The third type of CVC takes a hybrid approach, prioritizing financial returns while still adding substantial strategic value to their portfolio companies. Hybrid CVCs often maintain looser connections with their parent companies to enable faster, financially-driven decision-making, but they still make sure to provide resources and support from the parent as needed.

3. Hybrid CVCs

Entrepreneurs should start by speaking with employees at the parent company to learn more about the CVC’s internal reputation, its connectedness within the parent organization, and the KPIs or expectations that the parent has for its venture arm. An outfit with KPIs that demand frequent knowledge transfer between the CVC and parent company might not be the best match for a founder looking for no-strings-attached capital — but it could be perfect for a startup in search of a hands-on corporate sponsor.

Explore the Relationship Between the CVC and Its Parent Company

As CVCs become more and more prevalent, entrepreneurs are likely to be faced with a growing number of corporate funding opportunities alongside traditional options. These investors can bring substantial value in the form of resources and support — but not every CVC will be the right fit for every startup. To build a successful partnership, founders must determine the CVC’s relationship with its parent company, the structure and expectations that will guide its decision-making, and most importantly, their cultural and strategic alignment with the key people involved.

The Bottom Line

In the first half of 2021 alone, Corporate Venture Capital funds (CVCs) around the world inked more than 2,000 deals worth more than $70 billion. It’s an increasingly prevalent alternative to traditional funding options such as VCs and angel investors — but how can entrepreneurs determine whether a CVC is a right fit for their startup? To build a successful partnership, founders must determine the CVC’s relationship with its parent company, the structure and expectations that will guide its decision-making, along with a cultural and strategic alignment with the key people involved.

The Right Angel Investor

Finally, some CVCs are in transition between a strategic, financial, and/or a hybrid approach. As the entire investor landscape continues to grow and evolve, it’s important for entrepreneurs to be on the lookout for these in-transition CVCs and ensure that they’re aware of how the potential investor they’re talking to today may transform tomorrow. For example, in 2021 Boeing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/05/boeing-to-spin-off-venture-capital-arm-horizonx.html">announced</a> that in a bid to attract more external investors, it would spin off its strategic CVC arm into a more independent, financially-focused fund.

4. Transition CVCs

Ultimately, the people are the most important component of any potential deal. Before moving forward with a CVC investor, make sure you have a chance to speak with key executives from both the CVC and the parent company, in order to understand their vision and culture. It can also be helpful to chat with the CEOs of one or two of the CVC’s existing portfolio companies, to get an inside scoop on issues you might not otherwise uncover.

Talk to Everyone You Can

Once you’ve determined the CVC’s place within its larger organization, it’s important to delve into the unique structure and expectations of the CVC itself. Is it independent in its decision-making, or tightly linked to the corporate parent, perhaps operating under the umbrella of a corporate strategy or development department? If the latter, what are the strategic objectives that the CVC is meant to support? What are its decision-making processes, not just for selecting investments, but for giving portfolio companies access to internal networks and resources?

Determine the CVC’s Structure and Expectations

Traditionally, startups have looked to three primary sources for funding: venture capital firms (VCs), angel investors, and family offices. But in recent years, a fourth option has grown increasingly popular: corporate venture capital funds, or CVCs. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of CVCs grew more than six times to over 4,000, and these CVCs inked more than 2,000 deals worth $79 billion in the first half of 2021, surpassing all previous annual tallies.

The Rise Of CVCs

A strategic CVC prioritizes investments that directly support the growth of the parent. For example, Henkel Ventures is upfront about its focus on strategic rather than financial investments.This approach works well for startups that require a longer-term perspective.

Four Kinds of CVCs: 1. Strategic CVCs

Financial CVCs are explicitly driven by maximizing the returns on their investments. These funds typically operate much more independently from their parent companies, and their investment decisions prioritize financial returns rather than strategic alignment. Financial CVCs still offer some connection to the parent company, but strategic collaboration and resource sharing are much more limited. A financial CVC is generally a good fit for startups that have less in common with the mission of the parent company, and/or less to gain from the resources it has to offer.

2. Financial CVCs

In <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/organizational-structure-decision-making-corporate-venture-capital">a survey of global CVC executives</a>, 61% reported that they didn’t feel like the senior executives of their corporate parent understood industry norms. In addition, because of their parent companies’ business imperatives, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOStnEM8wBOZhBEWbiDc_iMAiFY3EY2p9">many CVCs</a> may also be more impatient for quick returns than traditional VCs, potentially hindering their ability to provide long-term support to the startups in which they invest. Moreover, even a patient, veteran CVC can pose problems if other existing investors aren’t on board.

The Stats

In the first half of 2021 alone, Corporate Venture Capital funds (CVCs) around the world inked more than 2,000 deals worth more than $70 billion. It’s an increasingly prevalent alternative to traditional funding options such as VCs and angel investors — but how can entrepreneurs determine whether a CVC is the right fit for their startup? The authors discuss the results of a series of quantitative analyses and qualitative interviews exploring the CVC landscape, identifying four common types of CVCs and three recommendations for founders considering a CVC investment: To build a successful partnership, founders must determine the CVC’s relationship to its parent company, the structure and expectations that will guide its decision-making, and most importantly, their cultural and strategic alignment with the key people involved.

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

business

Business

Is Corporate Venture Capital Right for Your Startup?

It is difficult to find a complete substitute for eggs. Egg emulsifiers are the easiest to replace, such as soy lecithin as a substitute. Flax or chia seeds, bananas or mustard can also be used to stabilise emulsion droplets.  Eggs as thickeners are harder to replace, although ground flax or chia seed can work well in cookies or muffins.

Egg substitutes

Eggs contain over 40 different proteins, which hold the key to their culinary success. <ul><li>Heat or whisking causes irreversible coagulation and transforms eggs into semi-solid or solid states.</li><li>When egg whites are whisked, it unravels proteins and adds air bubbles. The proteins collect at the surface of the bubbles, preventing the air bubbles from popping, even during cooking.</li><li>Egg yolk contains an emulsifier called lecithin that keeps oil droplets dispersed in water, preventing them from separating.</li></ul>

Eggs 

Aquafaba is a temperature-resistant foamer made from the water in which legumes such as chickpeas have been cooked. The liquid contains protein, starch and fibre useful for egg-free meringues.

Replacing eggs’ foaming ability

Aquafaba is made from the viscous leftover from cooking (or soaking) chickpeas, and it's a vegan substitute for eggs.

food

Food

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

What are the best egg substitutes for baking? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

The first step in reducing costs is to see all values as, at best, a necessary evil. Every cost is something that must be ruthlessly and as far as possible banned from any firm. There are no off-limit costs, and they are obstacles to the company. Ask yourself: if you eliminated an individual cost, what would you lose regarding revenue and profit? How and where? If you do not know, then you do not need this expenditure. Only maintain costs that are extremely necessary; you do not have to think twice to eliminate them. Eliminate first and think later!

Know that It Is Always Possible to Reduce Costs

The most difficult part of cost reduction is resistance to stakeholder change. Often, the people involved do not see the importance of the process.Therefore, it is vital that the company’s culture be responsible for showing the importance of reducing costs for the company; make it a part of the firm’s routine. It is also important to value employees who strive to make this happen in the best way.

The Stakeholders

First, keep in mind that your primary focus should be profit. To increase return, you need to work on three major pillars: culture, costs, and sales.The primary concern of any business must be lucrative: a profitable company has the money to reward employees, offer exciting careers, and invest in new products, companies, and technologies.Less profitable companies inevitably sink into mediocrity in every way – regarding morality, product quality, etc. Doubling profits requires focused, consistent, firm and fair management, willing to become different and better than most other companies.

Let's Talk About Profits

Firmness and ability generate respect, not resentment. It is the combination of toughness, incompetence, and mediocrity that engenders resentment. Therefore, if you demonstrate competence, your firmness will be accepted.

Demonstrate Competence

There is an almost immediate way to increase profits. Send a circular to all vendors, saying that times are bad and that from now on (or in the next twelve or eighteen months) you will not accept price increases, so there is no use in insisting.

Inform Your Suppliers of Their Cuts and Freezes

A busy employee is forced to set priorities and does what is important. When it comes to staff, micromanagement or lack of oversight may inevitably lead to slow and ineffective employees. The only way to promote efficiency and eliminate unnecessary work is to keep human resources scarce.

Staff Control

Managers make the mistake of being cautious in cutting costs. Cut first and ask later. An advantage of reducing costs is that if you make a mistake, someone will be ready to tell you almost immediately, and you’ll be able to fix it.Another important point of attention is the decision-making: decisions must be made without delay. If you do not need data, do not spend your time analyzing them, make a wise decision quickly.

Decision Making

An easy method to favour your company’s balance sheet this year, although it only works once is to delay your payments. Most vendors prefer to wait to receive it to permanently losing you as a customer. Never pay a bill until the supplier covers your company at least twice. Some providers may take up to two years to claim payment for a bill. Whenever there is a price increase tell the suppliers that you are going to research the competition.

Delay Payments

Plan a saving of 15% in product purchases and 30% in contracting services. If you cut too much, some people will complain. Let them complain and wait. If they complain too much, rethink that particular cost.

Make a Plan to Save

It is impossible to convince them that you believe in a meritocracy if those whose performance is small can keep on the job and receive the salary. Firing a bad employee encourages others to produce more for the benefit of the company, and that is a meritocracy. It is possible to reduce up to 25% of staff in most companies without anything happening – without any loss of value.

If Required, Fire People

<ul><li>Focus on what is important, the results of the enterprise: Beautiful names for areas and positions will not make a difference in productivity.</li><li>Do not build new processes unless necessary.</li><li>Define the mission of the company and make it clear and straightforward for all employees.</li><li>Never be sorry for thinking about profits.</li><li>Only quantify what is essential.</li><li>Give urgency to important things: You must assign importance to the most vital. </li><li>Maintain a shortage of resources.</li></ul>

Disseminate a Culture of Success in Your Company

Cutting costs should be taken very seriously. You have to be among the best in the world to make businesses run better at a lower cost.Costs should be categorized between strategic and non-strategic. Strategic costs are spending on things that apparently add to the business and improve in areas of business, marketing, and R&D (Research and Development).Non-strategic costs are the costs necessary to run the business but do not directly bring improvements or profits. An example of a strategic cost is sales investments.

Reducing Costs To Profit

The company needs to follow two main rules for managing its costs: overcoming competitors about strategic costs during good and bad times and not pulling any punches when it comes to cutting non-strategic costs.It is important to analyze costs to succeed in reducing non-strategic ones. It is crucial to think that all non-strategic costs are unnecessary and must be justified. There are no “off-limit-costs, ” and the manager needs to assume that all other expenses can be discontinued unless proven otherwise.

Double Your Profits

It is important to rely on meritocracy and use the philosophy of continuous improvement to increase your profits. This philosophy should be part of the company’s culture, creating and encouraging a culture of excellence among all stakeholders.To create a winning culture, employees must have the opportunity to reach the top, but only the best should be able to get there and be rewarded for it.

Creating A Lucrative Culture

<ul><li>Set deadlines for stakeholders to meet. Not wasting time is essential for cutting costs and increasing the profitability of the company.</li><li>Superiors must authorize extra costs. Items such as material purchases, the hiring of employees and others should be looked at on a case-by-case basis. This discretion will help eliminate useless costs and decrease unnecessary spending in the company.</li><li>Also, suppliers should not be overlooked. It is important to reduce these costs as well. </li></ul>

360 Degree Control

Pay good salaries and only offer benefits that your people value. Any bonus, any perk that becomes “automatic” no longer has value as motivation and becomes an instrument of maladministration, not good management. Bonuses, rewards, and punishments are significant, with bonuses being more effective when granted on a case-by-case basis and at irregular intervals. Grant raises whenever they are earned and never otherwise.

Benefits And Bonuses

You should understand that when selling, you should not see the customer from a company’s point of view. You should see the client as a person and, as such, emotions are critical when closing a deal. Whenever you make a sale, be sure to ask why the customer is interested in the product.Also, keep in mind that depending on your type of business and your field, customer loyalty is essential. It is much easier to sell to a loyal customer than to win over a new client; so seek satisfaction and rapport with your customers first.

The Sales Strategy

<ul><li>Show your competence;</li><li>Demonstrate empathy;</li><li>Be loyal;</li><li>Play hard to get;</li><li>Use the customer problem to turn your interest in them into an obligation from them towards you.</li></ul>

Five Ingredients for A Successful Sale

<ul><li>To make a deal, you need to have confidence in yourself and your product. </li><li>Attract your buyer: We do not buy anything we do not like.</li><li>Set your price the right way.</li><li>Ask how much the customer is willing to pay.</li><li>Target your customers to offer more customized products.</li><li>Offer more than one product to the customer, so it will be more difficult for him to refuse the sale.</li><li>When you lose a sale, review what happened..</li><li>Regardless of your sales process, respond quickly and professionally and do whatever it takes to meet your customer’s needs.</li><li>Maintain a good relationship with the client in the after-sale. </li></ul>

Tips To Increase Your Sales

It is imperative to be someone in a higher position because suppliers are already used to dealing with buyers and know how to negotiate with them. Have a director or a manager analyze the costs of each provider thoroughly.Also be concerned with research and development. Often, executives leave control in the hands of researchers because they do not have the knowledge to do so. You should look for a suitable manager who can measure the company’s R&D return, increasing your chances of profitability.

Cost Analysis

Which entrepreneur does not dream of multiplying profits? It sounds like a distant dream, doesn’t it? Bob Fifer, a leading financial advisor, says that this is possible and brings us a clear plan to get there.

"An excellent primer for anyone struggling to keep profits ahead of costs. . . . Double Your Profits' 'take no prisoners' approach is refreshing." - William Byham, bestselling coauthor of Zapp! One of the nation's foremost management consultants shares seventy-eight proven ways to cut costs dramatically, send sales through the roof, and double profits in just six months. This timeless profit-boosting guide, considered a top management resource by business powerhouse Jack Welch, presents insights that are notable for their aggressive approach and contrarian perspective. Bob Fifer, former chairman and CEO of Kaiser Associates, shows us how to turn the tables on hardball-playing suppliers and competitors. He also challenges outmoded assumptions and explains why: arbitrary budgets are sometimes the best budgets bosses are frequently underpaid customers can often be persuaded to pay more suppliers can often be persuaded to charge less Whether you're a mid-level manager, senior executive, or Fortune 500 CEO, you'll find this book is required reading for growing your company and improving your bottom line.

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

books

Books

"An excellent primer for anyone struggling to keep profits ahead of costs. . . . Double Your Profits' 'take no prisoners' approach is refreshing." - William Byham, bestselling coauthor of Zapp!One of the nation's foremost management consultants shares seventy-eight proven ways to cut costs dramatically, send sales through the roof, and double profits in just six months.This timeless profit-boosting guide, considered a top management resource by business powerhouse Jack Welch, presents insights that are notable for their aggressive approach and contrarian perspective. Bob Fifer, former chairman and CEO of Kaiser Associates, shows us how to turn the tables on hardball-playing suppliers and competitors. He also challenges outmoded assumptions and explains why:<ul><li>arbitrary budgets are sometimes the best budgets</li><li>bosses are frequently underpaid</li><li>customers can often be persuaded to pay more</li><li>suppliers can often be persuaded to charge less</li></ul>Whether you're a mid-level manager, senior executive, or Fortune 500 CEO, you'll find this book is required reading for growing your company and improving your bottom line.

Bob Fifer

Do Coke Zero and Diet Coke have the same ingredients and same flavor? You might be surprised by the results of our research. <ul><li>The ingredient lists are similar</li><li>Both consist of carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, aspartame, natural flavors, and caffeine</li><li>Coke Zero has two ingredients Diet Coke lacks: potassium citrate and acesulfame potassium</li><li>Diet Coke has one ingredient not found in Coke Zero: citric acid</li><li>Coca-Cola Zero Sugar looks and tastes more like Coke-Cola Classic</li></ul>

The Two Cokes

<ul>
<li>Diet Coke: Smooth and sweet, enjoyable, bubbly, goes well with a meal, refreshing by itself.</li>
<li>Coke Zero: Smooth, sweeter, and more bubbly.</li>
</ul>

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke

'80s expert and diet soda fan Gael Fashingbauer Cooper conducted a taste test to compare Coke Zero and Diet Coke. Here's what she discovered.

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke: What’s the Difference?

When taking on new endeavors we often skip a critical first step: figuring out how we’ll make time for them. To make room for cooking, you’ll need to say no to other things. Time block meal prep on your calendar and keep that appointment with yourself.

Schedule it so it happens

A sharp chef’s knife will save you time, frustration, and possibly even fingers.You don’t need a lot of gadgets to cook at home, but investing in a few basics will go a long way in making cooking easier and far more pleasant.

Invest in the right tools

You don’t have to go from getting takeaway for 90% of your meals to cooking 90% of your meals at home. It’s ok to start by committing to cooking just once a week. If you find you can handle one night, maybe add a second. The routine you’ll actually maintain beats the perfect routine every time.

Be realistic

You will eat something. The question is whether it’s going to be something you intentionally planned to eat, or the closest, easiest option.Repeat often. You don’t get bonus points for complexity or variety. The goal isn’t to be Martha Stewart. Don’t be afraid to repeat meals often, especially when you’re just getting into the habit of home-cooking.

Make a plan and keep it simple

A cluttered fridge filled with foodstuffs in various stages of rot makes it harder to find what you need which in turn makes it harder to start cooking.Just set a timer for ten minutes, go through your fridge, get rid of anything that’s going bad, tidy up what’s left, and remind yourself what you need to use up soon.

Declutter your fridge weekly

The more you make a recipe, the easier it will become and the less mental resistance you’ll feel when you think about making it. Identify 3-5 recipes that are fast to make (30 min or less), relatively healthy, and reasonably edible. Fall back on these recipes as often as you need.

Have 3-5 go-to recipes

Fast food and ready-to-eat dinners may have freed up a significant amount of our time, but they also started an epidemic of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and a slew of other chronic health issues which make it harder to enjoy those extra hours. Convenience is slowly killing us. The less time we spend cooking at home, the worse our diets become. We can intermittent fast and count calories, but if we want to eat healthier we can’t escape the fact that we have to make time for cooking.

The Bad Side Of Convenience

You can motivate yourself to start cooking by putting on your favorite podcast or an audiobook.Psychologists call this strategy temptation bundling – pairing a thing you like to do with a thing you don’t like to do. It can be a powerful way to jump-start any habit.

Motivate yourself with temptation bundling

If it’s your goal to cook more at home, here are the key things that helped me build and stick with a cook-at-home routine for ~85% of my weekly meals.

Is Corporate Venture Capital Right for Your Startup?

What are the best egg substitutes for baking? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Double Your Profits

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke: What’s the Difference?

CURATED BY

Is Corporate Venture Capital Right for Your Startup?

What are the best egg substitutes for baking? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Double Your Profits

It's time to Read like a Pro.

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke: What’s the Difference?

CURATED BY

It's time to
Read like a Pro.