by achieving a significantly lower failure rate than ‘ordinary’ startups. From a study with qualitative interviews, three pillars have been identified with which venture builders are able to achieve this.
- The kill rate of venture builders is very high. A very strict validation process ensures that many ideas are stopped in the early phase. As a result, only the ideas with a lot of potential remain.
- Access to talent that specializes in building new businesses, as well as access to capital, ensures early-stage venture builders excel.
- Because venture builders realize above-average success rates and returns, investments are obtained more easily. As a result, growth capital is less often an issue. Venture builders are able to secure a Seed investment more than three times as fast. The Series A investment is also obtained twice as fast.
DUODEKA as Venture Builder
Duodeka is also a Venture Builder. How do we distinguish ourselves from other venture builders? DUODEKA has in-house knowledge about IT and programming. With this knowledge, DUODEKA can take on the development of (digital) business ideas itself. We also work according to all three Venture Building revenue models.
Do you have a business idea? Need support in the field of concept, validation and/or software development? Please contact us and we will get to know each other soon and see what we can do for each other.
Source:
The foundation for this article was laid by Jorge García-Luengo (LinkedIn), who wrote an excellent article in 2017 about the phenomenon of ‘venture building’