In this podcast episode we had the honour to speak with Linda Yates, the Founder and CEO of Mach49 about the opportunities and challenges of corporate mentoring. Linda Yates is the Founder and CEO of Mach49, which partners with the Global 1000 to drive venture-driven growth through building ventures, investing, and strategic partnerships, focusing on scalable execution and innovation. With over 30 years of experience, she has also served on numerous boards, authored the acclaimed book "The Unicorn Within," and is known for her environmental activism and advocacy for 21st-century education. Chapter: 00:12 Guest Introduction 00:54 Risks for Legacy Companies 01:33 Corporate Venturing 01:47 Linda's Journey to Mach49 07:37 Need for Corporate Venturing 11:05 Culture in Corporate Venturing 12:05 Building a Growth Engine 12:05 Practical Steps to Corporate Venturing 16:25 Creating Space for Ventures 17:32 Addressing the Cultural Clash 19:54 Large Companies in Problem Solving 20:21 Understanding the Need for Change 20:35 Assessing Internal Talent 20:47 Four Types in Venture Building 21:43 The New Venture Board 24:18 Understanding the Role of Growth Advocates 25:53 Tapping into Corporate Assets 26:56 Overcoming Internal Friction 32:15 Understanding Customer Pain 36:39 The Process of Venture Building 37:25 The Role of Corporate Venture Capital 39:58 Incubation Phase 41:02 Acceleration Phase 41:49 Importance of Valuations 43:23 Venture Building vs Venture Investing 43:53 Importance of Business Execution Plan 44:35 Venture Investing 46:00 Importance of Design in Venture Investing 46:19 Five Key Elements of Acceleration 47:04 Importance of Financial Impact 49:54 Strategic Partnering 50:16 Leveraging Assets 56:40 Venture Driven Growth 59:09 The Importance of Looking Forward 59:57 Risk and Venture Building 01:00:51 Role of Leadership 01:01:41 Role of the C-suite 01:03:19 Importance of Execution 01:03:40 Closing Remarks 01:04:38 Outro Guest: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-yates-19550249/

The St. Gallen Business Model Navigator: https://shorturl.at/nkgmx The following three books are all relevant to the topics which where discussed in the podcast: Jim Snabbe’s book: Dreams and Details: https://shorturl.at/knaoS Professor Huggy Rao and Professor Bob Sutton’s (Stanford) book: The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, about removing friction and seizing advantages: https://shorturl.at/MrLII Professor Vijay Govindarajan (Dartmouth) and Professor Venkat Venkatraman’s (Boston University) book: Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI will power the Industrial Future. It covers using AI and data to address customer needs: https://shorturl.at/oXJCA Link to the website on Linda Yates´ book:

https://www.mach49.com/book/the-unicorn-within

Linda’s book, The Unicorn Within — How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed, published by Harvard Business Review Press in October 2022, has been widely acclaimed. Featured in major media outlets, it was named one of Forbes' Top Ten Business Books of 2022 and one of “7 Startup Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read.” It was the top new release on Amazon in Strategic Planning and Venture Capital and is now used as a textbook worldwide. The book is also on the Harvard Press All Time Ideas with Impact List. 🎧 Join this episode to explore the highs and lows of modern entrepreneurship. Learn how to navigate the unspoken hurdles and redefine entrepreneurship beyond traditional titles and roles. 🎧 You can also listen to our podcast on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts:

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