#5 - Proving the ROI of Corporate Venturing w/ Peter Roeber (Gore)

🎙️ Welcome to the fifth episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

Proving the Return on Investment (ROI) of corporate venturing is one of the most persistent—and misunderstood—challenges innovation leaders face. It’s not just about the money. It’s about showing how innovation drives strategic growth, cultural change, and long-term value creation.

In this episode, I sit down with Peter Roeber, innovation leader at Gore, a global material science company known for Gore-Tex and its strong innovation culture. Peter shares how Gore evaluates its venturing efforts, balances financial and strategic returns, and uses early wins to build momentum and stakeholder confidence.

We discuss:

💡 How Gore defines ROI across strategic and financial dimensions

📊 Metrics that matter—from TAM/SAM analysis to real-win-worth frameworks

🧠 The importance of learning velocity and how exploration teams act as “strategic scouts”

💬 Communicating innovation success to executive stakeholders and securing long-term buy-in

🎯 How to recognize and track intangible returns—like brand credibility, talent attraction, and culture change

⚠️ Lessons learned from misaligned ventures—and how to avoid getting the rug pulled out

Whether you’re building new ventures or evaluating the impact of your innovation portfolio, this episode offers deep, practical advice on how to prove the value of your work.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures

• Bundl Venture Club

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Stay curious, keep innovating and we’ll see you next time!