Venture building has a perception problem. Across much of the Western innovation ecosystem, the term often invites scepticism — linked to failed corporate initiatives, consultant-led “startup factories,” and accelerators that never quite delivered. The prevailing view is that venture building is slow, rigid, and ill-equipped to compete with lean, independent founders.
But that narrative may be incomplete.
What if some of Europe’s most defensible deep-tech companies don’t emerge despite large corporates — but because ofthem?
In this episode of 0100 Impact Talks, I spoke with Axel Deniz, CEO of Bosch Business Innovation, to discuss how Bosch approaches venture building differently — and why corporate venture creation may be entering a more mature, disciplined, and increasingly essential phase for deep-tech innovation.
he third edition of 0100 International — organized by Zero One Hundred Conferences in partnership with the Milan City Council’s Department of Economic Development and Milano&Partners — brought together the global private markets community for a high-signal, execution-focused gathering held from October 27–29.
François Candelon, Partner for Value Creation & Portfolio Monitoring at Seven2, shares how the firm aligns every investment around a clear “exit animal”—a vision of the company at exit—and uses disciplined execution, AI-driven transformation, and sustainability as levers for resilience and premium valuations. From reengineering core processes with AI to embedding decarbonization into business strategy, Candelon explains how Seven2 builds companies that are not just exit-ready, but future-proof.
Private markets are entering a new era where trust, compliance, and technology converge. While public markets enjoy automation and transparency, private assets still depend on paper-based, fragmented systems. Antonio Chiarello, CEO of Weltix, argues that the next leap forward is not just digitization, but the creation of digital infrastructures that redefine ownership. In this conversation, he discusses why friction is structural rather than technological, how regulation enables innovation, and how programmable liquidity and transparency can channel more private capital into real economic growth.
