Why Do We Need Venture Builders?

Venture builders stem from a radically simple idea: people need each other to achieve the greatest goals.

An entrepreneur embarking on a startup journey would benefit enormously from the resources, experience, and influence of established companies. And corporations would benefit from entrepreneurial agility and innovation. It’s an obvious win-win.

But historically, there’s been a gap. Entrepreneurs and corporations lack a common language. They don’t trust each other. They can’t figure out how to collaborate without one side feeling exploited.

When my first startup reached its initial success milestones, I was approached by experienced entrepreneurs offering help or partnership. My reaction? I perceived their approach as a threat, not an opportunity. I was naive. But I was also right to be cautious.

Without a standardized model of agreement, collaboration is nearly impossible. For an entrepreneur, their startup isn’t just a business: it’s the culmination of years of hard work and emotional investment. The idea of sharing equity with someone who hasn’t been part of that journey feels inconceivable. Who are you to show up now and take a piece of what I built?

A clear agreement model (delineating contributions, roles, and commitments of each party) would facilitate collaborations that otherwise seem impossible.

The challenge isn’t just contractual; it’s spatial. As a startup founder, my first office was a garage. That garage was a symbol of freedom and autonomy. The prospect of cohabiting with an established corporation, with its rigid schedules and protocols? Unappealing. I needed independence, but I also would have benefited from proximity to corporate resources.

In time, my team and I discovered solutions to these challenges. Those solutions can be summed up in two words: venture building.

The idea existed decades before we paid attention to it. But it emerged as the ideal framework, language, agreement model, and space for established corporations and independent entrepreneurs to innovate successfully.

Venture building has proven to be the most competitive way of creating businesses: reducing the risks and inefficiencies commonly associated with entrepreneurship while preserving the entrepreneurial spirit that makes startups work.

What are Venture Builders Used For?

Venture builders function as conduits: channeling the resources and expertise of seasoned teams and established companies to entrepreneurs, the real drivers of innovation and creative decision-making. This symbiosis between entrepreneurial spirit and corporate robustness amplifies the strengths of both, propelling them further than either could reach independently.

Venture builders also mitigate the risks associated with investing in startups. The core philosophy: the builder’s experienced management team significantly boosts the success probabilities of entrepreneurial ventures. This added stability attracts investors and governments, fostering willingness to finance high-risk initiatives and opening doors to new forms of both private and institutional support.

But here’s what most people miss: the true value of a venture builder lies not in experience but in methodology.

Experience matters, sure. But experience alone is not foolproof. Even seasoned entrepreneurs make mistakes. I’ve made plenty. The real strength of a venture builder comes from a systematic, methodological approach: a repeatable process that forms the backbone of all management activities. That’s what this guide is about.

Why is the Time Right?

Why now? Why are venture builders proliferating right now, after decades of relative obscurity?

Seven factors have converged to make this the perfect moment for the venture building model.

1. Entrepreneurs are More Ambitious

The act of creating companies has undergone a radical transformation in the new century. A significant cultural shift has taken place: public and private institutions, political parties across the spectrum, and individuals of all ages now view business creation as an almost heroic endeavor.

This change is driven by inspirational success stories: Facebook, Google, the unicorns. The idea that anyone could build the next billion-dollar company has become widespread. Entrepreneurship has gone from fringe activity to cultural aspiration.

2. Startups are a More Attractive Investment

Traditionally, investors have gravitated towards low-risk assets, with real estate being a prime focus for many. However, the 2006 real estate bubble burst challenged the notion of real estate as a foolproof investment. Concurrently, the same decade witnessed the rise of highly profitable business models - the renowned unicorns.

Venture builders offer investors an entryway into the startup world, mitigating the typical headaches associated with such investments.

3. The Innovator’s Dilemma

For every inspiring Instagram or Apple, there’s a cautionary tale of Kodak or Nokia: massive corporations that failed to adapt and got destroyed by smaller, faster competitors.

Large companies know they need to innovate. But internal innovation is expensive, slow, and often fails because of corporate politics and risk aversion. Venture builders offer a cost-effective, less risky approach to addressing the innovator’s dilemma: build new companies outside the core business, with entrepreneurial teams, while leveraging corporate resources.

4. Venture Building Has Success Stories All Over the World

Venture building is not just a theory; it’s a proven approach with success stories spanning the globe. Notable venture builders include Antai (Barcelona), We Are Builders (Rotterdam), Byld (Madrid), Founders Factory (London), Mamazen (Torino), and UNIQ (La Massana, Andorra).

5. We Live in More Diverse and Inclusive Societies

Today’s corporate culture has become increasingly inclusive. This diversity fosters innovation and leads to improved collaboration models, such as venture building.

6. The Traditional Concept of Employment is Less Attractive to Talent

Increasingly, individuals seek professional careers that resonate with their personal values and beliefs. Venture builders bridge this gap, offering the stability and guidance of an experienced leader, combined with the self-determination and personal fulfillment of creating one’s own business.

The convergence of the entrepreneurial spirit in executives and corporate-like structuring among entrepreneurs has led to a shared language between these two profiles. This cultural convergence is crucial in facilitating the necessary agreements for venture building to succeed.