Presented by: Elliott Parker, CEO & Founder, Alloy Partners
Hosted by: Innov8rs

Your innovation budget keeps getting cut because you're funding it wrong. In this webinar, Elliott Parker breaks down why operating budgets kill transformative innovation and how to access balance sheet capital instead. You'll learn the frameworks Fortune 500 companies use to fund external ventures, speak CFO language, and build innovation that actually survives budget cycles.

Watch the Recording

Key Takeaways

• The funding mechanism determines innovation outcomes. OpEx funding forces quarterly thinking and incremental results. CapEx from the balance sheet enables patient capital for transformative bets.
• CFOs optimize for ROIC, not innovation. When they need to improve return on invested capital, cutting OpEx is the fastest lever. Your innovation budget is always first on the chopping block.
• Innovation drives enterprise value in three ways: revenue growth (long game), cost reduction (incremental), and multiple expansion (immediate leverage). Most teams ignore the third lever, but that's where you have the most control.
• External venture building unlocks "OPM" (other people's money). When you build ventures outside the corporation, third-party investors validate market opportunity and reduce the capital burden on your balance sheet.
• Match funding to innovation type. Core innovation (OpEx), Adjacent innovation (depends), Transformative innovation (CapEx). Mix them up and you kill the transformative work before it has a chance.

Download the Resources

Get the presentation slides and innovation funding framework.

Related Reading

Why Your Innovation Budget Is Doomed - Written synthesis of this webinar's key insights‍

What Is Corporate Venture Building? - Understanding the external venture building model‍

Why Innovation Stalls (and How to Reboot Your Strategy) - How to diagnose and fix stalled innovation efforts‍

The Illusion of Innovation - Why activity doesn't equal outcomes

‍