As Peter Higgs, professor of Edinburgh University, who predicted the existence of what is known officially as the Higgs boson and informally as the god particle in the 1960s, tearfully said at the confirmation of its discovery by the Cern nuclear physics centre: "I am astounded at the amazing speed with which these results have emerged.

"I never expected this to happen in my lifetime."

In this poignant piece of reportage by the Financial Times, the news provider summed up what an astonishing age of change and innovation we are living in.

From the most basic and absolute research into the nature of the universe to iterative and incremental improvements of ideas and existing products and services – what author Malcom Gladwell calls tweaking – the world around us is being remade.

This spawns an endless wave of opportunity. And corporate venturers are perhaps uniquely positioned to see these changes and shape them by their connections both to the entrepreneurers and researchers and to the larger businesses that have already shaped the past and have the resources to fund the future.

The question is, what future is to be made? Do the venturers’ visions soar as high as the entrepreneurs, or what are the factors holding them back?

As Peter Higgs, professor of Edinburgh University, who predicted the existence of what is known officially as the Higgs boson and informally as the god particle in the 1960s, tearfully said at the confirmation of its discovery by the Cern nuclear physics centre: “I am astounded at the amazing speed with which these results have emerged.

“I never expected this to happen in my lifetime.”

In this poignant piece of reportage by the Financial Times, the news provider summed up what an astonishing age of change and innovation we are living in.

From the most basic and absolute research into the nature of the universe to iterative and incremental improvements of ideas and existing products and services – what author Malcom Gladwell calls tweaking – the world around us is being remade.

This spawns an endless wave of opportunity. And corporate venturers are perhaps uniquely positioned to see these changes and shape them by their connections both to the entrepreneurers and researchers and to the larger businesses that have already shaped the past and have the resources to fund the future.

The question is, what future is to be made? Do the venturers’ visions soar as high as the entrepreneurs, or what are the factors holding them back?