Hi Folks, I'm Attila, focusing (obsessing) on venture studios since 10+ years.
I recently published Venture Speed - a book that's about venture studios and AI. No deep engineering or research content, more a guide for non techies like myself, to understand where-how AI fits into venture building. I guess it could be useful for those few engineers who want to dig into the business logic of a venture studio.
The best part of it might be that it's based on real-life cases, like Pioneer Square Labs, Builders... and a few more ambitious/unhinged initiatives that are building almost fully-automated, agentic venture studios (Humanoidz and Alphanome)
The aim of the book is to give a solid overview on venture studios and on AI and on how these two mix. The kindle edition is more for a classic read, while the PDF can be added to your faviourite model - and turn it into a living resource. Would love to get some unfiltered (human) feedback.
And yes, you are right! Best example is Idealab - creating amazing ventures and exits since 1996. But even before them, some large companies were creating new ventures for new products and grew them much like startups. :)
Please have a look - and get a free sample, or a big discount through the Product Hunt page - of my new book, which is about startup studios, a.k.a. venture builders, startup factories...
Almost two years ago we decided to transform our development agency (Drukka) into a startup studio, an organization that build innovative new companies with internal resources in a sustainable and repeatable way. But we didn't know how.
So I started to research the topic, and interviewed some of the most exciting examples - Science, Betaworks, eFounders and many more. And I put all this knowledge into this book, to make the startup studio model more transparent, and to enable entrepreneurs to build and grow new studios.
Now, interestingly the startup studio model is not yet that popular in the Bay Area, with few exceptions like Expa. I think that's because the whole Bay Area is like a giant startup studio, where you have critical mass of talent, money and ideas. But the rest of the world is like a desert, where these three things are scarce. And in such an underdeveloped startup ecosystem a studio is like an oasis.
Either way, looking at the trends we see that nr of startup studios is doubling - tripling in the recent years. So I hope you will find some value in the book and discover how the startup studio model can benefit you.
The long term future is not human vs machine armageddon, but human-machine integration. We are already cyborgs with our addiction and dependence on smartphones (not to mention ppl with pacemakers, prosthetic limbs...)
Actually, it would be kinda cool to plug into the Machine. So you don't have to type and click to give instructions. Just think about it and the Machine Spirit will make it happen.
If you are working on your first startup, and are in love with the idea so much, that you would not be able to do anything else, then you might be right.
On the other hand, if your priority is to build a (working, sustainable) company, or become a leader / ceo, then a studio environment could provide you with a better basis for your goals - stability, etc etc
Recently I started a research on startup studios. I'd like to identify best practices, so more and more successful studios can emerge.
In this part 1, the main challenge was to gather detailed information about startup studio exits. I could find 14 companies that exited, but no solid info about deal sizes.
I'll definitely try to contact the ex founders and acquirers of these companies. Also if you might have any info on the following deals, please let me know:
raytracker.com (founded: 2009, studio: IdeaLab) acquired in 2011 by First Solar
marvia.nl (founded: 2007, studio: Disrupted) acquired in 2012 by PostNL
shoppinglive.ru (founded: 2011, studio: Fastlane Venture) acquired in 2013 by Home Shopping Europe
mdotapp.com (founded: 2010, studio: Archimede Labs) acquired in 2013 by GoDaddy
gopollgo.com (founded: 2011, studio: IdeaLab) acquired in 2013 by Yahoo
sticky9.com (founded: 2011, studio: Mint Digital) acquired in 2014 by PhotoBox
justbook.com (founded: 2011, studio: Venture Stars) acquired in 2014 by Secret Escapes
lieferando.de (founded: 2008, studio: Rheingau Founders) acquired in 2014 by Takeaway.com
loopit.com (founded: 2012, studio: RedStar) acquired in 2014 by Nanigans
perfectmarket.com (founded: 2007, studio: IdeaLab) acquired in 2014 by Taboola
cra.sh (founded: 2012, studio: IdeaLab) acquired in 2014 by Oversee.net
pressking.com (founded: 2010, studio: eFounders) acquired in 2015 by ePressPack
refame.com (founded: 2014, studio: Science.inc) acquired in 2015 by Famebit
minbildinbil.dk (founded: 2013, studio: Founders) acquired in 2015 by SnappCar
I recently published Venture Speed - a book that's about venture studios and AI. No deep engineering or research content, more a guide for non techies like myself, to understand where-how AI fits into venture building. I guess it could be useful for those few engineers who want to dig into the business logic of a venture studio.
The best part of it might be that it's based on real-life cases, like Pioneer Square Labs, Builders... and a few more ambitious/unhinged initiatives that are building almost fully-automated, agentic venture studios (Humanoidz and Alphanome)
The aim of the book is to give a solid overview on venture studios and on AI and on how these two mix. The kindle edition is more for a classic read, while the PDF can be added to your faviourite model - and turn it into a living resource. Would love to get some unfiltered (human) feedback.