.png?width=400&height=400&name=Careers%20Page%20(1).png "VentureFuel Careers")
Companies trying to spark more innovation often overlook the creativity that comes from connecting with enterprise-ready startups — especially those that bring diversity to the table. That’s the fresh take on traditional innovation models offered by the independent innovation consultancy VentureFuel.
VentureFuel partners established companies with startups to tackle two problems at once: stifled innovation within larger companies and abysmally low levels of diversity in startup funding.
We've Solved Corporate Challenges For
TRIPLEPUNDIT
This Consultancy Connects Diverse Startups with Legacy Companies to Drive Innovation
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DICE.COM
Beyond the Core: How Enterprises Unlock Future Growth
Leading enterprise organizations invest as much as 10 percent of their revenue in R&D predominantly aimed at improving their core business. Unfortunately, the incremental innovation often produced by core R&D won’t meet the demands of your industry. This is because even though internal innovation leverages deep industry expertise and proven go-to-market efficiencies, it often limits future growth to existing verticals and known customers.
Meanwhile, the acceleration of new technologies and solutions across adjacent industries often feels threatening. However, pairing internal expertise with external innovation to unlock new opportunities for growth beyond the core provides new opportunities.
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TECHNICA.LY
Comcast is launching a new LIFT Labs model, first with a theme of generative AI
Comcast has been working with early-stage startups since the launch of its LIFT Labs Accelerator in 2018, and today, a new iteration of the program opens for applications.
The company announced Wednesday that it would be launching a series of six-week, hyper-focused, theme-based accelerator programs. It’s an evolution from its original 12-week program which welcomed startups on broader topics like “future of work.”
This spring, the first focus is on companies in the generative AI space — timely, as tech like OpenAI’s ChatGPT seems omnipresent. This area of technology uses artificial intelligence to generate content for users via text, video, audio and code and is being used across lots of industries.
The Flight Path of CVC
Boeing Investment Strategy with Bobby Niehaus
"When we partner with the right startups and find the right collaborative environment to bring those outside innovations into the Boeing company, there's this amplification of that. Boeing is able to apply our knowledge, our resources, our connections, and often our customer base to grow these startups at a rate that they won't find elsewhere. And at the same time, we can access talent, ideas, insight, and technologies that are moving faster or in a radically different way."
– Bobby Niehaus, Investment Strategy Principal - Applied Innovation at The Boeing Company—the World's largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services
10G
CableLabs VP of Product Strategy and Insights Anju Ahuja
“You should think about technology in an exponential manner and not think about it as constrained...But instead, think about it as: the problem that is the most distant is actually the most attractive to solve. And if you just start with that problem way out there and don't think about what you have as capabilities today, you will automatically build a path to it...It just allows you to have more limitless thinking."
–Anju Ahuja, VP, Product Strategy & Insights of CableLabs
In this episode, we sit down with Anju to discuss: Co-Innovation, extended realities, the venture capital view of market creation, and the need for always developing the business case for what's next.
PepsiCo Ventures' Daniel Grubbs
Why Corporate Venturing
"You can call it tip of the spear...but it's also a real depth and progressive understanding of where the market is and where the market is going in a lot of different aspects of the value chain, and how do we make sure that we are active in that and that we're bringing that back in. And without it, you're missing a good appreciation and many times you're going to be a laggard or choose the wrong kind of vehicle or instrument to move your business forward."
– Daniel Grubbs, Global Chief Venturing & Investment Officer of PepsiCo
We talk about the balance of strategic and financial goals, the value of tip of the spear insights, how unlocking growth can also fuel employee engagement, and their current accelerator program, Greenhouse Accelerator — designed to nurture the growth of emerging and sustainable brands in the food and beverage sector.
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Ventures To Watch
We evaluate thousands of emerging technologies and pioneering startups from around the world. Each week we highlight one that we believe can drive significant value for corporations.
Alphonso (LG Ads) enables smarter connected TV advertising. As the market leader in TV data and measurement software, Alphonso provides brands and agencies with real-time ad campaign measurement, closed-loop attribution for TV ads and TV audience extension across digital devices. Their success has not gone unnoticed, with LG recently investing $80M to leverage their software, data analytics and media activation capabilities across LG's home entertainment products. Listen to our conversation with Co-Founder Raghu Kodige on Apple or Spotify.
Disruption Insurance
Protecting Your Company’s Future
Why do household names like Hertz, Brooks Brothers, Blockbuster, Sears or Gold's Gym go bankrupt, while less resourced companies in the same space thrive? The question becomes more and more urgent as we see how fast and how often incumbents are displaced by up-and-coming competitors.
Are these fates inevitable? Some industry leaders, tied to outdated business models, squeeze out incremental gains to appease Wall Street every quarter only to lose relevance with customers every year. While other, more future-forward entrepreneurs discover emerging customer needs, re-imagine solutions, and seize market opportunities with speed and agility.
Inside the Innovation Huddle
Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality
Every week, our team does an internal huddle where we share the most disruptive and exciting startups and emerging technologies from around the world. The only rule is that they can’t solve a current client challenge directly. This way, we retain our superpower of spotting creative adjacencies and disruptive outer-horizon solutions. Below, we share a selection of those startups and technologies with you!
This month we looked at startups targeting travel, tourism, and hospitality. Check out our list!
Disruption Insurance
3 Ways to Determine If You Need External Innovation
External Innovation is the process of augmenting your internal innovation efforts by collaborating with independent startups developing new products, services and technologies. Through these collaborations, you get to work directly with world-class founders who are rapidly attacking the niche challenges and opportunities that may rapidly disrupt your business.
Here are 3 telltale signs that you need to consider external innovation.
