Jason Illian, managing director of Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), the corporate venturing arm of industrial and chemicals conglomerate Koch Industries, presented the strategic value his unit offered to entrepreneurs.
Illian commented transformation was difficult and everyone loved change until it was their turn to do it. He challenged investors to change from the ways of thinking only about financials and to imagine investees’ perspectives, as he asked: “What do entrepreneurs really want?”
Koch was built on entrepreneurship and as they grew they never wanted to lose touch with entrepreneurs, said Illian, which led to the team at KDT being measured not only on financial returns, but also on what he called transformational returns.
Illian claimed that transformation came about by fostering trust with potential partners and becoming friends with them. He added that building companies was all about partnerships, developing lasting connections and going through the years together.
Regarding investor ties with entrepreneurs, Illian said: “Those relationships and how you interact with them is so incredibly important. If you want to add value to entrepreneurs you have to value them.”