On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL discusses the launch of a new series exploring the Venture Client Model, which is turning corporate innovation on its head.
Instead of merely investing in startups and crossing fingers, big companies buy from startups to drive innovation – today, not years from now.
Imagine a world where a major Fortune 500, an automotive manufacturer, an insurance giant, or a bank can plug in a cutting-edge startup solution as easily as adding a new app to your phone.
The questions Sabine tackles include: What if your company’s next breakthrough isn’t built in-house, but bought from a startup in an early pilot? And what if being a startup’s customer is more powerful than being its investor?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
At its core, a venture client is a corporation that purchases and uses a startup’s solution to gain strategic benefit. No equity stakes, no controlling shares – just buying the solution early, when the startup is still a venture. The company becomes the startup’s client (often the first or an early client), providing the startup with revenue and feedback, while the corporation solves a problem with a cutting-edge product.
Insurance is traditionally conservative – heavy on compliance, cautious with new tech – slow, one might say. But that’s exactly why venture clienting is so powerful here: it creates a safe sandbox for insurers to experiment with startups.
Zurich has no corporate VC arm at the group level, so everything they do with startups ends up as a venture client relationship or partnership. That means all the effort goes into tangible pilots and deployments, not minority stakes in startups that might not align with the business. It’s a bold approach, but clearly paying off.
Imagine car insurance: traditionally, if you buy a policy in many countries, an agent might physically inspect your car, or if you have an accident, an adjuster needs to assess damage. CamCom replaces a lot of that with a DIY solution – the customer can just take a video of the car, and the AI will spot scratches, dents, cracked windshields, you name it, and even estimate repair costs. That means faster claims, smoother policy underwriting, and less hassle.
BEST MOMENTS
‘The Venture Client Model flips the usual script: instead of investing in ten startups and hoping one succeeds, you pay a startup to solve a problem and start benefiting immediately.’
‘This isn’t just theory. It’s happening now.’
‘The model turns the corporation into what I like to call an innovation magnet – attracting the best startups because the word is out: “This company loves to buy new tech”.’
‘By the end of this series, you’ll know the ins and outs of the model, from big-picture strategy down to on-the-ground tips, like why having a one-page startup contract can save you months of headaches, or why “impossible” should be banished from your vocabulary.’
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
