5 Components for Incentivising Corporate Venture Co-Founders
Every validated corporate venture reaches the point where it needs someone to carry it from launch to scale. That profile is comfortable with risk and incentivised by equity, which is exactly what a corporate package is not built to offer. This report sets out the five components you can actually combine.
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30 pages · PDF and online- The five components of an incentivisation package, with the pitfalls of each
- Three sourcing structures, and the package each one calls for
- The four questions that decide which structure applies to your venture
By Joeri Van Cauteren, Director, Customer Success & Strategy
A salary does not attract a co-founder.
The profile a venture needs after validation is open to risk, comfortable with uncertainty and driven by a vision. They are rarely found inside the company, and they are not moved by a competitive salary. The package has to align their interest with the venture's, not with the parent's grade structure.
The question is not what to pay. It is what the founder is actually taking a risk on.
Five components, three structures, four questions.
The components combine differently depending on where the founder comes from and what the parent intends to do with the venture.
Know the levers you can actually pull
- 1Base compensationThe part that is not the incentive
- 2Deferred compensationPaid on getting there, not on starting
- 3Profit sharingA stake in performance without a stake in the company
- 4EquityThe one most founders are actually here for
- 5Non-financialAutonomy, mandate, and what happens afterwards
Match the package to where the founder comes from
- 6An employee, internal ventureEmployee status, and incentives that fit it
- 7An entrepreneur, internal ventureManagement or entrepreneur-in-residence terms
- 8A co-founder, spin-offStock, options, and a real capital structure
Decide which structure applies to you
- 9Internal or external founder?They want materially different things
- 10Internal or external venture?Only one of them can issue shares
- 11What is the exit strategy?Spin in, spin out, or something else
- 12Experts or unique talent?What it takes to hold them long term
Built to structure an offer.
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Five incentivisation components, three sourcing structures, and the questions that decide between them. Free, and in your inbox in a minute.
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