Andrew Gaule, partner at GCV Academy and consultancy firm Aimava, moderated a panel today on the third stage of corporate venturing and the creation of new value chains.
Gaule defined corporate venturing 3.0 as the stage at which units realise that different startups and technologies need to be strung together to create new business models.
He was joined on stage by Sarah Fisher of pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, Phil Giesler of tobacco company BAT, Pauline Tay from Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and Jonathan Tudor of Castrol InnoVentures, the corporate venturing arm of industrial lubricants producer Castrol.
The panel discussed a range of topics based on questions from the audience, including the importance of storytelling to market a product or understand challenges surrounding a technology.
Tudor, ventures director at Castrol InnoVentures, used the example of electric vehicles which include diagnostic programs that could tell the driver about emerging mechanical issues several weeks in advance, letting the driver know that a part will need replacing soon and telling their garage exactly which part it will need to source.
Giesler, group head of strategic science and technology for BAT, said storytelling has emerged as an important tool to market vaping to consumers, pointing out how his company is working with the entertainment industry to that end.
The important of digitisation was also picked up on by the panel, with Fisher, J&J’s director of global markets and external innovation, equating the rise of digital technology to consumer empowerment.
Healthcare, she said, now consists of the whole spectrum from identifying biomarkers for diseases all the way through to post-treatment care.
Disruption has led to challenges for the healthcare sector, where no single company is able to offer all products and services under one roof. The strategy going forward is still a matter of discussion, Fisher said, as the sector is figuring out how to gain the best value out of the new ecosystem.
Tay, deputy director of strategy, innovation and enterprise for NRF, said that in Singapore NRF is also assisting established players deal with digitisation. She cited the example of a brick-and-mortar retail chain that approached the foundation to tap into its startup network and ensure it is prepared for e-commerce competition.
Tay showed herself hopeful about traditional players tackling and surviving these issues, and remarked that the same retail chain has now set up eight innovation hubs itself to directly engage with entrepreneurs.