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Masters of Corporate Venture Capital: Collective Wisdom from 50 VCs Best Practices for Corporate Venturing How to Access Startup Innovation & How to Get Funded Paperback – August 18, 2016
Purchase options and add-ons
•Entrepreneurs
•VCs
•Angel investors
•Family offices
•CVCs
•Corporates thinking about launching a CVC
•Anyone advising startups.
- Print length284 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateAugust 18, 2016
- Dimensions6 x 0.71 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101530088690
- ISBN-13978-1530088690
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"It is fair to say that not all CVCs are able to keep their promise of adding value, but when they do, it is certainly one of the most powerful ways to accelerate the growth of a startup. Masters of Corporate Venture Capital is essential reading for entrepreneurs, VCs and CVCs."--FREDERIC ROMBAUT, Managing Director, Cisco Investment; cofounder, Qualcomm Ventures & Director, Apax Partners
From the Author
Our first event is planned for September 29th in London. Register here: CVCLondon.eventbrite.com.
We are still finalizing dates and venues for the same event in SF and NYC. Please contact me if you want to host or sponsor a similar event anywhere worldwide. Our typical format is networking, VC panel, quick talk sharing findings of my research and then plenty of time for networking, food and drinks bringing together entrepreneurs, angels, VCs and corporates.
Here's the back story of why I wrote this book.
A large Chinese technology corporate asked me to advise them on forming their own CVC. I told them that I would interview at least 20 to 30 of the top CVCs I already knew and ask them how they do everything from strategy to operations, investment committees, etc. I promised to compile this research and deliver it to them in a private form and also write a book to be shared with the public. I asked my CVC colleagues to share information that I could share with my client and also to sign off on case studies and stories to be included in this book. I also reached out to the large Rubicon VC database asking for stories and interviews from independent financial VCs, CEOs, lawyers and bankers and compiled the best stories with the best advice. I realized that this book was not just essential reading for existing CVCs and corporates thinking of launching CVCs, but that entrepreneurs and VCs thinking of raising CVC funding would also benefit from reading this book. If you outline the playbook of how a CVC invests, their process, what synergies they can unlock and related challenges, this is like reading the playbook of your opponent before going into the negotiation. A deeper understanding of this topic also helps the startups, angels, VCs and CVCs work together more effectively understanding each other's challenges to maximize chances for achieving the huge possible synergies. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to raise capital from these 50 CVCs and other CVCs. I truly believe that when CVC is done right it can move mountains for the startup. When it's done wrong it can be a disaster.
I hope to see you at one of our events (rubicon.vc/our-events/) this fall!
With regards,
Andrew C. Romans
From the Inside Flap
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- Publication date : August 18, 2016
- Language : English
- Print length : 284 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1530088690
- ISBN-13 : 978-1530088690
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.71 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #989,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #223 in Venture Capital (Books)
- #4,736 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Andrew Romans is a successful, consistently top decile performing VC, VC-backed entrepreneur and 4x author, university professor, host of podcast Fireside with a VC, former tech VC and M&A investment banker, General Partner of 7BC Venture Capital and previously the founder and General Partner of Rubicon Venture Capital. He is the author of THE ENTREPRENEURIAL BIBLE TO VENTURE CAPITAL: Inside Secrets from the Leaders in the Startup Game, Masters of Corporate Venture Capital and Masters of Blockchain, which have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Russian by major publishers. Romans also advises large corporations and governments on policies about Venture Capital and Corporate Venture Capital (CVC). Romans raised over 48m dollars for tech startups he founded by the age of 28. Romans founded numerous startups and raised hundreds of millions of dollars in VC funding and led startups to exits. Romans was also a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital at Chapman University. In addition to teaching a class on VC & entrepreneurship at Chapman University one of California’s oldest universities, he has lectured on VC at Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University, UC San Diego, Georgetown University, London Business School, Imperial College London, University of Bologna, Moscow State University, Tsinghua University Beijing & Shanghai University. He is also a frequent guest speaker on MSNBC, CNBC, and ABC.
Fluent in English, French and German he holds a BA from the University of Vermont, studied in Paris and Berlin at École Active Bilingue (now École Jeannine Manuel), Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin and an MBA in finance from Georgetown University, which he completed on scholarship.
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I bookmarked almost every page and filled its columns with notes and ideas... great book
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2024must read for any corporate considering launching a CVC or startup considering raising from a CVC
- Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017I was ecstatic to have read Andrew's book for several reasons.
1. It may be the only recent book that focuses on corporate venture capital (CVC). Among the VC books, some are more suited for entrepreneurs, while others are for VCs. Among the books for VCs, Andrew's is very focused on CVC. CVC is different from independent VC, thus it's invaluable to read Andrew's book that addresses CVC issues. My search on Amazon has yet to yield another book quite like it.
2. It's very practical. Corporations are different from one another, therefore CVCs are different. How do you address the kind of "it depends" questions? Andrew's answer is through case studies. He interviews a large number of people seasoned in the field and, through their experiences, sheds light on the best practices. This approach makes the book very practical and very relevant for every reader's situation.
3. It's structured well. For the impatient readers, go to the conclusion chapter of the book. You will get a distilled summary of the chapters before. For the patient ones, the rest of the chapters offers more details and references to further explore even beyond this book. On the structure itself, first, the book talks about the goals of CVC, as crystallizing the thinking is key. Second, it talks about the entry strategies of a CVC, i.e., direct investment, accelerator and FoF. Third, it talks about best practices. After that, the book has more chapters for entrepreneurs working with CVCs, industry overview, etc.
This is a must-have book for people working in CVC. Thank you, Andrew, for bringing it to the world!
- Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2017Before I purchased this book, I was still fairly new to both VC & CVC. I needed a few good sources to get an understanding of how both work. This book was recommended to me as a source to take the first glimpse into CVC. It turned out to be an excellent insight. At the same time, I can see how this book can be used as a reference by well-established corporate executives who’re trying to decide whether to take the first step towards CVC or those looking for ways to help their existing CVC with further development.
The author took an impressive undertaking interviewing all these successful leaders and then organizing their interviews into a logical chain of chapters adding his own thoughts, explanations, and examples along the way. This book was a relatively easy read for me (a beginner). I’m confident it’ll be even easier to absorb by someone who’s more familiar with the subject.
I can see myself going back to this book a number of times in the future. This book was a good investment of both time and money.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2017Imagine sitting in a room with 51 people who have started and built the world's largest and most successful venture capital programs within corporations and listening to their advice. I read this book highlighting and taking notes of wisdom on almost ever single page. I stopped using bookmarks because everypage had a golden nugget about entrepreneurship, investing, growth, teams, partnerships, and leadership.
I build entrepreneur centers around Texas in partnership with cities, investment groups and corporations and this book helped me not only understand the investment world deeper but on the strategies for innovation and the ecosystem of buyers and sellers.
If you are an:
- entrepreneur - read this so you can build a product with an acquisition or strategic corporate partnership in mind
- investor - read this so you can learn to attract capital from corporations and work with them to fund your portfolio
- corporation - read this so you can learn from the successes and failures of other corporations who have grown through cvc.
Well done Andrew.
5.0 out of 5 starsImagine sitting in a room with 51 people who have started and built the world's largest and most successful venture capital programs within corporations and listening to their advice. I read this book highlighting and taking notes of wisdom on almost ever single page. I stopped using bookmarks because everypage had a golden nugget about entrepreneurship, investing, growth, teams, partnerships, and leadership.I bookmarked almost every page and filled its columns with notes and ideas... great book
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2017
I build entrepreneur centers around Texas in partnership with cities, investment groups and corporations and this book helped me not only understand the investment world deeper but on the strategies for innovation and the ecosystem of buyers and sellers.
If you are an:
- entrepreneur - read this so you can build a product with an acquisition or strategic corporate partnership in mind
- investor - read this so you can learn to attract capital from corporations and work with them to fund your portfolio
- corporation - read this so you can learn from the successes and failures of other corporations who have grown through cvc.
Well done Andrew.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2017Corporate Venture Capital now accounts for about one in five venture capital deals - and this number is climbing fast. The impact of Corporate Venture Capital in the VC landscape is now unmistakable and understanding the different and sometimes conflicting roles that CVCs play in a deal is critical for both the entrepreneurs in whom the CVCs are investing and the other VCs who are investing along-side them.
What I found in this book that I couldn't find anywhere else was a collection of the insights and observations from fifty VCs whose perspectives ran the full gamut from those investing primarily for financial returns vs. those looking for strategic investment leading to acquisition to move the needle on corporate innovation and growth. There are benefits and dangers involved in working with different VCs and this book provides the background investors and entrepreneurs need to be successful when engaging with this now huge sector of venture capital.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2016Mr. Romans has followed his first book with a "must have" volume for VCs, entrepreneurs and Corporate VCs (of course.) Unlike his first volume this is a book that, after the first couple of chapters, can be used as a reference volume for CVCs. Of course it has great stories and histories but its main value to me (I am a VC) is as a "Jungle Guide to Corporate VCs." Something you must have sitting on your shelf when the topic comes up during a funding cycle.
I learned quite a bit about CVCs I thought I knew well. It turns out knowing the principles isn't the same as knowing the mission and habits which can be a bit guarded when in a deal situation. Hats off to Mr. Romans again.
Top reviews from other countries
- Mathieu BReviewed in France on December 25, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars An exhaustive book about CVC
A must read to gather numerous insights from the industry
- John HaymanReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book To Read About Corporate Venture Capital
Real-life stories from real CVCs investing in real companies.
The good the bad and the ugly!
Andrew Romans and his extensive list of contributing CVCs provide insider tips, advice for getting the optimum win/win/win deal for your company and also the pitfalls to avoid.
This book is an absolute must to any founders looking at raising capital from CVCs.
John HaymanThe First Book To Read About Corporate Venture Capital
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2022
The good the bad and the ugly!
Andrew Romans and his extensive list of contributing CVCs provide insider tips, advice for getting the optimum win/win/win deal for your company and also the pitfalls to avoid.
This book is an absolute must to any founders looking at raising capital from CVCs.
Images in this review
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Vinicius ToyohashiReviewed in Brazil on December 3, 2020
2.0 out of 5 stars É fraco
Não é ruim, mas não é bom. O lado bom é que fala sobre muitas coisas que são valiosas sobre o desempenho do CVC, mas a maioria dos entrevistados não diz nada relevante. No geral é fraco.
- ChristopheReviewed in Germany on July 17, 2024
2.0 out of 5 stars High profile contributors but unstructured and without context
While the contributors are truly remarkable, the author poorly structured the case studies. Additionally, it quickly becomes evident that there are diverging opinions on key elements, such as financial and strategic targets. A synthesis of the options, along with guidance on when each would apply, would have been beneficial. Overall, I didn't gain much from the book.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading
This is well worth reading if you have interest in CVC. Less of the theory and full of valuable 'on the ground', real stories and examples of best (and not so great) practises from the field.