How can a global energy company drive rapid change and meaningful innovation in an industry renowned for its complexity and inertia? In this episode of Advantaged, hosts Drew Beechler and Elliott Parker sit down with Téma Benhalima-Bouville, Global Innovation Managing Director at ENGIE, to unpack the company’s structured approach to venture building, de-risking experiments, and enabling new market growth through ENGIE’s venture studio.
Guests
- Téma Benhalima-Bouville – Global Innovation Managing Director, ENGIE (LinkedIn)
- Elliott Parker – CEO, Alloy Partners (LinkedIn)
- Drew Beechler – VP, Marketing, Alloy Partners (LinkedIn)
Key Takeaways
- Structured Agility: ENGIE’s innovation model leverages multiple paths—corporate venture capital, open innovation, internal incubation, and a dedicated venture studio—to match solutions to market needs and operate at different speeds and scales.
- Geography as Strategy: Locating the venture studio in Singapore creates both practical distance from headquarters and proximity to emerging markets, enabling fast decisions and sharper business model experiments.
- Entrepreneurship Over Hierarchy: By spinning out ventures and recruiting external founders, ENGIE sidesteps the inertia and misaligned incentives that can hold back innovation within large corporations.
- Focus on Impact: Success is defined not just by direct returns, but by strategic benefits—like unlocking new markets, developing local ecosystems, and accelerating decarbonization in regions like APAC.
- Courage to Stop: Routine portfolio review and a willingness to quickly cut ventures that no longer align with strategy are crucial for maintaining venture studio effectiveness.
Listen to the Episode
For more insights on corporate venture building, visit Alloy Partners and check out past episodes of Advantaged. Explore ENGIE’s impact and ventures at ENGIE Factory and engie.com.
Transcript
Below is the raw transcript from the episode recording. Please note typos and errors will be present.
Drew Beechler: Welcome everyone to Advantaged and Alloy Partners podcast. My
name is Drew Bechler. I'm our VP of marketing here at Alloy Partners and your co-host today of Advantaged alongside Elliot Parker, our CEO alloy Partners. If you're unfamiliar, we are a venture builder. We partner with leading organizations and entrepreneurs to co-create advantage startups and venture studios that
unlock growth and transformation for organizations.
On the podcast, we interview corporate innovators,
founders and investors all around venture building and startup corporate partnerships, telling the stories of how corporates and startups win together. And so today we have myself our CEO Elliot Parker and a very special guest, Téma Benhalima-Bouville the Global Innovation Managing Director at ENGIE. And ENGIE is a global energy company focused on accelerating the transition to a carbon neutral economy, headquartered in Paris, but have almost a hundred thousand employees across the globe in 30 different countries.
Really covering the entire kind of energy value chain. And so thank you so much Tema, for joining us today. I am so excited about our conversation.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Thanks for having me. Indeed. It's a large
corporation
and how did I ended up
here? Actually, I have a PhD in
physics and a
master degree in strategy and marketing, And, I have navigated different industries in different
sectors. I think the connection was always innovation. To different
shapes, first tech, and then how to diversify and how to differentiate on a market and how.
to build up an innovation strategy
that that brings a different positioning for for the corporations
and I.
Had also, I had different positions in the group and always through business transformation strategy and
to end up as heading the innovation
globally.
This is how I ended up here.
Drew Beechler: maybe a curve ball, but I knew you had a PhD. I did not know as a PhD in physics, which I find very fascinating. What was the transition from physics into the business world And, kind of business leadership and executive kind of role? How did that happen specifically?
And is there a way where physics still makes its way into your day job today? I'm curious
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: actually. It was always
very or highly technical or tech driven companies and industries I worked for.
worked for.
So first in the paper industry, manufacturing very specific papers for security, papers for,
For packaging, so highly technical papers.
And then
startup in the area of a plasma,
atmospheric plasma. And then,
I went through, consulting, strategic consulting for five years or so, and it was always connected
to or related to industrial, highly technical industries. So it was a PhD in physics in low temperature metrology, which doesn't really
interest that much of people. across the world.
But
You're a scientific and you can be a generalist at the end,
And you can address different situation and different industries as soon as there's some physics in there.
So it's always about measuring something and qualifying something and
Dealing with
A highly.
Complex issue in different areas. And I think the PhD or the way of thinking or the mindset that you that, that helps you have a PhD. I think it's really,
how can I say?
it structures your mind in a way that you can deal
with whatever
issue you have to solve or problem you have to
solve.
Drew Beechler: You were now the, I think the second or third person with the PhD in physics actually, that we've talked to on the podcast, which is a ton of fun. Wow. So
I think there's just a unique Yeah. Connection to how you see the world, I think and startups and thinking differently and kind of innovation from that perspective too.
Very much down to first principles, of how do we operate, how do we think about solving this problem? shifting into ENGIE a little bit, tell us more about your role specifically today at ENGIE and how you define, what is the, strategic vision for innovation at ENGIE?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: innovation with an ENGIE blends different levers. It cannot be only one lever, only one tool, because the group is
diverse because the group serves different verticals. There are, they were four and now we are going through three, but nevertheless, there are
completely different from each other. So we have networks, we have renewable assets, and we have trading and sales. So Each of these
verticals has its own market. Serves very specific markets, very specific needs, very specific timelines.
Having only one lever that serves all the
vertical, one size fits all. It's not possible because some of the verticals are really
focused on improving the operational excellence.
So they will be very interested in having or finding a solution,
a very specific solution to one specific problem to improve their,
Production
electrical production,
for instance. You cannot serve something that requires to be tested, even if it's for a short
period of time, They are seeking a solution. It
has to be operational And effective immediately. So this led us
to have, of course there's a CB, C. Of course there is an arm that invest in some strategic ventures. So we are not, we are really, a, we have a, A, C, B, C, like we are not a vc. if the startup is looking only for money, they don't have to come and see us.
There are VCs for this, but if there are. seeking to penetrate the energy market to have access to certain markets, then we can be the strategic partner to have around the table.
So the CBC doesn't
cover everything because we don't invest in all the startups we work
with. So we have another lever, which is the open innovation arm. And you know how it works. So it's
mostly venture clienting or, pOCs here and there based on the need of the global business unit. And then there is the internal innovation where we accelerate the access or the go to market of some of our new offerings. And there are internal new business models that we.
developed with the global business unit.
And we have also a venture studio in the area of Singapore that really build startups like early stage startups and bring them to a
level where they can either grow outside of the group or have a jv or it depends on, on, on
the situations. And from,
The level that we use levers that are selected depending on the need. need On the area and on the timeline that we are constrained with. If it's very short term, we will seek the solution elsewhere. If there's something that needs to be shaped internally, we do it internally.
And if it's something
that occurs in the area of middle East or apac. in that case, we will rely on the Venture Studio because we consider that there, maybe the ecosystem is
less mature than the the European one or the, American one.
So we usually,
or most of the time, we have to create something, so
to allow the access to a certain market for the
gbu.
Elliott Parker: and tema does all that activity report up to
the same person at the C-suite? And who is that in ENGIE?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: there is an EVP who covers the strategy, digital and
research and
innovation And innovation is part of the division where we are more than
600 people. So there's an only one EVP who covers the whole thing. But I think that the beauty or what makes it work is that
it doesn't have to. go up to. The EVP, otherwise, you are completely, I'm gonna say, slowed down somehow because the, decision making process can be very long.
So it works because we
are able to make decisions very quickly locally with the business because it serves the business and for us it's really important not, of course, having the, the sponsorship on our side, on the
the research and innovation side, it's really important, but more, more importantly, we need to have when we must have the sponsorship from the business
side, this is what really makes it work.
Drew Beechler: Yeah. Most of the challenges, ideas coming from the business units, from the businesses versus like within kind of, your team or what kind of balance would you say there? the Challenges or problems that you're working on or coming from?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Let's, yeah, let's say 80% of what we do.
Initially comes from a need or an issue, an expressed need. Or an expressed issue because we come from an era where the team before I
I took
over, they considered they, they knew better. knew better.
They were able to identify the key topics for the business because they knew where are the trends, where are the the new strategic areas,
which.
Might be true, but it has to be connected to one of the business lines.
Otherwise, it's useless. Nobody will use it. Nobody will scale it. Nobody will bring it to the market, really, because we have to keep in
mind that as an innovation team, we don't really have
directly access to the market. we are not here to develop the business as the business developers That are within the
global business units. We work, we are the second line. We work with them. We help them move faster. help them bring new growth or new areas of growth, but we don't do
it. Our ourselves. We don't discuss with clients unless we do it with them. So it's very complicated to know better than people that are really connected to the market. That we are working on the product or this service that the client will be needing tomorrow or after tomorrow.
Elliott Parker: Tema, that's a, that
sometimes makes innovation really hard
inside of large organizations. And somehow you've solved it because I know your team
has invested in or built very innovative new ventures.
And when we
see corporations where innovation starts with
a sponsorship within a business unit, often what happens is the innovation is then constrained. It looks a lot like the existing business unit or it's hard to think
outside of our existing business somehow. You all have done that. What have you fi figured out that other corporations don't know?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: First of all we tried we ex, we
already explained that we won't be doing what their
team usually or the proper work of the business. We are not here
to be an additional member of the global
business unit team, but We have to be seen.
as an additional capability that can explore, test and de-risk areas that they don't know how to approach or to, I don't know, to test and Of course
It's the case for the Venture Studio, but it's also the case for the new business models we can
test without engaging the responsibility and the brand. So without having taken any risk in terms of reputation and in terms of negative impact, if it doesn't work, for instance,
for the group. So we test it in as we were in a lab, but we aren't in a lab. We are on the marketplace. We tested with people, with real
people. We run some,
User research. We discuss with
people and we have this business traction. Whether
it makes sense for the market to have
such a solution or to have such a functionality or not.
If not, then we will
go back to the global business unit and we say there's no market in there, there's
no
market traction, so please, your use, your time and our
time to do something else. So we tested very fast. We spare the business. Long test, long period of should I go? Should I not go?
And we come back with a clear answer or clear result, whether it's
really a good idea because
there
is a confirmed business traction.
or
there, is no
business traction or
clear business traction.
So either it's too soon or
not relevant or useless, but we try to bring the
proof, why does it
work or not work? This is what brings
Let's say something different to the business. Because we are able to move
fast, we have let's say we are more agile than the whole business unit
and we are able to execute
very quickly because we
try to do it very small in a very limited area and
to, Derisk because as the result, the short term result is really interesting or really important, and it shouldn't be
jeopardized by any risk or any Two bold move. So we take the, this kind of,
Of moves. We try to do both things in a very limited space and limited time. and, we come up with the answer and we or with the solution, and this is how it works and this is
why it works.
Elliott Parker: We tell our corporate partners all the time, the trick to making
innovation work really well is you've gotta set up a
structure to, And a system of governance and incentives that enables the organization to go
pursue
fast, cheap,
And weird experiments.
Absolutely. And it's exactly what you figured out how to do.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Exactly, and it was the result of so many constraints because it was either I don't have the, budget or I don't have the, teams, or I don't
have the, let's say a clear yes or a clear no, a clear decision making from the, business.
So I had the me to try very fast some things that are supposed to answer or address the issue. And once we come up with or come back with this a
trailer that it can work and potentially it can bring the answer, then we prove that it worth trying.
Drew Beechler: Just given the nature of our business and kind of focus around venture building and venture studios and the background there.
I'd love to, to dig in a little more around ENGIE factory the Venture Studio. just, let's start at the beginning. What's inspired the creation of ENGIE factory and even, I'm very curious to hear the keys to getting organizational and executive buy-in to start ENGIE factory as well.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: It was in 2019 and it was, by then, we were still organized into geographical.
Set up. So it was the factory was created within the APAC business unit. And why did they Created this um, team? because they realized
that There there were so many pieces missing or missing
pieces within the, market.
So to address the market, they had to, fill these gaps before addressing the market. For instance, one of the first ventures
that have been that has been built was ev dots in the, electrical vehicles area. So basically there were no infrastructure to accelerate this, electrification actually by then, Singapore was. Catching up with the European
market because the, European market was ahead on this
area. So it was clear for the team there to come up with an interesting or an inventive business model, which was
connecting with one of the off-takers.
the, Offtaker was the
taxi fleet of Singapore, which is one of the largest in the area of apac. So by investing
in the infrastructure,
they, and connecting with the offtaker, They secure the,
offtake. Otherwise, if you have the infrastructure and no offtaker, you will
end up having. Invest in a lot of money
without
having a payback. So by
having this business model,
it was the first stone for this market to to kick off, And it helped the business to
sell this to of course to,
be part of the, tenders and to justify that we are
a serious player on the marketplace in Singapore, and we should be considered as an energy supplier because also we have the ability to connect with with, off-takers. And we are already proving that we helped to dynamize this market So
The startup.
Was immediately, let's say, not integrated, but they were JV between EV dots and, the group and an integrate, a soft integration of ev Vdot. So to secure this business and to
secure our positioning on this EV market in Singapore. So it was the first stone that if we
didn't create this
venture, ev
dot, Probably the market wouldn't have taken off and probably we wouldn't be considered as an energy supplier for the electrification of all the mobility in Singapore.
Drew Beechler: how did that process go of pitching it to the group getting approval and buy-in and what did everyone see that gave them the thumbs up to do this?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: At first it was within the bu so it was easy.
It was the person in charge of the BU who decided to create this team because it was easy to create something small. So to secure a market, to the market,
and then to give the accessibility for the, business. And then once we went through the huge transformation by moving from 24 bus to four global business
unit.
And by then it was also a question
to, ask Ourselves, what should we do with this team? Because it's there, it's basically an innovation tool, and it shouldn't be connected to a local entity which won't have the means to grow, have the means to invest in
this area. So it has been
connected to the
research and innovation global and central organization.
And it was for us by then, it was really clear that this successful tool should be replicated everywhere where we work because. It definitely helps the business to grow even faster because it opens doors, it opens
markets, and it, it's really beyond enabling anything, It makes it happen.
It makes the markets happen.
Elliott Parker: Can you talk
about that a little bit more? one of the things that we see in venture
building corporations, it's not
intuitive that corporations should build ventures, certainly ventures that might be outside the
corporation and involve other
investors entrepreneurs with a significant equity stake in the business And so on.
And one of the
things that we see in that
activity when successful is that there are certainly direct returns from the investment in the startups in terms of financial
returns that come
back and enable the organization perhaps to go invest in more innovation. More important is that the indirect returns that
come. Strategic benefit, the lessons
that come back to the core, the, new markets that get opened.
I always think it's much easier to move a large organization from 10 billion in revenue to 11
billion than it is to build a startup that goes from zero to 1 billion. But by building those
startups,
the organization
can grow faster.
It learns faster. Absolutely.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely. And are,
Elliott Parker: can
you think of specific examples in the
portfolio of
all the,
companies you've built
that maybe a story about how a venture you built really,
did open doors or
produce those indirect Absolutely. Returns.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely. A recent example is Virta Let me start from the
need. In the Philippines Industry is going through the
same urgency to decarbonize
its facility and its production line. So
most of the
industries in
Philippine are still
coil fired.
So we have those steamers, we have those burners, but they're still not really
green.
The alternative, when we look at the European market or other markets, the
alternative that requires minimum investment is to change
to uh, biomass.
But when we look at the
The Philippines, there is no biomass in there.
So for, the, GBU that is connected to these industries, it was clear
that they need they need to
propose a greener solution. So
boilers with
biomass
and for the industry,
they should use the same boiler with another
fee stock. But if you don't have biomass, How can it be possible? This is exactly
the question that the business developers asked us. us. So here comes the idea of using the chicken manure
as a raw material for this new biomass.
Today, I don't remember the figures. And they're growing.
These are really amazing figures that in terms of production, they are
talking about tons of of biomass coming
from. So they started very small, like using some glasses and to test the chemistry.
So
to have the right chemistry to go into the boiler
Without destroying the boiler because pH should be below or above a certain level. I don't
remember
exactly the chemistry, but they tested everything in a very. Small lab. The pictures are really funny and it worked and they invested in a production line and now they are producing tons and they
are
supplying different
industries.
So to allow the
business.
to supply an energy like a boiler. So to be able to have a greener solution. So this investing in chicken manure is not our business.
It's not ENGIE's business. So this is why it had to be another player.
To do
it in this landscape in the Philippines. There is no other player who
could have supplied this. So we created a venture and it works. And tomorrow it will be scale, probably beyond the Philippine to toward other countries in probably around or maybe elsewhere.
I don't know.
So this is one of the examples. we come from this. First
necessity
to
supply something to the client, and then there is a missing piece. So how can we fill the gap
and we can fill the gap with a venture.
Elliott Parker: That's amazing. To think we might have AI powered by chicken manure here soon is the
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely, absolutely.
It's so funny and even the commercials are funny. So
It's really nice. It's a very nice story that I really loved
telling.
Elliott Parker: isn't that the the heart of entrepreneurship, whether It's done with a corporation or independently, is taking things that other people overlook? Absolutely. Including waste and turning it into something valuable.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely. Of course you have to find the right people. These entrepreneurs that we hired are really are really moved and driven by this story and how to make
it grow and how to make it
successful. It's not an ENGIE employee because we tried that in the past and it didn't really work because there, there was no hunger. You're an
employee, it works. You have the mindset of a large corporation. It
cannot work. It works because it's a venture, because it's a startup.
It doesn't work
because it's a a large corporation, it works because you're agile.
You can test a lot of things. You can do it yourself. You can connect with different people. You are not engaging in the responsibility of a large group. You
don't
need a hundred And a hundred of signatures of validations. It's your business, your baby business, deal with it. And then when it works, the large corporation will be more than happy to work with you.
So I think it's one of the key ingredients.
Drew Beechler: Yeah. Talent is so important and the like, aligned incentives. We talk about that a lot Elliot and I and our team around how, the incentives for an external entrepreneur, running this company versus someone inside the company, you cannot align them to the same degree in the governance and incentive alignment is such, such an important factor.
one other thing I just wanted to re-highlight. You mentioned it, but it's just so interesting or important to me. You talked
about when you're launching these new businesses And you're able to experiment so quickly too. You have this ability to experiment without the reputational brand risk that also causes them to go So
much faster.
and and I feel like this is probably just a great kind of case in point too, where now the company can thrive and figure out their own way, sink or swim without any kind of potential brand reputational or risk, but then also getting to reap in all the upside as well.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely. And there is.
no competition.
It's totally complimentary. and of course if it's, if there. is. Some
friction, it has to be sold
from the beginning.
because as an investor and as a board member, we are not allowed to kill. the Venture. We are not allowed to slow down the growth of the venture.
So
it has to be, from the beginning
if there is any risk Either we withdraw or we specify the areas where, okay, this is A tricky area and then we shouldn't be there. or the startup shouldn't be there. Everything should be sold and should be discussed from the beginning.
Drew Beechler: could you share a little about how does the Venture Studio model differ from some of the other, I'll call them traditional, but traditional innovation levers that you have, and how, how you think about such strategic alignment back to the core business and things and how that shows up.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: I think the whole innovation team, including the Venture Studio. I think what the key difference is
the startup mindset. All of us within this small team, we think
like a startup, we try to bring
this
agility component that a large corporation lacks. In the case of the Venture Studio, of course, it's even more visible because it's a legal entity.
It's
far from the headquarter, and it's governed with a board. so it's very similar to the ecosystem where they
evolve every day. I think it's because there
is a startup an entrepreneur mindset that drive this team and all the works that is carried out, the pace and, the momentum are key.
So they behave as a
startup. They are lean as a startup, they are inventive like Founders. So venture builders are really wired
like any other
entrepreneur that is external to the group.
So I think this is when I compare our team, The whole innovation team to other
innovation teams,
the
similarities with
corporations that really delivers,
it's because they behave as a startup.
a startup.
Drew Beechler: You very briefly mentioned this, but the studio is based in Singapore, focused on apac. Share maybe a little more or dig into a little bit deeper the value that has brought of it being slightly disconnected even geographically from the core headquarters and business.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: As I said before, first we tried to replicate the model in Europe. It was a total failure,
not because not because we weren't as. Successful as, or as skilled as the people in Singapore, as the team in Singapore, but only it's because
the decision making process was so long. Going through layers and layers and layers within the. The GPUs, it was first exhausting. And at the end, once you identify the white space, if it make, if it takes you eight months to have a go or no go then okay go do something
else because it's too
late. I think by being in this area they work closely with the businesses there are. In
Singapore, in the Philippine,
in Malaysia, and
also in the Middle East. And
there
the management structure and the governance is very flat. So the CEO is in charge, has a connection with the business has a connection with the business
developers. So he knows every day or like in a
very, regular
basis, what happens? What are the, issues on the marketplace, and where are the struggles of the clients?
So the decision making can be very fast. And the issues that the team, in Singapore is tackling are the issues that are the CEO issues or the country manager issue.
Once you have this connection, you work with people on the field with the business developers and you know that the country manager will follow and will be a strong sponsor.
It works. And this is why it's very
successful there Then compared to Europe, for instance, We are close to headquarter, So of course the decision making is much
more complex.
Drew Beechler: you have such a breadth of
experience,
Particularly within the energy industry, and so I'm curious just some of your thoughts around just trends in areas,
particularly in renewables and an energy that excite you the most. At this particular moment in time,
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: decarb and
energy transition are at the heart of what we are doing every day, so I
think it cannot be one
specific. Technology or one specific
innovation in a very specific field. I think it's a blend of many things, short term, but also longer term. And this is why we
have labs and researchers, engineers working on different topics. So I think today, of course.
Green electricity is a key topic,
but
flexibility And affordability is, are also two
key topics. So
working on new business.
models can be a key to solve
this, how make it affordable. Of course the technology for the storage can be key, but the way we combine all the assets with.
Some of, in of of the AI or some digital solution also can
be a key. And of course green. Gases are also important, so we work on how to make it. more efficient. How
to find feed stocks. This is what we work on with the network global business unit to help them find new business models to
solve some of the issues of, how to make the, how to secure the feedstocks because the, it's the riskiest part when you
build a new plant for a tane, for instance. So for me, there is not one
area. I think we should be exploring different areas depending on, of course, from one country to another, we don't have the same
mix.
And depending on where the country stands. This is where we can help the business to move faster and to grow.
So for me, it, we should be connected to the strategy and to what is really important as a, as a priority of of of the business.
Elliott Parker: I'd love to know a little bit more about the role of the studio in that APAC ecosystem and specifically the role of other investors coming into this companies. A lot of corporations look at venture building as an activity.
They might understand venture building can be a good thing to do.
But won't go as far as we're gonna create these as external ventures meant to attract outside venture capital investors alongside us. Can you tell, just tell us a little bit more about the thinking. Why did you decide in the studio to open up these ventures to outside investors?
If that, that implies certain considerations about the cap tables and the setup and the incentive systems and so on. Why did you decide to build these in a way that they might attract outside investment capital? And what have you learned in that process?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: First of all, it's because for the group, I think it was really
out of question to be the only investor around the table And to own it
100%. It wouldn't,
I think it it wasn't an option. It wasn't an option by then, and
it's not an
option today.
We remain at the end, we remain as.
Minority, kind of 10,
15% of of shares only,
At the
end sometimes maybe less.
So we built a. I can be seen as I'm bragging or showing off, but it's
a very successful story we
have there, and I'm very proud of what we
did, what we achieved, And we have a very highly skilled team, brilliant
people, and a very interesting portfolio today, Today the, the, the Singaporean government considers this factory as an example. So each time they discuss with
a corporation
that.
Is thinking
about having its venture
studio locally. They bring them to the studio. They show them the people, what we did what we've done. And also because EDB.
Which is the the investment arm of the Singaporean
government, They invested and they, helped the
venture studio from the beginning because
it
fostered the entrepreneurship ecosystem locally.
And today, for instance when there is a call for application for a founder, we have more than
600 applicants, which
is Amazing. So I
think because the ecosystem is really dynamic in there, of course, having different investors around the, table brings the the venture, a possibility to grow through one area or another gives them the mean to access certain markets. For instance, Australia for one of the ventures, we weren't in Australia. So one of the investors is based in Australia.
And of course it's always
always A key question. Should I open the capital and have some other investors,
or of course you have to select them. Of course, we need to run some due diligence. Of course, it requires a lot of work, but I think it's necessary.
And For first answer, And the, simple as answer is for the group, it was out of question, to remain the only investor.
Elliott Parker: It's a great form of validation, isn't
it?
It's one of the
least used but most
important innovation Absolutely. Metrics extent, which outside investors wanna, to wanna
put money into the things you're building. So it is a,
It's a, it's testament to the
quality of the ventures coming outta that other
people
are investing. But how 10 to 15%. That for me
that, makes
all kinds of
sense because
it helps that venture retain both strategic and
financial optionality.
In the end.
NG wants to learn from these new ventures, and so by
owning 10 to 15%, you're more likely to
learn than
if
you own 80 to 90% Because 80 to 90% it's going to
look
a lot like the core business
How did you convince executives to go along with 10 to
15%? Because that's the biggest hurdle, isn't it?
Most
executives say we're coming up with the idea we're putting In the capital. we should, if not own a hundred percent, we should at least control the majority.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: I think it's only because it's on an adjacent market. It's not the core business because they're not interested in
having the Chicken manure business production. It's not our business, but is really interesting for the business is the core business itself. it has to serve the core business. of
course, if it was on the core business. In that case, there should be
Discussion,
Elliott Parker: that makes sense. Yeah. It's we often think
about the contrast between strategically critical or strategically interesting. And in
the cases of things that are strategically interesting.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely. A minority
Elliott Parker: ownership stake is
actually preferable for many reasons.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely. great.
Elliott Parker: Let me ask you one more question about the factory In Singapore. We should have asked this
earlier. How many ventures
have you built so far?
How big is the, was the team at the P or how big is the team currently?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: The size of the team has always been around eight people. Seven to eight people.
Elliott Parker: That's great. And with a team of eight
people, you've built a number of ventures in a short amount of
time, right?
Yes. How many ventures?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Maybe 20, but today we have 10. That are still In the, portfolio.
Some of
them should be reaching Series A by the end of next year.
Elliott Parker: Yeah. That's remarkable. And How long
is that
Is 20 ventures built over what time period?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: it's really started after COVID, ID. because it has been
created in 2019. In 2019 they were mostly focused on venture clienting, and they started the venture building per se,
in 2020. And there was the, hit of the COVID and relaunch
2021.
Elliott Parker: Yeah. That's amazing. with it. It really
is. And to your credit I know you, you don't wanna brag too
much, but you have every right to because building, building 20 ventures in that amount of time with a team of eight people, it's just such a different pace than what a corporation typically does. And I think it just speaks to the importance of setting these things
at a distance
from the corporation. I think geographic helps, but certainly in terms of governance,
funding, incentives,
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: the team,
the
local team is
really amazing. They are really brilliant.
Elliott Parker: Yeah. I know a lot of corporations
that
they
may spend three years debating the merits of launching a single venture, let alone launching 20 in four or five years.
It's incredible.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Yeah, what I was about to say
is also the process to kill it.
very
early to
make clear decision when the venture isn't
fitting anymore. The, either the purpose or the strategy because there was
a
pivot in our strategy.
So it's no
longer aligned. And in that case, we revisit the, portfolio and
We wonder whether it's a good idea to keep it or to shut it down or, and I think it's really important to have this this habit it's not because you put money in it in the beginning that it's worth
keeping The money coming all the time or invested all the time. We have to question ourselves because of course the group has moved, has changed several
times. and when the Venture Studio
has been created. It was by then we were really
service oriented and then we were so asset light mostly.
And then we
changed. In 2021, there was a huge
shift through asset based mostly. So all the ventures that were really
Connected to facility management or this area. They were no longer welcome in the portfolio. So we had
to stop them and to, end the adventure. I think it's really important to have this this Courage somehow to admit that there was a
change in the strategy or there was a change in, I don't know, in a market or the venture didn't deliver what it was supposed to deliver.
And in a case we stop it
hard.
Elliott Parker: Yeah. And sometimes those are the best lessons, right? It's the organization is still learning even
though the venture on its on the
surfacely didn't succeed.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Absolutely.
Elliott Parker: Yeah. my last
question, Tema for, for listeners to the
podcast who may be working inside of corporations, either on an innovation team or in many cases, business, unit leaders or C-suite people who have recently been given the responsibility
for innovation, what's the one piece of advice you'd give them?
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: never give up. Never give up. Keep trying and never give up.
Do not be stubborn. This is what, not what, I meant, but there's always a way to, to do things differently.
And this is what
works. Because if you are trying to do it the same way as anybody else in the business,
It won't work.
But I think 1, key, success factor is the sponsorship from above or from the business because it's key. the way I see things, and this is my personal belief. I have to serve a need.
It's not a nice to have. There is a need. There is an actual need that cannot be Solved or fulfilled with a regular.
Way of doing things within the corporation,
and we're not genius. We just try to do things in a different way
and this is what brings the value either cheaper or in a different way of making money in a different way to, let's disturb the business models or
because we are able to build something from scratch that covers some area and that helps the accessibility to or the access to this market Or connect with the right ecosystem where you can find the startups or the players that can help you because we cannot do everything on our own.
Be surrounded with other people
and secure your internal stakeholders because. It's, most of the time it's the harder thing to you to have.
Drew Beechler: I just wanna thank you again for joining us. This
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Thank you.
Drew Beechler: conversation and
I took so much away from it. So thank you for joining us.
Téma Benhalima-Bouville: Thank you.
Thank you.
