`Venture studio' is a concept that has seldom been tapped to full potential by companies in India as yet. Nuivio Ventures, a technology player based in the US, and with offices in Kochi, Chennai, and Bengaluru, is taking the venture studio route to nurture startups to take the growth path.
In a chat with DhanamOnline, Joseph Olassa, the Kerala-born CEO of Nuivio Ventures, said that a phenomenally efficient startup creation process would be possible through the venture studio. In case you wonder what the concept is really about, a venture studio helps build a bunch of startups at the same time.
This is different from the traditional way of floating startups, where one idea is focussed on at one time. “By taking the venture studio model, the multiple startups a company builds at the same time would get the benefit of being simultaneously mentored by experienced entrepreneurs,
investors and industry experts, who work hand in hand to build and grow the new startups,” he said.
The venture studio route ensures that an entrepreneurial professional is offered the opportunity to become a co-founder and a business owner without the risk typically associated with bootstrapping an AI product startup.
The model that Nuivio pushes forward would handhold startups by offering a full-time role in the company’s growing list of portfolio companies, by leveraging their skills and experience. “These startups would be able to able to move forward with their entrepreneurial journey by working with Nuivio towards finding new enterprise AI ideas, validating them with clients, building them, and acquiring the first set of paying clients. When an AI startup is created from a validated product, Nuivio will offer an equity model, along with a CXO and cofounder role for the startup,” he elaborated.
Nuivio, which focuses on incubating Enterprise AI startups aiming for the B2B space currently has a clutch of firms under its wings, such as Piqual and Talentou. With venture studio, Nuivio has made sure that it would have the capabilities to create, nurture, and build multiple startups simultaneously.
Joseph Olassa has a track record of two decades of fast-paced business growth in the software industry across the US, Europe, and Asia. He was with the tech major Mindtree for around 14 years. He was instrumental in growing the company’s Europe and US businesses through multi-million dollar contracts and is also credited with kick-starting Mindtree’s Middle East business. He had earlier been active in the Kerala startup arena, as a mentor at the Startup Village in Kochi.
Joseph says the success of startups is assured through a venture studio. For example, from nurturing startup ideas to the point of full growth, Nuivio would be able to share technical knowledge and also handhold the startups to reach their full potential before they move on, he said. Startups under Nuivio would be regular companies with equity, he said.
According to him, the venture studio model is now popular in the US but is yet to gain currency in India. “The startups stand to gain a lot as they get to work with an experienced team who
can help guide the development of their business,” he noted.
Nuivio Ventures would also push its new AI suite to the startups it nurtures, and
will also set aside close to Rs 200 crore towards building and aiding them reach
their full potential.
Noting that AI and other new-age tech have become commonplace, Joseph urged engineering colleges in Kerala and the rest of India to design courses that would meet the current technology requirements.
Going forward, Nuivio plans to aggressively look for Kerala-based entrepreneurial professionals, who are trying to build their startup under a venture studio model.
