Pieter Wolters recently joined DSM Venturing as its head, replacing Marcel Lubben, after a career as an entrepreneur.
Wolters said: “I have been a start-up executive for the last 15 years. I have spent the last eight of that in the US.
“Right now it is business as usual at DSM after 10 years. In this time €100m ($125m) has been invested, with a lot of value creation and collaboration. Currently we have more than 20 active portfolio companies. It has made money, although its main purpose is to create strategic value.”
Lessons from the top: Wolters said: “The tendency is to go late-stage in venture capital. The institutional VCs which are still operating have reserved money in their funds to make sure the companies in their portfolios see it through, which means they are investing less and less in seed stage. This is an opportunity for any corporate venturing unit to play the whole spectrum.”