This June 21 and 22 in Santiago will be held innovasummit, to share experiences in the development of different innovation management models in large companies and the possibilities that this has in the Chilean entrepreneurial ecosystem. Your organizer is Laura Chicurel, who founded the Woman Star-up and Ugreat initiatives and who today works in Silicon Valley to Innova360 y nextinit.
Laura chatted with AmericaEconomy on corporate venture capital and its contribution to the generation of new businesses.
-What is, in your opinion, the relevance of corporate venture, as opposed to the existence of so-called angel investors or initiatives to support startups by private investors, venture capital companies or the governments themselves?
The main relevance of the corporate venture comes to fill the gap access to capital for start-ups in Chile and other countries. Here in Chile, the government provides strong support in the early stages, with access to seed capital, but it goes as far as that. And in that sense, the corporate venture is not only relevant from a financial point of view, but also allows having great allies behind it and thus being able to count on their support network, in the sense of helping them open doors to high-growth technologies. And that obviously involves not only options within the company but also with potential corporate partners, opening sales channels and playing a key role in the expansion stage, because unlike a government or accelerator, a corporate venture will not operate with a startup that has not been validated in the market.
-Apparently, in Chile the government is the main engine of entrepreneurship.
Yes, but that does not happen in other markets. Here in Silicon Valley, for example, government support is not expected: entrepreneurship exists only for access to the ecosystem, also made up of angel investors and accelerators, and has played a vital role in supporting companies. That, from the point of view of how it helps the development of the ecosystem, but without neglecting to consider the importance it gives to the company itself, because it positions them or prepares them or helps them enter a market that perhaps they would not have entered on their own. .
-Can only a large company, such as a multinational, do a corporate venture?
I would not give it the exclusive character of a multinational. Obviously, it must be large, because it must have funds that support this investment fund, because in the end it is risk capital and it can be lost, like any investment. So you must have a structure that can withstand this type of loss. There are companies that may be local that may have a fund, perhaps not as large, but it still allows them to enter this market on a smaller scale.
-What are the results that you have seen from your company and what lessons or rules must be followed for the corporate venture to be successful?
Although I do not manage funds, I deal with companies that manage them and I have seen certain rules or best practices: One is to be clear about the main triggers for the company to invest in technology companies. And don't get confused, because there are those who believe that venture capital is only about investing in the same areas or technologies that the same company can use. An insurance company is not necessarily going to invest only in Fintech. Here in Silicon Valley they have a mix, where they combine technology from their business and also from other industries, like any investment fund where they see that there can be profits and ROI with technologies from other industries. And I think it is relevant to have that mix, but that comes at a time of maturation, it may be part of their strategy, it is something that they must define themselves.
-Is the corporate venture a way for companies to have the possibility to embrace and include disruption in their business, instead of being disrupted by leaving them out of the market?
Yes, it has to do with what was discussed, emphasizing that on the one hand it is a key element in the development of the innovation ecosystem, but it also has an inherent benefit for companies, which is to position themselves and help generate disruption in their business. or integrate technologies that it currently does not have, and again it depends on what the company is looking for as part of its strategy.
-What challenges, opportunities and at the same time threats or problems could the corporate venture have for clients, stakeholders and society in general... what do you consider to be the advantage or contribution of this system?
The opportunities are clear, we must learn to consider the company as a key factor in the development of an ecosystem. In less developed markets, at the level of innovation ecosystems they have that mix, where the main axis is access to financing and if you don't have it, you can develop yourself. Everyone is here: government, universities, investors and private companies, therefore this is the opportunity to present the company as a key factor in access to new channels.
On the other hand, I don't see any big threats in the corporate venture system. The company has always been a key engine of benefit to the innovation ecosystem and on the other hand I think that Chile, in particular, has to take this next step which is to create independence from the government, because if you look closely we even have to reach maturity leaving aside so much state aid. The gap must be filled, separating 'the fat from the meat', not all undertakings are potentially financeable internationally.
-How do you see the panorama of corporate venture in Latin America and in Chile? Thinking above all that although we are in a fairly globalized world - where perhaps the most convenient thing is to work from Silicon Valley - there are also local particularities that could make a business fail or arise...
It is an issue that is just beginning in Chile, at least it is being talked about, some companies are starting a leadership. At the regional level, in general, it has begun to take off. There was a summit recently in Colombia, where Telefónica went to talk about the reality of the continent.
At the summit we will present a study on corporate ventures at the Latin American level and we will have a panel managed by Fundación Chile with CLIN, the Chileglobal Ventures fund, which makes a "fund of funds", which is when a group of companies come together they want to be inserted in a corporate venture, but not individually with their own fund, rather they make a common fund. And right on the panel will be Jamie Riggs, who is the CEO of Chile Global Ventures.
-How do you seek to support the corporate venture with this event in Santiago?
The two and a half day activity is within the framework of Nación Innova, a Corfo fund that is for the development of the innovation ecosystem in Chile and as part of this strategy is that they support this Summit. But our goal is to help develop the innovation ecosystem from the corporate point of view from 3 axes, where the main one is to share these best practices by bringing international leaders of the corporate venture issue to deliver this knowledge to the general ecosystem, so that it is generated an incentive and that the local company is waking up.
Another topic is the development of a culture of innovation and the third is open innovation, which is to share the best practices of how companies are contacting the ecosystem through incubators, accelerators, etc. That is why we bring people like Lisa Lambert, who was president of Intel Capital for 15 years, one of the largest investment funds in the world, or Tim Laferty, from Global Corporate Venturing, who manages a global corporate movement from London. venture.
