Studio Stack Dianna Lesage

Shilpa Kannan & Mitchel Peterman are co-authors of the new book "Venture Studios Demystified: How venture studios turn the elusive art of entrepreneurship into repeatable success". Together, Mitchel & Shilpa spent a year working with 20 studio leaders across the world on a mission to codify the Venture Studio playbook and break down everything from why studios launch, how the ideation process works, where the capital comes from, and shed light on the legal and financial structures of the Studio model.



In this episode, you'll learn...


The most surprising things Shilpa & Mitchel learned in their interviews with 20+ Studios
What processes were consistent among Studios
Various "Studio sustainability" tactics & opportunities
How Studios can fundraise successfully

And so much more! 

Show Links- Studio Stack:


Startup Studio Weekly Newsletter
Startup Studio Community and Media Platform
Dianna's LinkedIn
Dianna's Twitter

Show Links- Venture Studios Demystified:


Venture Studios Demystified- Amazon
Venture Studios Demystified Website (++ Downloadable Financial Model)
Shilpa Kannan’s LinkedIn
Mitchel Peterman’s LinkedIn

Giuseppe Lacerenza is an experienced leader, having both entrepreneurship and consultancy backgrounds. Prior to joining Slimmer AI, Giuseppe founded 2 companies, worked as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, as well as professional and angel investor. Giuseppe holds an MBA from INSEAD, serving as VP of their Entrepreneurship Club. In his role as Venture Building Lead at Slimmer AI, he is responsible for building new ventures and supporting portfolio companies in scaling faster while securing an AI-based competitive moat.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:


About the process Slimmer AI goes through in building companies
How Slimmer AI incubated Biller from idea to exit in just 8 months
How AI can be a competitive long term moat for venture scale companies
Why specializing as a studio is a successful strategy

Show Links- Studio Stack:


Startup Studio Weekly Newsletter
Startup Studio Community and Media Platform
Dianna's LinkedIn
Dianna's Twitter

Show Links- Slimmer AI


Giuseppe Lacerenza’s LinkedIn
Slimmer AI’s LinkedIn and Website
From Start to Exit in 8 months — A Venture Studio Success Story

Want to pitch Simmer AI? Check out how to work with them here

Today I'm talking to Beto Lopez, co-founder and CEO of Design Run Group- a human-centered design Venture Studio solving complex challenges in healthcare. Beto's background is in design and previously, he co-founded the Design Institute for Health at the University of Texas at Austin and spent over a decade at IDEO where he was both Design Director and their first Global Lead of Systems Design.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:


The 3 key challenges in healthcare innovation and how the Venture Studio model solves these
How organizations should use human-centered design to choose which problems to work on
Why startups can't move as fast as Studios when innovating in healthcare
The importance of mission and thesis as a Venture Studio
How Studios should think about building ventures with partners

Show Links- Studio Stack:


Startup Studio Weekly Newsletter
Startup Studio Community and Media Platform
Dianna's LinkedIn
Dianna's Twitter

Show Links- Design Run Group:


Design Run Group Website
Beto Lopez's LinkedIn
Portfolio Company, Here
Portfolio Company, BioMirror
Cura Health Fund, an impact-oriented market-rate return fund in the health and healthcare space

Today I’m talking to Jordan Schlipf, Founder and CEO of Rainmaking- a Venture Studio leveraging the scale strengths of corporates to create new high-growth companies. Jordan is a serial entrepreneur in his own right and helped build one of the world’s most successful accelerators, Startupbootcamp. His unique experience and passion for entrepreneurial education shines through his work and leadership of the growing Rainmaking Studio team.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:


Why corporates struggle to innovate and build startups on their own
How working with a Venture Studio de-risks the process of creating new future-proof businesses
About Venture Studios as an investment asset class- who invests in them, why, and when
How traditional VC should think about working with Studios
What is involved in corporate venture building and how the model works at scale

Show Links- Studio Stack:


Startup Studio Weekly Newsletter
Startup Studio Community and Media Platform
Dianna's LinkedIn
Dianna's Twitter

Show Links- Rainmaking Studio:


Jordan Schlipf's LinkedIn
Jordan Schlipf's Twitter
Rainmaking Studio's Website
Rainmaking Case Studies

Today I’m talking to Wa'il Ashshowwaf, CEO & Co-founder of Unstuck Labs- a DC-based venture building agency specializing in mobile app prototyping and development for non-technical founders. Through mentorship and engagement, Wa'il has helped over 500 founders launch new ventures. In addition to CEO of the studio, Wa’il is also the founder of REYETS- a social justice platform created to help end police violence.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:


Why Studios should develop multiple ways for entrepreneurs to engage with them
How accelerators differ from Venture Studios and how the two can work together
When to approach a Studio with your idea and what that partnership might look like
The importance of developing your mentorship network as a Studio

Show Links- Studio Stack:


Startup Studio Weekly Newsletter
Startup Studio Community and Media Platform
Dianna's LinkedIn
Dianna's Twitter

Show Links- Unstuck Labs:


Wa'il Ashshowwaf's LinkedIn
Unstuck Labs' App
Unstuck Labs' Website
Apply to Unstuck Anywhere Accelerator
REYETS Website

Today I’m talking to Andrew Amann, founder and CEO of NineTwoThree Digital Ventures- a tech agency turned builder studio that has launched 14 of their own startups and over 50 new ventures for clients since inception in 2012. The NineTwoThree team is a global group of 60 entrepreneurs, designers, and engineers excelling at making good products great.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:


How solopreneurs can apply startup studio principles to derisk ideas
What it takes to transition from a tech agency to a builder studio
Why intrapreneurship is a path toward entrepreneurial freedom
How to develop a flywheel for new venture building where industries, experts, clients, and ideas build off each other
How and when Studios should think about bringing in a founder to lead a project
About the unique mixed cash and equity model NineTwoThree uses to co-build ventures with entrepreneurs

Show Links- Studio Stack:


Startup Studio Weekly Newsletter
Startup Studio Community and Media Platform
Dianna's LinkedIn
Dianna's Twitter

Show Links- NineTwoThree Ventures:


Andrew Amann's LinkedIn
NineTwoThree Digital Ventures Website
Blog Post: Digital Venture Studio Playbook
NineTwoThree has 25 team members in Ukraine and is dedicated to supporting them through the ongoing war crisis, to help with this effort please access the public donation page
Interested in working with NineTwoThree? Message Andrew on Twitter or schedule a call with the team