Branded Venture Capital is investment chartered to grow the ecosystem of a platform or brand, in which the sponsor contributes its brand, audience, and distribution alongside or in place of capital to make the startups it backs more successful.
The model takes two common forms. In the first, a fund is dedicated to the ecosystem of a platform. When Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr announced the $200m iFund at Apple's iPhone roadmap event in 2008, the fund existed to back developers building on the iPhone, and each success made the platform itself more valuable. In the second, a company leverages its own brand to launch and grow new ventures. The Virgin Group licensed the Virgin name to ventures such as Virgin Mobile USA, a joint venture with Sprint, while partners supplied much of the investment.
Branded venture capital sits close to strategic or corporate investment, but its distinguishing asset is the brand rather than the balance sheet. A brand with an engaged audience can test products outside its current business with existing customers before a venture is funded. A T-shirt company that notices its customers want therapy, for example, could launch a venture to serve that need.
Branded Venture Capital is a concept 📝Brian Swichkow shared with us.