Is the venture builder model better than traditional VC?

The venture builder model is growing. It seems to be better than venture capital. Whilst both have their merits, venture builders are more enabling and beneficial for a promising startup, especially one which lack expertise of a certain area.

It is no news that the chances of getting Venture Capital funding is getting tougher and tougher. Actual hard results are, more often than not, required before a Venture Capital would commit. Today, digital technology has lowered startup cost. Therefore entrepreneurs find it difficult to justify raising fund solely based on business expense and hiring.

Venture Builder as a bridge to Venture Capital

Whilst entrepreneurs may struggle to get venture capital, venture builder companies like Ant Internet stand a higher chance to secure one.  Simply speaking, Venture Builder fills up the gaps between an entrepreneur and Venture Capital.

An entrepreneur may have a brilliant idea but may not have the resources and know-how to develop a Minimum Viable Product or even a prototype.

Hence, we hear many still fail to secure funding.

However, a Venture Builder has in place, with built frameworks and infrastructures to manufacture products, funds, marketing strategies, human resources, company culture, and the expertise to accelerate growth. Naturally, Venture Capital will rather invest in a Venture Builder simply out of lower risk.

If a Venture Builder finds a workable idea in a team of trusted and capable co-founders to run the business operations, it may seal a new venture, and another great business can spring out of it.

The Difference

Venture Capitals may not want to dwell into the hard sweaty work of a Venture Builder and like a typical investor, only provide X amount of funds and expect Y in return.

But a Venture Builder, as the word “builder” speaks for itself, often builds child products of all digital and technology kinds. They build stuff. They have the builder DNA in them.

Area	Route to fundraising
	Venture Capital	Venture Builder
Funding	Direct methods (cash injection, etc)	Indirect funding (salary, product development, marketing expenses)
Product development	A prototype, if not a MVP, is required beforehand	Can be jointly or entirely done by Venture Builder core development team
Workspace & Hiring	Venture Capital can recruit executive and advise. No work space	Co-working space and talents available in place
Marketing	Solely entrepreneur’s initiative	Early marketing strategy and setup will be done by Venture Builder
Trainings & mentorship	Usually mentorship	Trainings and mentorship
Administration and Legal	Solely entrepreneur’s initiative	Plugged into Venture Builder infrastructure
Company culture	Defined by Entrepreneur	Venture Builder culture, until the business stands and run on its own with its own staff.
Proven track record or user size	Required. Traction should have been kick-started	Not pre-requisite. Strategic partnership, commitment, and experience are more important
Equity	Venture Capital takes less equity	Venture Builder takes more
Risk sharing	Venture Capital takes less risk, thus a harder selection process	Venture Builder takes on much more risk.
Industry preference	Portfolio of Venture Capital can be diverse	Venture Builder likely to be very selective.
Expectation on entrepreneur	Return on investment	Execution; Speed to scale is important

Whilst it seems Venture Builder has more advantages, there are very few able to work with Venture Builders. Execution speed is the cornerstone to its success. Therefore, often the lack in sense of ownership by entrepreneur might account for its pressure mounting from Venture Builder side.

Despite the pros and cons, which side will you choose?

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