22 Activities For organizations new to corporate venturing, there is no need to commit to complex, resource- intensive initiatives immediately. Instead, start with lower-cost, less complex approaches that offer a faster learning curve and tangible benefits before scaling into more comprehensive strategies. These entry-level practices can also serve as valuable components within more structured corporate venturing frameworks and programs discussed above. Table 2 lists the four key activities we identi- fied, accompanied by examples drawn from our data. Table 2. Corporate Venturing Activities ACTIVITY DEFINITION WHEN TO USE IT REAL WORLD EXAMPLES Mentorship Corporate executives and their teams and partners provide guidance, knowledge, and connections to startup founders. When the goal is to build relationships with startups and expose them to industry-specific expertise, critical networks, and capabilities that might otherwise take years to develop independently. Reliance Industries, through its JioGenNext program supported hundreds of startups through mentorship focused on exploring opportunities within the organization’s ecosystem. Itochu’s Kakusei program provides startups with mentorship in global fundraising and business expansion, helping the company to identify and nurture high-potential ventures that align with its strategic interests. Koç Holding Startups women innovators program provided one-to-one mentoring support in leadership, business development, impact and behavioral insight to women founders. Business Services Corporations customize their products and services to startups’ needs and financial constraints. When a corporation wants to develop specific business lines dedicated to startups and enter the market for small businesses while learning about new technologies. India’s HDFC Bank designed Smartup Solution, a banking package for startups, which offers tailor made banking and advisory services to entrepre- neurs. The package is tailored to meet startups’ requirements and includes banking and payment solutions along with advisory and forex services. Microsoft, Amazon and Google invite startups to their clouds with pro-bono or heavily subsidized computing services: Microsoft for Startups, Grow Your Startup with AWS, and the Google for Startups Cloud Program, respectively. Comcast offers startups a Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) whose affordability was critical for small businesses’ survival in the aftermath of COVID-19 when remote work became commonplace.