Counterpart Ventures

Excited to announce we are returning to London on May 7th to host our Counter Club London CVC Summit. Corporate VCs from across Europe and the UK are invited to join us as we unpack the latest trends facing CVCs and discussions from within the industry: https://lnkd.in/gTpZs-Ft.

Counter Community, mark your calendars for CVC Week in San Francisco from Sept 8-12. This will be our sixth year presenting the Counter, our AGM which has morphed into the premier gathering of corporate venture capitalists in the world. Last year, we saw great enthusiasm from the community in hosting and attending industry-focused and social events over three days. This year, we're taking it to another level with a FULL WEEK of events from closed-door sessions on niche topics to speed-dating style matchmaking events with founders. While our team at Counterpart Ventures will run the show on the main day, Counter VI, on September 10th, the week will really come to life through the participation of community members—reach out to the Counterpart Team if you're interested in hosting your own event. Save your seat at on the Counter Club events page and check out more announcements around our full 2025 schedule of events: https://counterclub.vc/ Thank you to our Counter Club annual partners who will also help Counter come to life: Aduro Advisors, DLA Piper, PitchBook, Silicon Valley Bank Patrick Eggen, Joe Saijo, Mikey Kailis, Tanvi Narain, Nandini Agarwal, Abbie Wolf. Al Lalani

Patrick Eggen likes to say he comes from Philadelphia, "where we don't hit a lot of home runs." Yet his track record tells a different story. As founder of Counterpart Ventures, he's built the largest CVC community in venture capital, with over 600 corporate partners. Before that, he led game-changing investments at Qualcomm Ventures, including an early bet on Zoom that became their biggest return ever. We sat down with Patrick to get his take on the Venture Mindset rules he uses in his practice and hear his stories from two decades in the trenches. True to form, he went beyond our rules to propose another one: "Always Learning" – or as he likes to call it, "Healthy Paranoia." His stories bring these principles to life – from spotting Zoom's potential when others saw a crowded market to watching Matterport's 14-year journey to a $2B exit. They're not just theories in a book anymore but tested strategies that have guided billions in successful investments. Here's how Patrick sees some of the Venture Mindset rules playing out in the real world ⬇️

We’re highlighting some of the most active and exciting new CVC funds launched in 2024 that are members of our Counter Club community. While we predict the number of new CVCs launched in 2024 was down to just 17 funds from the previous high of 143 funds launched only 2 years ago (according to PitchBook data), we are still seeing CVC participation in overall VC deals at around 25% or a quarter of every VC-backed deal. The importance of CVC to the overall ecosystem has not dwindled. Last week we released a list of New Kids on the Block, recognizing recently launched funds in our community around the world. These funds are applying discipline and method to their investment approach and we are pleased to have them as members of our community: BlueScopeX - Andrew Garey Michael Quinn CNH Ventures -  Michele Lombardi Ki Tua Fund -  Rachel Resek William Robertson Prisma Ventures - Roberto Ayala , Agustina Sartori, Kristen Shimp (DeVries), CPA   We also want to highlight the honorable mention group, representing funds that launched this past year:  Kyocera Ventures (KYOCERA Global, KYOCERA AVX Components Corporation) - Richard Johnson, Kenji Kodomari, Shiva Chandra, CFA Allison Ventures (Allison Transmission): Justin LaRocca, Jordan Turk, MBA R3D3 Ventures - Colin Cheung, David Ye “Iron Entrepreneur”   Check out the full list with leaders in other categories including investment pace, deal velocity and financial orientation:  https://lnkd.in/gvYGpG-8   #CounterClub #CorporateVenture

As a traditional VC, we could not build Counter Club alone. A community thrives when members are engaged. Several members in the community have helped us scale to over 1,200 members across 17+ countries and 12+ industries, all centralized on our private platform for corporate investors (https://counterclub.vc). These individuals went above + beyond in 2024. They participated in multiple events, took time to engage with other members on our community, made warm intro's, connected to Counterpart's portfolio companies and much more... Thank you for your support, we are grateful as always! Advisory Member of the Year: Sunidh Jani, Eaton Ambassador of the Year: Brian Bernstein, Rich Products Ventures Most Active Counter Club Members: Anne Charpignon, Convivialité Ventures Betty Lee, Woven Capital, Toyota's Growth Fund Isabella Thomas, FT Ventures (Financial Times Group) Matt Tamburro, M&T Bank Paulina Szyzdek, Bosch Ventures See the full list here including the Best of the Best CVC list, a group of CVC funds that lead categories in investment pace, deal velocity and financial orientation: https://lnkd.in/gvYGpG-8 #CounterClub #CVC #CorporateVenture 

Announcing the list of the top-performing CVC funds in four distinct categories from the Counter Club in 2024. As we continue to build a data-driven community for corporate VCs, we have tracked several metrics on members including the financial<>strategic orientation, speed at which funds are able to invest, and velocity at which funds are investing. This year, we added a new category highlighting recently formed CVC funds. We are the best in the world at bridging traditional VC and Corporate VC. Counter Club represents the most active and engaged community of CVC with 600+ funds and 1,200+ investors. While our network does not cover the entire CVC ecosystem, we are capturing the most active funds and deal activity through our community, events and annual CVC survey co-authored by SVB. If you feel there are funds missing, please add their names in the comments where you can also find the honorable mention. Top Financially-Orientated CVCs The Blue Venture Fund, BMW i Ventures, Mouro Capital, Titanium Ventures, Pruven Capital Investing at a Fast Pace American Family Ventures, Citi Ventures , Dell Technologies Capital, Nationwide Ventures, Zoom Ventures High Scorers Cisco Investments, Databricks Ventures, IQT (In-Q-Tel), NVentures (NVIDIA), Salesforce Ventures New Kids on the Block BlueScopeX, CNH Ventures, Ki Tua Fund, Mozilla Ventures, Prisma Ventures See the full list here including standout community members: https://lnkd.in/gvYGpG-8 #CounterClub #CVC #CorporateVenture 

Last week, established CVC leaders shared their tips on how to build an enduring CVC fund that outlasts economic cycles and C-Suite changes. With over 20 years as a Managing Director at Sony, Austin Noronha talked through the impetus of the Sony Innovation Fund, focusing on an independent structure with a fast decision-making process. Tarik Galijasevic of Allstate Strategic Ventures shared his approach to corporate education and amplification. He recommends picking the most receptive parts of the organization and then bringing everyone else aboard. That can turn into an effective and positive partnership that echoes through an organization. Counter Club members, head to the event page on counterclub.vc to rewatch the full session. Stay tuned for our full 2025 programming! #CounterClub #CVC #CorporateVenture Patrick Eggen, Joe Saijo, Mikey Kailis, Tanvi Narain, Nandini Agarwal, Abbie Wolf

In our next online event on November 5th, we will unpack how to create an enduring CVC fund with two veteran CVC leaders. Successful startups can take 7-10 years to exit, far beyond the short-term corporate performance timelines. Executive support and understanding of the asset class is crucial for fund survival, from capital commitments to internal advocacy for the fund. As our 2024 State of CVC report with SVB found, 82% of mature CVCs think their executive sponsor understands the asset class compared to just 57% of new CVC funds.    We'll dig into how Tarik Galijasevic at Allstate Strategic Ventures and Austin Noronha of Sony Innovation Fund created alignment and value that lasted beyond economic cycles and C-Suite changes. In Tarik's 11-year tenure with AllState, he recently oversaw the launch of two distinct funds. Austin has been with Sony for over 22 years and pioneered the Sony Innovation Fund (SIF), now in its third fund with over $500M under management.    You must be a Counter Club member (counterclub.vc) or an active corporate investor to join this event. Registration is subject to approval: https://lnkd.in/gPmCyDw2   #CounterClub #CorporateVenture #CVC Patrick Eggen, Joe Saijo, Mikey Kailis, Tanvi Narain, Nandini Agarwal, Abbie Wolf

Tune in for the next online Counter Club event with Tarik Galijasevic and Austin Noronha about creating long-term alignment with corporate partners. They will dig into ensuring the CVC function outlasts economic cycles, C-suite changes and much more. Our speakers have true lived experience building CVC funds that last: Tarik has over 11 years as Managing Director at Allstate Strategic Ventures and Austin has led the Sony Innovation Group for over 22 years, including the creation of the Sony Innovation Fund. Please note: You must be a Counter Club member (counterclub.vc) or an active corporate investor to join this event. Registration is subject to approval. Patrick Eggen, Joe Saijo, Mikey Kailis, Tanvi Narain, Nandini Agarwal, Abbie Wolf #CounterClub #CorporateVenture #CVC

Overheard at Counter V ⬇️ If you are a Counter Club member, go to counterclub.vc for the full notes packet! - “For many companies, there is a hesitation to enter the public market because investors have a really high bar right now: it’s a little bit of the ability to show a durable growth profile coupled with increasing efficiency and amazing competitive moats.” - Current Equity Capital Markets Outlook with Becky Steinthal of Jefferies - “If you don't do small things of symbolic value to build trust early in your tenure as a new leader, it's going to be hard to get through adversity. " - WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert fireside with Pau Gasol -"Start earlier than you think you need to as it always takes longer (to raise external capital)... expect and prepare for mostly nos before you start to hear any yeses” - Ramneek Gupta, Pruven Capital Also featured in this packet: Promod Haque, Sagi Paz, Rashmi Gopinath, Trae Stephens, Lydia Jett, Chris Douvos, Matthew Blum, Michelle Snyder Patrick Eggen, Joe Saijo, Mikey Kailis, Tanvi Narain, Nandini Agarwal, Tanvi Narain