Most venturing activities create noise.
We create outcomes.
ekipa brings the expertise to choose the right venturing instrument, an agent-based execution system to run it at speed and precision, and the operational capacity to lead every project from first brief to a concrete outcome. Not advisory. Not a platform. An execution partner.
The problem isn't
finding external innovation. It's executing it.
Since 2018, we've run Corporate Venturing projects across 30+ industries. The failure patterns are predictable, and almost none of them are about the quality of the startups or partners.
The wrong instrument for the challenge
Most programs and suppliers offer one approach and fit your challenge to it. But a supply chain mandate needs a different instrument than a product development use case. Starting with the wrong tool is where most initiatives go wrong before the first partner meeting.
Pilots that never lead to a decision
70% of corporate venturing initiatives don't deliver expected results. The technology works. But without a clear decision framework from day one, even successful pilots disappear into the next strategy cycle.
No operational owner
Corporate Venturing that lives only inside an innovation team is theatre. Integration requires a business owner with mandate and an execution partner who takes operational responsibility from day one, not just at the end.
Activity without a decision
Boards don't fund activity. They fund validated business cases with a clear next step: pilot, partner, invest, or stop. Most external programs deliver reports. We deliver action plans.
Most designed around
activity. We're designed around outcomes.
Most Corporate Venturing initiatives are designed around activity: demo days, scouting reports, pilot starts. What's missing is someone who brings the expertise, the capabilities, and the capacity to actually lead it to an outcome.
We are the execution layer that's been missing.
Expertise
Corporate Venturing isn't one thing. A company testing external solutions for the first time needs a different approach than one ready to invest. Choosing the wrong one, or not choosing deliberately, is where most initiatives go wrong before they start.
We call this Structured Flexibility. We assess your business priorities, your organizational readiness, and your goals, and then we choose: a structured pilot, a strategic partnership, a minority investment, or a build decision. Our pattern recognition across 350+ projects tells us which one fits.
The outcome isn't fixed. The framework is.
Capabilities
We run every client project through the ekipa VentureKit, our agent-based operating system for Corporate Venturing. It covers the full journey: market screening and trend radar, structured scouting and solution scoring, decision support and validation reporting.
The result: faster signal detection, more precise shortlists, and validated business cases your board can act on. What used to take weeks of manual research runs in days, with full auditability at every step.
AI isn't a feature we've added. It's how we work.
Capacity
Most external partners deliver the strategy, the framework, or the shortlist, and then execution falls back to your team. We close that gap.
ekipa integrates as your operative venturing partner, with the team, the bandwidth, and the accountability to drive every phase from first brief to a concrete outcome. We hold the timeline. We manage the partners. We own the outcome.
Not advisory. Operational.
Four phases. One outcome. A decision your board can act on.
Explore
We identify and prioritize the innovation areas where external partnerships create the most leverage for your business. Together we define what a successful outcome looks like and which venturing instrument fits your context.
Define
We sharpen the target vision, search fields, and decision criteria. This is the phase that prevents the most common failure mode: choosing the wrong partner for the wrong reason. We define what outcome you're aiming for before we start looking.
Identify
We run structured scouting through the VentureKit: agent-based screening across our network and beyond, scored against your precise criteria. You receive a curated shortlist, not a catalogue.
Validate and Decide
We manage Proofs of Concept end-to-end and deliver the validated business case your board needs, with a concrete recommendation: scale, partner, invest, or stop. No ambiguity, no open loop.
Two ways to engage. One standard of execution.
Whether you're entering Corporate Venturing for the first time or need continuous external venturing capacity, we match you to the right model on a free diagnostic call.
Public-Enabled Venturing
For organizations entering Corporate Venturing with structure and limited budget risk. We run end-to-end programs co-funded by public partners including the Hessen Ministry of Economics, the BMWK, and the European Union. You get a proven process, an experienced execution partner, and the chance to build real venturing capability while the first project runs.
- Co-funded by public partners, significantly reduced budget requirements, zero application burden for you
- Defined program timelines (4–6 months) with clear decision milestones
- End-to-end execution from challenge definition to validated outcome, powered by the VentureKit
- Built-in capability transfer: your team learns how venturing works while the project runs
Venturing as a Service
For companies that need external venturing capacity continuously, without building or expanding fixed in-house teams. ekipa integrates as your operative venturing unit, with methodology, VentureKit execution, and capability-building across a 6–24 month engagement. At the top of the range, VaaS becomes an embedded venturing unit with full strategic and operational ownership.
- Continuous market screening on your priority innovation fields, powered by the VentureKit
- On-demand solution scouting when concrete use cases emerge
- Full operational ownership: we drive the timeline, manage the partners, and hold ourselves accountable for outcomes
- Capability-building to anchor venturing inside your organization, not just in the innovation team
What partners say after delivery.
We chose ekipa after comparing several providers. Starting with ekipa was the easiest decision because we could test a specific program first, instead of committing to a platform long-term. The result convinced us so much that we've worked with ekipa three times since.
Working with ekipa gave us structured access to an innovation ecosystem we couldn't have reached on our own. The process was rigorous, the shortlist was precise, and we came out with a clear next step, not just an interesting catalogue of companies.
ekipa built this bridge for us — with their excellent access to an extensive startup ecosystem and their mediation skills.
Clarify your Corporate Venturing opportunity in 30 minutes.
- A structured read of your innovation priorities, your organizational constraints, and the right venturing instrument for your context
- A concrete recommendation on the right engagement model and whether Public-Enabled Venturing or Venturing as a Service fits your situation
- An honest look at what 200+ venturing projects have taught us about what works, and whether we're the right fit
