FCJ Venture Builder

Open Venture Builder refers to initiatives that develop, or ‘build,’ existing startups in the market (open innovation) rather than creating them from scratch. In other words, these are startups with founders in the process of validation or growth, addressing a real market need. They have moved beyond the conception and creation stage, focusing on validation, growth, and scale.

The key question to consider is whether it makes sense in today's context to create a startup from scratch within a company or a Venture Builder in a global ecosystem with hundreds of thousands of startups.

When the concept of Venture Builder or startup studio emerged in 1996, creating a startup from scratch made sense, as the startup ecosystem was in its early stages. Applying the startup or lean startup concept within a company shortened the lengthy development journey for new products and services, fostering a mindset that embraced failure as a process of innovation.

A Venture Builder is an entity specialized in creating and developing startups, also known as a ‘startup studio,’ ‘startup factory,’ or ‘startup foundry.’ It differs from traditional incubator or accelerator models as it simultaneously focuses on conceiving, creating, and internally developing multiple startups. This model has evolved significantly in recent years.

The Idealab, founded in 1996 in California by Bill Gross, is considered one of the pioneering initiatives. Idealab has successfully created over 150 ventures, including 45 initial public offerings (IPOs) and five unicorns. Other examples include Rocket Internet, a German company founded in 2007 by the Samwer brothers, and Betaworks, a New York-based startup studio founded in 2007.

With the abundance of startups in the global ecosystem and the decreasing time for innovation (time-to-market), the chances of starting an internal innovation from scratch and bringing it to market are significantly diminished. The people involved play a crucial role, with internal innovation often led by employees supported by consultants rather than entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of the team in the success equation.

In this context, many organizations are turning to open innovation as an alternative. However, not all startups that meet an organization's needs are ready, requiring a maturation process in technological, business, and management aspects to become effective suppliers.

Open Innovation is a concept introduced by Henry Chesbrough, emphasizing the importance of not relying solely on internal resources for innovation. Instead, companies should open themselves to external ideas, knowledge, and collaborations, actively seeking partnerships and solutions beyond their organizational boundaries.

“A Venture Builder is an entity specialized in creating and developing startups, also known as a ‘startup studio,’ ‘startup factory,’ or ‘startup foundry”

The concept of Open Venture Builder combines the Venture Builder concept with the principles of open innovation. It acknowledges the challenges of creating startups from scratch and highlights the benefits of collaborating with external partners and leveraging existing startups in the market.

Corporate Venture Builder is a Venture Builder initiative specifically undertaken by a company aiming to develop new products and services or improve management beyond digital transformation. A company creating a Corporate Venture Builder can choose to follow the original Venture Builder model by establishing a department or a new company to create new ventures (startups). Alternatively, it can opt for an Open Venture Builder model.

In 2013, FCJ Venture Builder emerged in Brazil as a group of professionals dedicated to applying the Open Venture Builder concept. Over six years of refinement, the team tested, validated, and developed the model. In 2019, reaching a stage of maturity, FCJ began licensing the Corporate Venture Builder model to medium and large companies. Since then, over 50 initiatives have been launched in Brazil and abroad, successfully applying the Open Venture Builder model.