Venture ledger
Eleven ventures I have worked on since 2009, and what happened to each one.
Corporate venture builders stop most of what they start. The portfolio model assumes it. What separates people working inside that model is whether they can name the cause. So here are mine, in full.
Clients stay anonymous. Employers are named. Where a venture has a full case study on rapidventurelab.com, the row links out.
The ledger
Enterprise B2B proposition for a ride-sharing company
Launched. Runs today.
My role
Led a cross-functional team through an eight to ten week sprint, owning discovery, use-case definition, commercial sizing, MVP scope and go-to-market
What ended it
Shipped. 100M in qualified pipeline, handed to the in-country team.
Product line at a chemical manufacturer
Shipped and scaled
My role
Built the evaluation framework, benchmarked the portfolio against the client's own best performers, refocused R&D
What ended it
Sales up 300 percent
Battery storage financing venture
Go / no-go delivered in eight weeks
My role
Mapped the specialty risk-transfer landscape, opened counterparty relationships, secured first-party pricing, built the comparison tool, structured and pressure-tested a candidate venture
What ended it
Decision delivered with the non-obvious risks named
Marketplace venture
Stopped before the build
My role
Ran a structured validation sprint on supply, trust and demand, and aligned the stakeholders on the decision
What ended it
A clean no-go. Roughly 50K saved, plus the months a build would have taken.
Water leak detection device
Prototype, heading to MVP
My role
Defined the product and technical concept, secured the initial funding, built the founding technical team
What ended it
Handed over. I hired my successor and moved to a new initiative.
Electric mobility venture for emerging markets
Partnership signed, technology acquired
My role
Built the ecosystem model, signed a go-to-market partnership with a regional ride-hailing operator, acquired the vehicle technology for local assembly, specified the customisation for local conditions
What ended it
The investor backed out
Smart city technology park
Ministry stage
My role
Developed and positioned the concept, took it to ministry level
What ended it
It stalled there and did not proceed
E-commerce returns venture
Validation
My role
Led the validation. Built the end-to-end concept, including AI-driven decision logic and a sustainability model.
What ended it
COVID closed the market and the runway ran out mid-validation
Flexible workspace venture
Validation and GTM design
My role
Ran the concept validation and the go-to-market design
What ended it
The investor changed strategy above the venture
Proptech turnaround
Turnaround attempt
My role
Took it on after the leadership team walked out. Interviewed the team individually to find what was actually wrong.
What ended it
The leadership leaving was the visible part. The stakeholders had never been aligned. Soft landing.
Aluminised fire-fighting suit
Product completed and tested
My role
Founded it. Took a university engineering project through development and testing to market entry. Published two papers.
What ended it
Red tape stretched the timeline. I left for a fully funded master's scholarship.
Opportunity mapping
I have also run opportunity mapping and validation engagements for a Saudi bank, a German industrial group, and an early stage company in Munich.
The pattern
- A sponsor changed their mind, withdrew, or was never aligned4
- Shipped, scaled, or handed over with a successor in place4
- The market said no under testing, and I called it1
- A government body stalled it1
- An external shock closed the window1
One of these stopped because the market said no. I ran that test myself, before the build, and the client kept the money. The rest stopped somewhere above the product: an investor changed direction, a ministry stalled, a partner withdrew, or the people who had to agree never actually agreed.
That is the pattern I look for now. Before the roadmap, before the build, I want to know who has to say yes and what would make them say no. Most of the time that question decides the outcome.