On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Gregor Gimmy, founder of 27pilots, a company dedicated to helping companies build and scale Venture Client units, and allows them to benefit from startup innovations faster at a large scale and significantly lower cost and risk than traditional corporate venturing methods.
On this episode we will explore how this Venture Client model is shaping corporate innovation, the strategic benefits it offers, and how companies can adopt this game-changing approach to stay ahead in a competitive world.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
When I joined BMW in 2012, I was surprised to find that it was leveraging only a small number of startups to improve its technology landscape across its value chain. I told them that CVCs were investing in 2.8 startups per year. This is not nearly enough to solve all the technology challenges we have; we need more like 100. My initial idea was not to invent a new model but to improve the current one.
I was told that if they invested in 50 startups per year, they would have around 250 startups in 5 years, whose equity state we would have to manage, which is impossible. I concluded that VC isn’t scalable, but it didn’t solve BMW's problem either: accessing, adopting, and transferring cutting-edge technology quickly, because it’s about investment, not technology transfer. These are two totally different business processes. We needed to look for a new approach: becoming a Venture Client.
Accelerators and CVCs are indirect models – like using a third party’s battery technology in the cars you produce – you first make the investment and then adopt the technology. The difference in the Venture Client model is cutting out the middleman.
If you want to be good at somethin,g you need a dedicated unit. If you do it part-time, it will only work partly. If you make it a department, you can dedicate more time to it, secure a dedicated budget, and build a more robust KPI structure.
BEST MOMENTS
‘More than getting into the world of Venture Client Modelling, I invented the world.’
‘A Venture Client is a company that adopts startup technologies through procurement and M&A.’
‘A corporation cannot compete against a good startup like Palantir or Oracle when they were startups.’
‘The Venture Client model will displace Corporate Venture Capital to become the standard of corporate venturing.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
As captain of the 27pilots endeavour, and the visionary behind the Venture Client model, Gregor GImmy focuses on advancing Venture Client knowledge and growing the global community through 27pilots’ corporate clients and academic allies. Gregor is deeply engaged in researching, publishing, and lecturing on the Venture Client model through leading business schools and top business engagements. Gregor is also a frequent speaker at startup-relevant conferences such as Slush, Web Summit, 4YFN, and DLD.
ABOUT THE HOST
Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.
If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.
And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures
