Venture Clienting as an Innovation Capability in Swiss Banking

Topic
Swiss banks face growing pressure to innovate quickly, without compromising stability or navigating the complexities of equity-based startup investment. Venture Clienting offers a compelling alternative. Unlike traditional venture capital or accelerator programs, VC enables corporations to become early customers of startups, adopting their solutions through procurement rather than investment. This thesis explores how Swiss banks can use Venture Clienting to source innovation, overcome internal barriers, and institutionalize startup collaboration.

Relevance
In a highly regulated and risk-averse sector like banking, traditional innovation models often fall short. Venture Clienting allows banks to test cutting-edge solutions from startups with minimal financial risk and faster implementation timelines. As financial institutions rethink their innovation strategies, Venture Clienting offers a pragmatic, scalable, and industry-adaptable approach. For practitioners, it provides a structured way to access external technologies while remaining compliant and operationally stable.

Results
Based on expert interviews across banking and other industries, the research identifies six key enablers for effective Venture Clienting: strategic anchoring, organizational culture, buy-in, resources, a structured process, and performance measurement. Together, these elements form the Venture Clienting Capability Model - a blueprint for Swiss banks to turn Venture Clienting into a repeatable, results-oriented innovation engine.

Implications for practitioners
·  Treat Venture Clienting as a long-term capability, not a trendy side project
·  Align startup pilots with strategic priorities to ensure relevance and funding
· Build cross-functional support (especially from legal, compliance, and IT early on)
·  Invest in dedicated teams and tools for consistent startup collaboration
· Co-create KPIs with business units to measure both impact and efficiency

Methods
The thesis used a qualitative, exploratory research design, applying the Gioia Methodology to analyze expert interviews with practitioners from across different industries. This grounded approach enabled the identification of thematic insights rooted in real-world practices. Participants included Venture Clients, Venture Client Unit leads, and consultants with hands-on experience implementing the model. The research synthesized findings into a Capability Model tailored to the financial sector's regulatory and organizational context.