A majority of the corporate investors we polled take LP positions in VC funds, in parallel with direct investing. It is a way to widen their scope.

It is hard to build an agile, innovative startup inside a big corporation. But not impossible. Setting boundaries and defining your terms carefully will help minimise the risk of failure.

Why more corporate venturing units are choosing a more independent legal footing for their funds.

Here’s how to do that smoothly.

Corporate investors have a more complicated role to navigate than financial VCs. But these 5 strategies can help smooth the job.

Investors either focus almost exclusively on investments where there was a commercial deal, or avoid any requirement at all.

The stability and strategic partnering power of corporate investors comes into its own in a downturn. But CVCs must make sure they are ready.

Only a small portion of CVCs have lasted longer than two decades. Here are their secrets to staying the course.

The oldest standing CVC in the world owes its staying power to discipline, adaptability and unwavering management support says Debi Watson.

There are five key factors that have helped the US oil and gas company's corporate investment unit keep going for 23 years.

Corporate investors rarely acquire the portfolio companies they invest in, but most will still negotiate special rights around an exit.

An overwhelming majority of respondents in our poll said they took board seats — mainly to influence and help the startups in their portfolio.

Companies that struggle with early corporate venturing efforts will often turn to CVC-as-a-service, says Bill Reichert of Pegasus Ventures.

Invest in a business development function — early. Be creative with funding and careful with how your strategic value is measured.