Scott Gunther: Corporate Venture Capital, the Venture Client Model, and Driving Innovation in 2025

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Scott Gunther, who is not only a corporate venture capitalist and start-up enthusiast—he’s also the secret ingredient that helps big businesses think like nimble innovators!

In this episode, we’ll hear how Scott’s unique blend of strategic vision and hands-on execution has set him apart in both blue-chip boardrooms and early-stage tech circles. We’ll dive into the venture client model, explore the evolving CVC (Corporate Venture Capital) landscape through the lens of 2025, and uncover the do’s and don’ts for insurance providers and emerging Tech founders.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Recently we’ve seen a bit of stability in CVC investment, there’s been a strong volume of deal-flow dollars that are starting to pour into startup investment. At the same time, we’re seeing corporate change their attitudes and approaches to innovation and venturing. Some have closed their CVC funds, others have changed their investment focus, some have scaled back altogether, although some are quite the opposite.
• We’re starting to see CVCs experiencing slower exit returns and their financials aren’t what they were in 2021/22. In the last 2-3 years the savvy CVCs have done 2 things well: They’ve managed to keep their portfolio afloat and managed to hang onto their strategic assets but have also helped their portfolio grown at the same time. This will be a trend for CVCs in 2025.
• We don’t put anything up to our investment community until we have an exec sponsor because post-investment is when the exec sponsor comes to life and the VC model starts to hit home. We have a dedicated post-investment team that connect the startup and the corporate.
• The biggest opportunities for insurers and CVCs operating in that space is understand how people use and interact with digital technologies, and how they’re affecting society. Also, customer segmentation and proposition development is different for different demographics now and how different cohorts are research, buy, service, claim, it’s not one size fits all. The savvy insurers know what these macro-trends are and understand how the latest technology, data, and AI trends are. This could help us get to the holy grail: The segment of one!

BEST MOMENTS

‘We’re going to see more competition, things are going to happen faster and cheaper, but there’s still an uncertainty about which things we should own and which we should outsource.’

‘I think a lot of people focus on the E and S or ESG, but not the G, but the G incorporates some of the most crucial aspects about how a company runs itself.’

‘The more efficient and effective a company can run the more it can have on its customers and community.’

‘We connect the startup with the corporate to create mutual commercial value, it’s an ethos we live by.’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Scott Gunther is a Corporate Venture Capitalist and start-up enthusiast with a track record of partnering with business leaders to identify strategic opportunities and guide transformational change.

Drawing on years of experience designing future-state, digital-first businesses and delivering critical programs across multiple industries, he brings a rare blend of strategic vision and execution prowess to his clients and colleagues.

LinkedIn

Firemark Ventures 

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partn