Newsletter Edition 2

At Next Mobility Labs, we are deeply immersed in the transformation of the mobility sector. Staying true to the core mission of our venture studio, our mobility experts provide invaluable support to both our team and entrepreneurs during these dynamic times. Through extensive research and a commitment to learning from people and data, we see continuous innovation as the key to driving faster and more impactful evolution.

Reading time about 6 minutes

Venture Studio Demystified

Venture Studios are revolutionizing the startup world, growing over 600% since 2013 and producing unicorns like Hims, Snowflake, and MongoDB. Unlike traditional startups, studios assemble teams of entrepreneurs, investors, and engineers to systematically build successful companies at scale.

In his book "Venture Studios Demystified",

Michel Peterman uncovers how studios operate, drawing insights from 20+ global leaders, including Expa, FJ Labs, and High Alpha.

Mitchel Peterman

Experienced startup operator and growth specialist, Author

Mitchel Peterman is an MBA graduate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and MPA graduate from the Harvard Kennedy School. Mitchel has served in leadership roles with multiple startups in both the criminal justice and digital health spaces, managing strategic operations, marketing and communications, and business development. Mitchel’s areas of expertise include innovation design, copywriting, marketing, and brand development.

Exclusive Interview with Mitchel Peterman

What types of venture studios dominate the US market? 

There truly is no "right" way to structure a studio as it heavily depends on factors like LP mix, build thesis, return expectations, etc. However, there are numerous reasons why dual entity models are quite popular with studio founders. A dual entity model can be thought of as an operating company where studio staff and operations reside, and then a separate holding company where investor funds are held and allocated. Separating these entities helps avoiding issues with dilution and having to establish valuations when raising additional funding. It can also help to provide a clearer picture of ownership and exposure for LPs. 

Where do you see the biggest differences between a classic VC fund and a venture studio?

VC's primary role is to evaluate existing opportunities and allocate capital to entrepreneurs. They do not operate as founders and provide a lesser degree of hands on support. Venture studio's primary role is to create new companies and operate as co-founders. Both early stage VCs and studios are providing capitalization to early ventures, but in the case of studios they are typically financing their own creations.

What are the characteristics of LPs for venture studios as opposed to VC funds? Do you see any differences here?

VC has a longer track record of performance and the asset class is better understood. This means more risk averse institutional LPs like pensions, endowments, and large corporations may be willing to invest in top performing VC funds. These groups are less frequently willing to invest in studios. Studios tend to be financed by more patient and flexible LPs like high net worth individuals, family offices, or even largely self-funded by studio partners themselves. 

Based on your research, where do you see the greatest opportunities for Venture Studios?

There is growing demand from larger organizations like universities, governments, corporates, and even VC firms to partner with studios. Many of these groups are looking to studios and incubation experts to manage innovation and startup creation rather than trying to build in-house innovation capabilities themselves. As studios continue to improve their efficiency and refine their processes, these partnerships are likely to become more and more common. Studios heavily incorporating AI into their customer discovery and early sales efforts are also more likely to reduce their validation and build costs, increasing the number of ventures they are able to create and launch with smaller team sizes. 

What are the advantages of venture studios for founders compared to other programs such as accelerators?

Studios may help with pairing founders to already validated concepts and with designing and building early MVPs. Studio management of admin related functions like legal and finance can help allow founders to focus more explicitly on product and early sales. And studios with strong talent networks may also be extremely helpful in building out founding teams, a significant potential time drain for new founders. These hands on services are necessary to justify the studio's larger co-founding stake.  

Armin Bieser on the Next-level Mobility Ecosystem

Armin Bieser

CEO and Founder@ Next Mobility Labs

It serves as the compass for our investment strategy, a daily-used instrument to maintain overview in times of global transformation: the Next-level Mobility Ecosystem. With its three roles and four sectors, centered on people, it structures our activities to contribute to the sustainable transformation of mobility.The form is an expression of our efforts to take a holistic approach to this complex topic. The basic human need for mobility – a key driver of prosperity – can and must be satisfied sustainably in the future. The transportation of people and goods causes almost a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.

The challenge is to significantly reduce emissions within a few years without curtailing our own quality of life and the opportunities for economic growth in poor countries. Fresh ideas and innovative technologies are needed, along with new thinking beyond traditional industries: Current challenges can only be solved holistically and collaboratively. The interconnection within an ecosystem provides mutual benefits to participating companies and greater added value to end customers.

Sectors and Roles in the Ecosystem

Digital technologies are the key to next-level mobility. Simply replacing combustion technology with electric drives is not enough. The prerequisite for a real transformation is the interconnection of all four relevant sectors of this ecosystem:

• Vehicles

• Energy

• Infrastructure

• Operations

AI brings intelligence and efficiency to this interconnected system. Real-time data collection and analysis enable applications such as autonomous vehicles or sharing platforms. Companies in this mobile ecosystem take on different roles in relation to end customers or partners. Three roles in particular can be distinguished – they serve as another dimension in structuring our activities as a venture studio:

• Orchestrators offer products or services to end customers (e.g. Getyourdrive)

• Realisers create products or services and provide them for end customers (e.g. Mercedes)

• Enablers support Realisers and Orchestrators with products or services (e.g. Circunomics)

Our Strategic Planning Tool 

With the Next-level Ecosystem, we have created a strategic planning tool that helps us drive the transformation of mobility together with our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. As a sector-specific venture studio, we offer founders and investors worldwide the opportunity to benefit from our expertise: tech-savvy, problem-solving, value-driven.

The Next-level Mobility Ecosystem

Interview with the founder and CEO of Getyourdrive

Konstantin Klein

CEO and Founder @Getyourdrive

Getyourdrive is an all-in-one platform designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises optimize their corporate mobility. They provide a simple and digital solution for fleet management, vehicle procurement, sustainability strategies, and much more. The goal is to help businesses reduce costs and effort while lowering CO₂ emissions and enhancing their employer branding.

What makes your new fleet software special?

Konstantin Klein: Our software, the Getyourdrive Mobility Hub, is tailored specifically to the needs of SMEs. It brings all essential tools together in one place: fleet management, cost control, CO₂ reporting, and even charging infrastructure management. We're particularly proud of its intuitive usability, enabling businesses without significant IT resources to efficiently manage their mobility.

Sustainability is a major theme for your company. How do you implement it concretely?

Konstantin Klein: Absolutely, sustainability is at the heart of our work. Our software analyses CO₂ emissions and supports the gradual transition to an electrified fleet. We also offer solutions like mobility budgets, bike leasing, and car subscriptions, which motivate employees while being environmentally friendly. Our aim is to make mobility more sustainable and future-proof.

What specific benefits do you offer medium-sized companies?

Konstantin Klein: Administrative tasks in fleet management are often a significant challenge for SMEs. Our platform alleviates this burden by simplifying processes such as contract management, claim management, and vehicle procurement. With our full-service approach, businesses can focus on their core activities while we manage their mobility—at competitive rates.

What is your vision for Getyourdrive’s future?

Konstantin Klein: We aim to play an active role in shaping the mobility transition and helping companies achieve CO₂-neutral mobility. Our focus is on developing sustainable, digital, and flexible solutions that create real value for businesses and their employees. I firmly believe that mobility is a key factor for economic success and environmental sustainability in the future.