Our definition of a venture is a not as straight forward as it might seem. We chose to add the word “ventures” to our name, because it describes our business philosophy very well. A venture stands for more than just a company or a project.
According to Oxford Dictionary; A “venture” can be described as a risky or daring journey or undertaking. “Pioneering ventures into little-known waters”
We view a venture as an exciting challenging journey.
The term was not added to our name to emphasize that we invest in other companies (/startups), but because we treat our projects as ventures – in the most literal sense of the word. We approach each business concept and project as a long term journey in which we create new digital assets along the way.
The main objective of this journey is that we create sustainable and meaningful products that can be used within an organization or as a stand alone business unit. Some of these ventures might even have the potential to change or disrupt an industry. These projects we refer to as startups.
Much rather do we venture with our partners and clients to find the optimal way to run the business. In essence, each project we do is a venture in its own right. To make things even more confusing for everyone, we’ll refer to any project as a venture too. But we need to stress that the company/venture is not the thing that we are building when we speak about venture building.
We aim to create the infrastructure that allows us to redefine the company and project that we are working on continuously. Hence we venture our way from “venture” to “venture” across the lifetime of a project.
The business’ purpose
We believe that any business or business unit can be regarded as a stand alone venture. Whether the company has just been founded and is trying to make a name for itself, or the business has been running for decades, it all comes down to the business’ purpose. In essence, it does not matter whether it is a Startup or a Special Business Unit of a corporate business.
Each and every venture is a dynamic endeauvour
The business purpose is the simple and purest reason for the company’s or business unit’s existence. By focussing on the core company goals, we are able to isolate the technical basis from all that makes the company to what it is. Isolate the business case and purpose of the business unit from the white noise that surrounds it and focus on the core reason it exists.
This helps us take a bit of the daring out of the equation and focus on that what is good about the business.
Purpose vs Goals (Vision): Fashion Retailer Example
It is important that the goals of a company and the purpose of the venture are aligned. Yet they do not need to be the same.
For example: When the goal of a Fashion Retailer is to become the most influencial fashion retailer in Europe, it takes many aspects of the business to be aligned to reach this goal. The Retailer might have brick-mortar stores that fullfil the purpose of inspiring the customers, but also an online store which fullfils an entirely different purpose; namely to sell off the stock.
When evaluating and developing a (digital) strategy for both the brick mortar stores as well as the online store, we try to isolate both elements of the company as separate ventures. The longterm vision (and midterm goals) of both venture-parts must certainly be aligned, but they operate very differently. Hence, in our opinion it is not always useful to take operational management decisions centrally for both.
In daily operations, both venture parts strive best when they can focus on their core strengths. This means that online build their brand digital first and offline do the same. Eventhough they might sell the brands, maybe it would be most beneficial if inventory management and sourcing is done separately for both venture parts. Offline will know best what their customers would like to see, and how they would like to be treated – so let them do it their way. The same goes for online.
Venture gaps between online and offline
What is essential to the success of these ventures, is that they continue to communicate. As a facilitator, we aim to bridge the gap between online and offline, but let each party do what they do best. We have found out that by focussing on the core purpose of each business unit, companies work most efficiently.
At GANDT Ventures we treat each project and assignment as if it were our own venture. Our own journey with the client. Together with senior management we develop a longterm goal and vision. And after that, we try to create uniform projects and smaller venturepaths within the company, that can work autonomously. It is our role in this process to keep the longterm goals and vision aligned across all business units. However, we let the specialists do what they do best. We guide, challenge and execute when necessary.
Aligning venturegoals is essential to your longterm success. These endeavours can vary strongly in an ever more abundant competitive, omni-channel landscape. If you would like us to help you guide you along these endeavours, please do not hesitate to simply contact us to have a chat.
