Corporate Venturing Insider

Striking Investor Gold one Insight at a Time

Corporate Venturing Insider is a business podcast hosted by Nicolas Sauvage, with 128 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Nicolas Sauvage hosts Corporate Venturing Insider, a business show with 128 episodes published.

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  Episode #128

  How Investor Networks Become Useful to Founders with Lu Zhang from Fusion Fund

  Sep 29, 202624 minS2026

  What makes an investor’s network useful to a founder? Nicolas Sauvage speaks with Lu Zhang , founder of Fusion Fund, about building relationships around a startup’s actual needs. Lu explains how Fusion Fund’s CXO, Expert, and experienced-founder communities help the firm understand corporate priorities, connect founders with relevant advisers and potential customers, and share knowledge that gives members a reason to participate. They also discuss where corporate venture investors can help startups—and when a partnership may pull a founder away from their priorities. Recorded April 8, 2026.

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  Episode #127

  Growing the Pizza: Sriram Viswanathan on Building Ecosystems, Not Just Companies

  Aug 25, 202622 minS2026

  Recorded on July 24, 2026, this episode of Corporate Venturing Insider features Nicolas Sauvage in conversation with Sriram Viswanathan, Founding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital and an early member of Intel Capital. Sriram shares lessons from Andy Grove, Intel’s ecosystem-building strategy, and the “pizza” framework for strategic investing: capture more of an existing market, expand it, or create a new one. He also explains why superior technology alone rarely wins, why corporate venture capital is entering a golden age, and how the India Deep Tech Alliance aims to build the talent, capital, partnerships, and infrastructure needed for truly lasting innovation.

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  Episode #126

  Barbry McGann on Product-Led Corporate Venture and the Future of AI

  Jun 18, 202621 minS2026

  Filmed at the GCVI 2026 Summit in Monterey, Corporate Venturing Insider #126 features Nicolas Sauvage in conversation with Barbry McGann, co-head of Workday Ventures. Barbry shares how a career in enterprise software product leadership led her from PeopleSoft, Oracle, and Workday into corporate venture capital. She explains how product thinking shapes Workday Ventures’ investment strategy, why the team moved away from seed investing, and what she looks for in product-led founders. The episode also explores AI’s impact on enterprise software, market sensing inside corporations, and how Workday Ventures uses a provocative weekly newsletter to educate executives. Interviewed March 25th, 2026

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  Episode #125

  Ana Lopes of IBM Ventures on Translating Science, Supporting Founders, and Building the Next Chapter of Corporate Venture Capital

  Jun 3, 202621 minS2026

  Interviewed March 25th, 2026 at the GCV Monterey Summit In this episode of Corporate Venturing Insider, Nicolas Sauvage speaks with Ana Lopes of IBM Ventures about her journey from astrophysics and MIT tech transfer to startup building, GE Ventures, and IBM Ventures. Ana shares lessons on translating science from lab to market, why founders should start with the problem rather than the technology, and how corporate VCs can provide “capital plus” through customer access, strategic validation, and go-to-market support. They also discuss IBM Ventures’ focus on enterprise AI, hybrid cloud, and quantum computing, plus how CVC teams can bring market signals back to the mothership.

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  Episode #124

  Policy, Capital, and the Future of Innovation: NVCA’s Bobby Franklin on Why VCs and CVCs Must Work Together

  May 21, 202624 minS2026

  Bobby Franklin joins Nicolas Sauvage for a conversation on venture capital policy, the rise of corporate venture capital, AI regulation, and the future of innovation. They explore why exits matter, how Washington misunderstands startups, and why stronger alignment between VCs, CVCs, and policymakers is increasingly critical to sustaining entrepreneurship and technological leadership. Interviewed March 18th, 2026

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