Beyond The Core

What does it take to build new ventures inside a 100-year-old industrial giant, without getting buried in bureaucracy or damaging the brand?In this episode of Beyond the Core, Ben and Marcus sit down with Nancy Yaklich, a seasoned innovation leader who’s led Venture-building initiatives at Cargill, Best Buy, UnitedHealthcare, and now Caterpillar, where she’s pioneering a shadow brand called EcoForge to launch and test new business ideas beyond the core.Nancy shares her step-by-step playbook for validating ideas, getting legal and executive buy-in, working with startups, building shadow brands, and navigating the tension between innovation and risk in a legacy organization.We cover:⏱️ Timestamps0:00 – Intro: Innovation beyond the core1:00 – What is EcoForge and why Caterpillar needed it4:00 – Shadow brands: testing without hurting the mothership6:00 – Getting legal and execs to say “yes”9:00 – Spin-in vs spin-out: how Nancy thinks about scale12:00 – The “adjacency space” and why it’s full of hidden opportunity15:00 – Bottom-up forecasting vs bloated TAMs17:30 – Pitching new ideas with strategic angles19:00 – Why innovation teams must sit high in the org22:30 – Building portfolios, not projects24:00 – The “dud” concept: normalizing failure28:00 – Selling learning inside large orgs31:00 – Venture building ≠ innovation theatre33:00 – No cookie-cutter playbooks: adapting to each org38:00 – Partnering with startups and navigating slow systems41:00 – Nancy’s advice to other corporate venture leaders44:00 – Why now is the best time to swing bigWhether you’re in corporate innovation, building a studio, or just trying to make new ideas happen inside slow-moving systems, this episode is a masterclass in how to do it right.Subscribe for more conversations like these.

In this episode of Beyond The Core, Ben Yoskovitz and Marcus Daniels answer the 10 most common questions they’ve received about vertical venture studios—from how to pick the right vertical, to the real ROI metrics, to why launching multiple studios simultaneously might be smarter than it sounds.Whether you’re a corporate innovation leader, investor, or builder curious about how the studio model is evolving, this episode dives deep into the operational playbook behind Highline Beta’s 3.0 strategy—and what it really takes to make a vertical studio succeed.🔗 Learn more: https://highlinebeta.com⏱️ Timestamps00:00 – Intro01:08 – Why we launched two new vertical venture studios01:44 – How do we know a vertical isn’t just a hype cycle?03:39 – What makes a great corporate partner for a vertical studio?05:35 – How do we measure success beyond financial return?08:09 – Which industries are best suited for the vertical studio model?10:20 – How do we manage regulatory risk in vertical studios?12:59 – What are we learning from launching multiple studios at once?15:29 – How do we pick new verticals to explore?20:22 – How do we balance deep expertise without getting tunnel vision?23:43 – How is working with corporates different under the vertical studio model?27:02 – What new verticals are we exploring for future studios?🎧 Subscribe for more tactical conversations on innovation strategy, venture building, and how to actually scale new businesses beyond the core.#venturestudios #corporateinnovation #startupstrategy #verticalstudios #highlinebeta #beyondthecore

In this episode of Beyond the Core, we sit down with Dan Magnuszewski—co-founder of ACV Auctions (NYSE: ACVA) and now founding partner at Radial Ventures, a new venture studio focused on launching startups in Buffalo, New York.Dan shares what he learned taking ACV from zero to IPO, why he’s doubling down on building in Buffalo, and how Radial Ventures is using AI to turn “unsexy industries” into billion-dollar opportunities. We cover everything from venture studio structure to ROI models to sourcing overlooked ideas in overlooked markets.Timestamps:0:00 - Intro1:00 - Dan’s journey from engineer to startup founder to studio builder5:00 - What Dan learned building ACV Auctions into a public company7:30 - Spinning up an internal R&D lab inside ACV11:00 - When moonshot projects become strategic growth levers14:00 - Building for revenue vs. building for value19:00 - Why Dan launched a venture studio in Buffalo22:00 - How 43North helped seed Radial Ventures25:00 - Why Buffalo is an underrated startup ecosystem28:00 - “You have to move to San Francisco” — Dan’s response33:00 - Collaborating with local corporates to source and fund ideas36:00 - How Radial Ventures uses AI to validate ideas fast40:00 - Studio structure: equity, founder incentives, and fundraising48:00 - Measuring ROI for a regional venture studio52:00 - Final thoughts & how to get in touch🔔 Subscribe for more tactical conversations on venture building, corporate innovation, and startup studios.

What does real corporate innovation look like inside a global financial services giant?In this episode of Beyond the Core, we sit down with Maja Lapcevic, Senior Vice President, Martech, Innovation and Commercialization at Mastercard, and formerly led innovation management and helped architectthe Mastercard Foundry—a world-class innovation engine that actually ships and scales new ventures.We cover:Why speed starts in the back office—and how Mastercard shrank pilot timelinesHow they measure and kill “zombie projects” with ruthless clarityThe tools they use to track materiality, velocity, and quality across their portfolioWhy co-development with business units (not innovation theater) drives commercial winsWhat startups really want from corporate partners—and how Mastercard protects customer trustHow to earn internal credibility by helping business units win fastTheir $50M+ benchmark for new growth bets—and how they test before they buildIf you’re navigating innovation inside a large organization, or partnering with one, this episode is packed with tactical lessons.Subscribe for weekly episodes on corporate venture building, innovation strategy, and scaling new ideas beyond the core.📍 Timestamps00:00 – Intro & Maja’s current role at Mastercard02:00 – How Mastercard balances brand + product innovation03:50 – Working with startups through Start Path06:00 – What agentic commerce means (and why it matters)09:10 – How Mastercard measures pilots—and kills zombie projects13:00 – Mastercard’s innovation structure: why it works16:00 – The Horizon 3 fund and what it’s designed to do22:30 – What startups ask for most: data or distribution?28:00 – Advice for startup founders pitching big corporates30:00 – The $50M test: how Mastercard validates growth bets34:50 – A favorite project: Mastercard Move Commercial Payments for B2B payments39:00 – Building trust with business units43:00 – Why internal alignment beats siloed innovation48:00 – Maja’s hot take on innovation theater—and what’s changed

In this special Q&A episode of Beyond The Core, Ben and Marcus answer the top audience-submitted questions about corporate venture studios, innovation strategy, and what it really takes to build and fund new businesses inside large companies.They cover everything from governance and culture to how to balance long-term bets with short-term pressure—and what metrics actually matter when you’re building beyond the core.If you’re building a venture studio, working in corporate innovation, or trying to get your executive team aligned on a new model—this episode is packed with frameworks, lessons, and candid advice from the front lines.Subscribe for more weekly episodes on venture building, innovation strategy, and corporate transformation.🔎 Topics & Timestamps00:00 – Intro01:37 – What are the best practices for managing a corporate venture studio?07:32 – What legal and regulatory considerations should we be aware of?13:13 – How do you foster a culture of innovation inside large companies?20:08 – How do you support internal ideas vs external partnerships?28:55 – How do you balance short-term financial goals with long-term innovation?36:04 – What are the key metrics that actually matter in venture studios?45:40 – Wrap-up and closing thoughts—📩 Want to talk venture studios or innovation strategy? Reach out to Ben or Marcus directly:ben@highlinebeta.commarcus@highlinebeta.com

Why do so many big companies fail at innovation—even when they say it’s a top priority?In this episode, we sit down with Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way, to unpack what it really takes to drive transformation inside legacy organizations—and why most of them get it wrong.Eric shares hard-won lessons from working with companies like GE, P&G, and some of the most ambitious innovation teams on the planet. We go deep on the disconnect between startup-style thinking and corporate reality, and why trust—not process—is the prerequisite for real innovation.You’ll hear:✅ Why most innovation efforts die in phase one—and how to push through✅ The role of “constancy of purpose” in long-term transformation✅ Why strong governance often makes companies weaker✅ Why shadow brands are necessary in low-trust orgs✅ How corporations confuse short-term efficiency with long-term progress✅ What mission-controlled companies can teach us about building trustWhether you’re leading a venture studio, launching a new initiative, or trying to modernize your company’s governance structure—this episode is a wake-up call.🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on corporate venture building, transformation, and innovation that actually works.

What does real innovation look like inside a tech giant like Amazon? And how do you make it work inside a physical business like Whole Foods?In this episode, we sit down with Leandro Balbinot, CTO at Whole Foods and VP of Technology at Amazon, to explore how world-class companies approach experimentation, failure, and scaling innovation.Leandro has held senior leadership roles at Kraft Heinz, McDonald’s, and now Amazon, giving him a rare perspective on how innovation works—or fails—inside some of the world’s biggest companies.We dive into:✅ Why most companies confuse experimentation with rollout✅ How to prioritize fast, cheap experiments that generate real signal✅ The balance between data and gut instinct in product decisions✅ How to earn trust inside legacy orgs to unlock big rollouts✅ What “minimum lovable product” (MLP) means—and why it matters more than MVP✅ How Amazon structures teams to move fast without chaosIf you’re leading innovation inside a large company—or trying to work with one—this episode is packed with hard-won lessons you can actually use.🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on corporate venture building, innovation strategy, and scaling new ideas inside complex orgs.

Most corporate innovation efforts fail before they even begin. Why? Because companies apply core-business thinking to ventures that demand a completely different approach.In this episode, Mike Dobbins, Former Group Head RBC and Founder of RBC Ventures, joins us to unpack what it really takes for a corporate giant to build, scale, and sustain ventures beyond its core business.We cover:✅ Why most new ventures are built on assumptions, not certainty—and how to de-risk them.✅ The disruptor vs. enabler dilemma: Do you compete with incumbents or sell into them?✅ How to decide when to build inside the core business vs. spin out a venture.✅ The real reason corporate-startup partnerships move too slowly (and how to fix it).✅ Lessons from RBC Ventures—what worked, what didn’t, and what corporate innovators should learn.If you’re a corporate leader trying to launch something truly new—or a founder wondering how to work with big companies—this episode is a must-watch.

In venture capital, the role of corporate investors has long been debated. Are they truly aligned with startups? Do they move too slowly? Can they deliver more than just capital? These questions have shaped how corporate venture capital (CVC) has evolved over the last decade.In this episode of Beyond the Core, we sat down with Dan Reed, Managing Director and President of American Family Ventures, to unpack how corporate venture capital has shifted, how his team transitioned from a single-LP corporate fund to a multi-LP venture model, and what it really takes to add value beyond just writing checks.

Over the past four weeks of Beyond the Core, we’ve been getting a ton of questions about how corporate venture studios actually operate—how to measure progress, structure governance, and avoid common pitfalls in venture building. In this episode, we’re tackling some of the toughest questions we’ve received from innovation leaders and venture studio teams.