#13 - Venture Clienting: Lessons from the Field w/ Lisa Kratochwill (VERBUND X) & Pepe Pascual
The Corporate Venturing Podcast
<p>🎙️ Welcome to a new episode of <em>The Corporate Venturing Podcast!</em></p>
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<p>In <strong>Venture Clienting: Lessons from the Field</strong>, I’m joined by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-kratochwill/" rel="nofollow"><strong>Lisa Kratochwill</strong></a> (Startup Engagement, <strong>VERBUND X</strong>) and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pepepascual/" rel="nofollow"><strong>José “Pepe” Pascual</strong></a> (former Head, <strong>Cencosud Ventures</strong>).</p>
<p>Lisa runs a multi-corporate program that takes real business challenges to pilot and beyond. Pepe built a venture-client engine in Latin America with clear KPIs, budget ownership, and a bias to action.</p>
<p>Together, we unpack what makes venture clienting work in practice, and where it breaks.</p>
<p>In this episode, Lisa and Pepe share insights on:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>🧭 <strong>The simple rule for tool choice:</strong> when to <strong>client</strong>, when to <strong>build</strong>, and when to <strong>invest, </strong>and how to decide fast.</p></li>
<li><p>🧩 <strong>From use case to pilot:</strong> framing the problem, scouting the right startup, and setting success upfront.</p></li>
<li><p>📑 <strong>Procurement that helps, not hurts:</strong> pilot T&Cs, fast-track onboarding, and who signs the invoice.</p></li>
<li><p>📊 <strong>KPIs you can read on one slide:</strong> cost savings or new revenue, time-to-pilot, SLA/quality, and a powerful input metric: <strong>number of challenges identified</strong>.</p></li>
<li><p>💸 <strong>Budget ownership = speed:</strong> why a dedicated pilot budget and a clear “pilot owner” reduce friction.</p></li>
<li><p>🛡️ <strong>Compliance early:</strong> how regulation can block a “successful” PoC, and how to prevent late surprises.</p></li>
<li><p>🤝 <strong>Multi-corporate as a force multiplier:</strong> sharing risk, budget, and skills on cross-industry topics (e.g., vehicle-to-grid).</p></li>
<li><p>🔁 <strong>From pilot to scale:</strong> land small, prove value, then expand, what changes between site #1 and rollout.</p></li>
<li><p>🚫 <strong>Common pitfalls:</strong> scope creep, “tourism” pilots, and fuzzy goals that kill conversion.</p></li>
<li><p>⚡ <strong>Culture-shifting moments:</strong> the small wins that flip skeptics into champions.</p></li>
</ul>
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<p>We close by reflecting on the moments when a startup solution made the value of this work obvious to everyone in the room.</p>
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<p><strong>Resources:</strong></p>
<p>• <a href="https://openroadventuress.substack.com/" rel="nofollow">Open Road Ventures Newsletter</a></p>
<p>• <a href="https://www.bundl.com/venture-club" rel="nofollow">Bundl Venture Club</a></p>
<p>🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded stories and actionable insights from inside Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing.</p>