EPISODE · Apr 6, 2022 · 34 MIN
Elisa Vlerich: 9.5 Ventures the VC for corporate venturing
from Scouting for Growth · host Sabine VdL
On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Elisa Vlerick, a partner at Ninepointfive Ventures, the Venture Capitalist dedicated to Corporate Venturing. Elisa loves removing syntax complexity from the proverbial crap, applying creativity and execution to everything she does. KEY TAKEAWAYS Corporate Venturing differs from traditional VC activity in that you have the power/leverage of a corporation to scale faster and gain what we call an unfair competitive advantage in the market. That really attracted me to Ninepointfive. Often, there’s a lot of resistance within companies to cannibalize their own business or start new ventures that are often very small. For billion-dollar companies, it’s hard to start something new that doesn't fully fit into the existing company. They also don’t always have the skills or the right people to implement a new business model, and there’s sometimes not the appetite because the new business would be so small compared to the main business, so it wouldn’t get the attention it deserves. We built the venture with the corporation because it aligns with the corporation's strategic interests. What we want to build together with them is a successful company with financial returns. If the strategic interests are not aligned with the financial objective we have, we’re usually not the right partner. The assumption is that tech-y people aren’t female. It’s like doctors, 20-30 years ago, 90% of doctors were male and 90% of nurses were female, nowadays it’s 50/50, if not more female doctors. I think it’s a matter of time, 1-20 years, and it will even out in our industry. It’s said women are more risk-averse or less daring – and maybe there’s something in that – but once this idea that it’s really challenging and daring to start a startup is gone, I don’t see a reason why this wouldn’t go up to 50/50. BEST MOMENTS ‘Our team is very interesting because we come from different angles and that makes our decision-making and investment processes more interesting and, hopefully, better.’ ‘Taking the whole activity outside the corporate, with our knowledge of building startups, fuelled by the resources from the corporate, makes a startup better placed in the market than a regular startup.’ ‘The key to our success is finding the right people to make it happen. You can have a great financial plan, but it needs to happen, and it can only happen if the team is there.’ ‘Surround yourself with people that are better than you and will dare to go against the tide, or criticise the prevailing opinion, they’re going to make better decisions.’ ABOUT THE GUEST When complexity threatens to get the upper hand, Elisa picks up her pen. With that pen, she cuts through the proverbial crap and to the bone. Elisa is resolute in her belief that strong business ideas can only prosper when ambiguity and prejudice are left at the door. When things are clear, creativity can flourish. From there onward, she’ll tell you: “le bonheur est dans l’action”. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]
What this episode covers
The biggest threat to corporate innovation isn’t competition. It’s internal resistance. In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with Elisa Vlerick, Partner at Ninepointfive Ventures, about why corporate venturing works best when it is structurally separated from the corporate itself. Corporate venturing differs fundamentally from traditional VC. With corporate backing, startups can gain what Elisa calls an “unfair competitive advantage” — access to distribution, data, expertise, and capital that independent startups rarely enjoy. But there’s a catch. Inside billion-dollar companies, new ventures often struggle for oxygen. They are too small to matter financially. They may cannibalize existing revenue streams. They require different skill sets and faster decision cycles. And sometimes, there simply isn’t the appetite to nurture something that challenges the status quo. Ninepointfive’s model addresses this tension directly: build the venture outside the corporate, but with its strategic fuel. Alignment is critical. If financial returns and strategic objectives diverge, the partnership fractures. Corporate venturing cannot be a vanity exercise. It must deliver both measurable returns and strategic advantage. Execution, however, remains the hardest part. You can build the perfect business case. But without the right team, nothing happens. Elisa emphasizes that talent determines trajectory. Diverse teams, cross-functional thinking, and people willing to challenge consensus create stronger decisions. Her philosophy is simple: surround yourself with people who are better than you — and who dare to disagree. The conversation also touches on gender dynamics in tech and venture. While female representation remains uneven, Elisa believes normalization and time will shift the balance. As entrepreneurship becomes less mythologized as heroic risk-taking and more understood as structured execution, barriers will continue to fall. This episode is essential listening for: Corporate executives designing venture strategies Innovation leaders navigating internal resistance Investors evaluating hybrid strategic-financial models Founders partnering with corporates Because corporate venturing is not about funding ideas. It is about removing friction, aligning incentives, and executing relentlessly. Clarity first. Action second. And as Elisa puts it: happiness lives in action.
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Elisa Vlerich: 9.5 Ventures the VC for corporate venturing
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