Open Innovation vs. Corporate Venturing
A solo episode from host Davide Ritorto clearing up two terms that get used as if they mean the same thing.
With Davide Ritorto
From The Corporate Venturing Podcast, brought to you by Open Road Ventures
4 things this conversation gets into
- 01What open innovation and corporate venturing really mean
- 02Where corporate venturing sits under the open innovation umbrella
- 03Why venture clienting sits in between
- 04Sequencing your approach to avoid innovation theatre
A solo episode with host Davide Ritorto, who steps back to clear the confusion between Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing and properly introduces himself after six episodes.
Davide Ritorto is a management engineer from Italy with an international MBA, currently working at Lamborghini. He is what some call an intrapreneur, passionate about open innovation and corporate venturing, and driven by curiosity about how things work and how to make them work even better. Through Open Road Ventures he sets out to inspire and inform other innovators, intrapreneurs and dreamers.
He founded Open Road Ventures as a weekly publication on open innovation and corporate venturing, and The Corporate Venturing Podcast grew out of it. He also mentors startups at Motor Valley Accelerator and sits on the Open Innovation Advisory Board at UC Berkeley Haas.
The Corporate Venturing Podcast is made by Open Road Ventures. The Bundl Venture Club is a partner of the show.
Read the full show notes
🎙️ 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
If you enjoy this episode, follow the show, share it with your team, and stay curious. See you next time!
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