#7 - Open Innovation vs. Corporate Venturing w/ Davide Ritorto (Your Host)

🎙️ Welcome to a special solo episode of The Corporate Venturing Podcast!

You know those meetings or keynotes where terms like Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing get thrown around like they mean the same thing? Spoiler: they don’t.

In this episode, I take a step back to clear the confusion — and properly introduce myself along the way (yes, finally… after six episodes).

We unpack:

🚪 What Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing really means — beyond the buzzwords

💡 The difference between integrating external knowledge and betting on ventures

💸 How Corporate Venturing fits under the Open Innovation umbrella — and where it requires real capital

🛠️ Practical tools: from venture building to accelerators, CVC, and venture clienting

🎯 When to use Open Innovation vs. Corporate Venturing in your discussions

⚡ Why Venture Clienting sits in between — and helps lower the barrier to startup collaboration

📈 How to sequence your approach — and avoid falling into pure “innovation theatre”

Whether you’re new to this world or refining your company’s innovation strategy, this episode helps cut through the noise — with research, real-world examples, and honest reflections from my experience and beyond.

Resources:

• Open Road Ventures Newsletter

• Bundl Venture Club

If you enjoy this episode, follow the show, share it with your team, and stay curious. See you next time!