TDK Ventures started with a minimal team size while it was proving itself and grew it when the portfolio needed more support.
When Nicolas Sauvage, president of TDK Ventures, set up the corporate venture capital subsidiary of TDK Corporation in 2019 his major consideration was keeping the team small.
“Minimising the size allows you to prove yourself with minimum costs.”
“Minimising the size allows you to prove yourself with minimum costs, while being responsive and helpful to entrepreneurs, even before you have a portfolio to speak of,” Sauvage says.
Sauvage estimated he would have about 50 startups to review a month. “I felt I needed two investment team members, at least one investment director, and one investment associate or, as it eventually turned out, two investment directors.”
He also believed a corporate venturing unit should have at least one person full time for the connections to the mother ship. “It could be the head of…
