HowGenAICanPromptaFaster,LessRiskyFutureofVentureBuilding

ByHannoStegmann,RitheshShetty,andSwetaSahuFebruary2025

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TableofContents

1.ExecutiveSummary3

2.Theinnovationimperativeforcorporates4

3.Whyspeedincorporateventuringmatters5

4.PromptingbetterinnovationwithGenAIincorporateventuring7

5.Thesixkeystagesofearlyventurebuilding8

5.1.Step1:Discoveringopportunityareas9

5.2.Step2:Prioritizinguserproblemsandvalidatingdesirability10

5.3.Step3:Definingthetargetaudience14

5.4.Step4:Evaluatingmarketviability16

5.5.Step5:Rapidlybuildingandtestingminimumviableproducts(MVPs)18

5.6.Step6:Achievingproduct-marketfitfeatures20

6.ThreekeyfacetsofGenAItoconsider21

7.Checklisttogettingstarted22

Appendix24

01

ExecutiveSummary

GenAIhasradicallychangedthebusinesslandscape,andventurebuildingisnoexception.InthisarticleweexplorehowGenAIcanfast-trackventuringbuildingbyautomatingkeyphasesfromdiscoverytoproduct-marketfit,reducingriskandsignificantlyacceleratinganefficientventure-buildingprocess.

Traditionally,venturebuildinghasrequiredvalidatinguseproblems,definingtargetaudiences,testingvaluepropositions,andevaluatingmarketviabilitythroughtime-intensiveandresource-heavyprocesses.GenAIstreamlinestheseprocessesbyautomatingresearch,synthesizing

insights,enablingrapidexperimentation,andanalyzingreal-timeuserfeedback.

ThisGenAI-poweredstrategycanhelpventuresdefineandtestaudiencesegments,validatewillingnesstopay,optimizeMVPdevelopment,andtrackproduct-market-fitsignalswith

greaterspeedandaccuracy.ByintegratingAI-driventools,companiescansignificantlyreducerisk,improvedecision-making,andacceleratetheirpathtoasuccessfulproductlaunch.

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02

Theinnovationimperativeforcorporates

CORPORATEVENTURINGISAVITALCOMPONENTofanorganization’sgrowthand

digitaltransformationefforts.Yetwhiletheoverarchingambitionsarebroadlyaligned,thegoalsandstrategiesofeachcompanyareunique,andassuchtheirapproachtocorporateventuringmustadaptaccordingly.Whendoneright,corporateventuringcanaccelerate

innovation,enablingorganizationstoachievetheirgrowthambitions.GenerativeAI(GenAI)canplayapowerfulroleinsupportingthatimperative.

Inabusinessecosystemwherethelinesbetweenindustriescontinuetoblur,andcompetitionintensifiesbytheday,bothestablishedcompaniesandstartupsareincreasinglyworkingto

collaborateoremulatesuccessfulstrategiestodriveinnovation.

Corporateventuringofferssignificantbenefitstoestablishedcorporations,includingfaster

outcomes,exposuretoinnovativepractices,accesstonewideas,andintroductiontoexciting

technologiesandbusinessmodels.Italsooffersastrongercompetitivepositioninemerging

marketswherebeingthefirsttoactorreactcanbethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure.

Thesebenefitsunderpinthefourmainreasonsweseeorganizationstypicallyengaginginventurebuilding:

Reinvigoratingthecore.Strengtheningandfuture-proofingcoreoperationsthroughnewtechnologiesandbusinessmodels.

Diversifyingbeyondthecore.Exploringuntappedmarketsandindustriesforadditionalgrowthopportunities.

Leveragingexistingassets.Utilizingcorporatestrengthsliketechnology,distributionnetworks,andcustomerbasestoexpediteventurelaunches

Drivinginnovationculture.Cultivatingagilityandexperimentationtosupportlong-termgrowth.

Speediscriticalinventurebuilding,allowingcompaniestoseizemarketopportunitiesahead

ofcompetitors,respondtoshiftingtrends,andquicklytestandrefineideastoreducerisk.In

today’sfast-pacedbusinessenvironment,agilityoftendeterminessuccess.Movingswiftlyhelpscorporatesvalidateproduct-marketfitmoreeffectively,bettercommercializewinningventures,andstayrelevantindynamicandevolvingindustries.

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03

Whyspeedincorporateventuringmatters

Capitalizingonnewideasrequiresaninnovationstrategythatisalignedwithbusinessprioritiesyetflexibleenoughtoadapttochangingmarketconditions.

Innovationishard.Onlyabout30%ofcompaniesthinktheyaregoodatit,andit’sonlygettingmorechallenging.Eventhestrongestinnovatorsarerequiredtocontinuallymasternew

capabilitiesanddevelopfasterandmoreagileresearchanddevelopmentprocesses.Theseeffortsarereflectedinfourkeypillarsofgoodcorporateventuring.[Exhibit1.]

Exhibit1:Fourkeypillarsofgoodcorporateventuring

ReduceRisk

SeizeMarketOpportunity

ScaleFaster

Adaptto

ConsumerTrends

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Corporateventuringandinnovationgohand-in-hand.Yetdespitetheevidentbenefitsofastronginnovationstrategy,weseeastarkgapininnovationreadinessacrossthebusinesslandscape.[Exhibit2.]

Exhibit2:Innovationreadinesshasplummeted,withjust3%ofcompaniesinthereadyzone

Innovation

readiness

20%

9%

3%

75%

79%83%

202220232024

Innovation

prioritization

Inarecentreport,InnovationSystemsNeedaReboot,BostonConsultingGroup(BCG)

highlightstheworryinggapbetweencontemporarycorporateattitudestoinnovationand

preparednesstodeliveronthisambition.The2024researchfinds83%ofcompaniesview

innovationasatopthreepriority,butonly3%arereadytotranslatetheirprioritiestoresults.Companiesneedtoembracetherighttechnologies,tools,andstrategiestobridgethisgap.

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04

PromptingbetterinnovationwithGenAIincorporateventuring

GenerativeAIcanactasacatalystintheinitialphasesofventurebuilding,acceleratingandstreamliningprocessesfromdiscoverytoproduct-marketfitvalidation.

CorporatescanunlocknewvaluegenerationbyleveragingGenAItogeneratemultipleventureideas,rapidlytestingconcepts,andvalidatingopportunities.Thisapproachminimizesrisksandacceleratesthejourneyfromideationtocommercialization,enablingbusinessestoinnovate

quicklyandwithconfidence.

5x

GenAIasaninnovationaccelerator

?TheimpactofGenAIisalreadyapparentacrossthebusinesslandscape,providingapathwaytocapturevalueincorporateventuring.

?BCG’sresearchshowsthat86%ofinnovators—definedthroughasurveyofover

1,000seniorinnovationexecutivesfromcompaniesaroundtheworld—arealready

experimentingwithGenAItoatleastsomedegree,withleadinginnovators1.5timesmorelikelytohaveappliedGenAIinasingleusecaseand5timesmorelikelytohaveapplieditatscale.[Exhibit3.]

Exhibit3:GenAIis1.5xmoreprevalentinsingleusecasesand5xmorescaled

Readyinnovatorsare...

1.5x

morelikelytohaveappliedGenAIinasingleusecase

morelikelytohaveappliedGenAIatscale

It’sclearthatGenAIoffersapowerfultooltohelporganizationsreshapetheirinnovationsystemstobetteradaptinadynamicbusinesslandscape.

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05

Thesixkeystagesofearlyventurebuilding

Wehaveidentifiedsixkeystagesofearlyventurebuilding,fromdiscoverytovalidatingproduct-marketfit,thatunderpinaneffectivestrategy.[Exhibit4.]

Exhibit4:Sixkeystagesofearlyventuringbuildingfromdiscoverytovalidatingproductmarketfit

020406

Prioritizinguserproblems

Rankingandvalidatingproblemswiththemostimpact.

Iteratingandachievingproduct-marketfit

Refiningtheproblemtoalignwithmarketneeds.

Audiencesizing

andmarketviability

Assessingmarketsizeanddemandpotential.

01

Discovery

05

BuildingandtestingMVP

03

Definingtargetaudience

Identifyingopportunityareasandcustomer

painpoints.

Creatingpersonasandsegmentingaudiences.

Prototypingandvalidatingcorefeaturesandfunctionalitiesforaminimumviableproduct(MVP).

Foreachofthesecriticalsteps,wewillexaminethemosttime-consumingandcost-intensiveprocessesanddiscusshowGenAIcancontributetotheiroptimization.

Step1:Discoveringopportunityareas

It’seasytogetlostinanendlesscycleofdirectionlessideationduringthediscoveryphase.Therealchallengeliesingeneratingmeaningfulventureconceptsrootedinadeepunderstandingofthemarketlandscape.

Achievingthisrequiresthoroughmarketanalysis,mappingpolitical,economic,social,

technological,legalandenvironmentalfactors(PESTLE),andgatheringinsightsaboutthecompetitivelandscapetoidentifygenuinegapsandopportunities.

Transformingtheseinputsintoactionableinsightsiscriticaltocreatingwell-rounded,high-potentialbusinessconcepts.Byadoptingastructuredanddata-drivenapproach,venturescanensurethattheirideasarenotonlycreative,butalsoviableandalignedwithreal-worlddynamics.

GenAIprovidesaplatformforventurestoquicklyidentifypromisingopportunityareasand

understanduserpainpointsbyautomatingmarketresearch,userjourneymapping,andearlydiscovery,drasticallyreducingthetimeandresourcesneededforthisfoundationalstep.

GenerativeAItoolscanassistin:

1Efficientlyaggregatingandsummarizingmarketlandscapedataefficiently

2DraftingPESTLEanalysestoidentifyconsumertrendsandmarketinfluencers

3Definingandmappingthecompetitivelandscape

4Synthesizinginsightsfromdiversedatasources

5Generatingandrefininghigh-potentialbusinessconcepts

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Discoveryphasesthatoncerequiredoveramonthofideationandsynthesishavenowbeenstreamlinedtojusttwoweeks,resultinginwell-defined,data-backedbusinessconcepts

MelissaLou,LeadVentureArchitectatBCGX,frequentlyleveragesGenAIlargelanguage

model(LLM)toolsduringthediscoveryphaseofventurebuilding.Shehasreporteda40%

to60%reductionintimespentondiscovery.Discoveryphasesthatoncerequiredoveramonthofideationandsynthesishavenowbeenstreamlinedtojusttwoweeks,resultinginwell-defined,data-backedbusinessconcepts.

Step2:Prioritizinguserproblemsandvalidatingdesirability

Exploringandvalidatingthedesirabilityofspecificventuresisfrequentlyatime-and

resource-intensiveprocessduringthevalidationphase.Itoftenbeginswithdeskresearchandunderstandingmarketsentiments,followedbyexpertanduserinterviewstocoverpainpoints.

Projectteamsoftenuseethnographicresearchtoobservereal-worldbehaviors—interviewingmultipleperceivedusersandanalyzingsecondarydatasuchasreviewsandsocialmedia

trendstovalidatefindings.Synthesizingtheseinsightsrequiresfurthertimeduetothefragmentednatureofinsights.

GenAItoolsprovideapowerfulsolutiontoacceleratethisprocessandvalidatethedesirabilityofapotentialventure,andwehavealreadyseenthemleveragedinthreeinnovativeways:

1Strongstartingpointsforshowingdesirability

2Fastersynthesis

3Earlydesirabilityandvaluepropositiontesting

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Usage1:Strongstartingpointsforshowingdesirability

GenAItoolsorLLMscanprovidedetailedoverviewsofthecurrentstateofvaluechainsandtypicalpainpointsincustomerjourney.AlbertIssa,PrincipalProductManageratBCGX,

indicatesthatthiscancutthetimeforcurrent-stateanalysisbyuptofourtimes.

GenAIandLLMscanprovidedetailedoverviewsofvaluechainsandpainpoints,reducingthetimeforcurrent-stateanalysisbyasmuchas4x

DesirabilityisoneofthefourcorelensesutilizedbyBCGX,thetechbuildanddesigndivisionofBostonConsultingGroup,tovalidateearly-stageconcepts.[Exhibit5.]Thisprocessis

guidedbytheleadingquestion‘Istheredemandforanew,bettersolution?’Theanswerliesinuncoveringyourcustomers’problemsandhowyoucansolvethem—aprocesswhichGenAI

canrapidlyaccelerate.

Exhibit5:FourLensesforValidation

ADesirability

Attractivenesstocustomers

B

C

Viability

Initialestimateofrevenuepotential

Feasibility

Technicalandoperationalfeasibility

DStrategicFit

Synergies&unfairadvantage

A

Desirability

C

Feasibility

DStrategicFit

Viability

B

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Usage2:Fastersynthesis

AI-poweredtranscriptionandanalysistoolssuchasZoomAIandMirocanprovideautomatedsummariesofuserfeedbackandhelpthematicallysectioncontent,eliminatingtheneedfor

manualnotetakingorreconciliationbyteams.Thisreduceshoursofteameffortinsynthesistoasingle,automatedworkflow.Atthesametimethisenablesteamstoenhanceaccuracybyminimizingpotentialforhumanerror.

Exemplar:Rapidconcepttestingforfinanceandinsuranceclient

AlbertIssa,PrincipalProductManageratBCGX,successfullyleveragedmultimodalGenAItoolstogeneraterapiduserinterface(UI)conceptstoacceleratethe

developmentofanewproductconceptforafast-growingfinancialinstitute.

Havingbeenassignedtodesignasolutiontosupportfinancialadvisorstoupskillduringtheircriticalfirst100daysonthejob,AlbertturnedtotheseGenAItoolstocreatevisualmock-upsandprototypesinamatterofdaysratherthanweeks.

Withtheserapidprototypes,theteamwasabletoconductquickandcomprehensiveconcepttestingdirectlywithadvisorstovalidatekeyproducthypotheses.By

streamliningtheprocess,theywereabletogatheractionableinsightsfaster,refine

theirapproach,andensuretheproducteffectivelyaddressedagents’needs.This

approachnotonlyacceleratedthevalidationprocessbutalsominimizedresourceuse,makingitahighlyefficientsolutionforthecorporate’sventure-buildingefforts.

ThereareseveralcommonlyrecognizedtoolspraisedfortheirroleinAI-drivenUI/UXworkflowsin2025,including,butnotlimitedto,UXPilot,AdobeXDwithAIfeatures,Uizard,andStudioAI.Thesetoolscanprovideapowerfulplatformtorapidlytest

conceptsforproductdevelopment.

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Usage3:Earlydesirabilityandvaluepropositiontesting

Typically,companiestestvaluepropositionsmuchlaterintheproductlifecycle—oftenafterlaunch—atthepointwhenmarketingteamsanddesignersarebroughtonboard.Bythis

stage,it’softentoolatetopivot,leavingcriticaluserinsightsandmarketsignalsunvalidated.

However,thereissignificantvalueintestingavaluepropositionearly,leveragingreal

customersignalsfromthemarkettovalidateuserinsights.GenAI,combinedwith

experimentationthroughmultivariatetesting(MVT),enablescompaniestode-risk

hypothesesearlyonbyrapidlygenerating,testing,andrefiningmultiplevaluepropositions.

Whatwasonceatime-intensiveprocessrequiringmultipleiterationsandweeksofeffortto

alignmessagingwithdifferentuserpersonascannowbedonefasterandmoreeffectively.

WithAI-driventools,companiescantestarangeoftailoredpropositions,analyzeuser

engagement,anditeratebasedonreal-timefeedback—savingtime,reducingresourcestrain,andensuringbetteralignmentwithmarketneeds.

Exemplar:Valuepropositiontestingforanentertainmentventure

BCGXwasengagedtobuildanedutainmentventurelaunchingintheSingapore

market.Wetestedfourdistinctvaluepropositionstodeterminewhichfeaturesbestresonatedwiththetargetaudience—parentsofyoungchildren.

Thegoalofthistestingwastoidentifythefirstfeaturetobuildintotheproduct,asthiswouldbecriticalfordrivingpilotcustomeracquisitionandoverall

success.Valuepropositionstestedincludedpersonalizedavatarcreation,a

libraryofeducationalcontent,interactivestorytellingandtrust-buildingthroughaccreditation.GenAItoolswereusedtocreateseveraliterationsofadvert

copiesanddesignstobetestedthroughsocialmediaadplatforms.

TheGenAI-supportedprocessallowedustoobtainstrongsignalsforthevaluepropositionsthatmostresonatedwithaudiences,gaininghighconfidenceinthestrategywithinthreeweeksoftesting.Thisprovidedtimelyandvaluable

informationtoguideourgo-to-marketstrategyforlaunch.

Step3:Definingthetargetaudience

Decidingwhichaudiencesegmentstotargetduringaventure’sfirstgo-to-marketphaseiscritical—earlysuccesshingesonde-riskingaudiencesandaligningvaluepropositionswiththeirneeds.

Testingmultiplemessagesacrossvarioussegmentstypicallyrequiresextensiveresearch,surveys,anduserinterviews.However,thistraditionalapproachoftenfallsshort,assmallsamplesizesandlimitedreachcanleaveteamswithoutconfidentsignalsaboutwhich

segmentswilltrulydrivesuccess.GenAIoffersafaster,data-drivenalternativetoovercomethesechallenges.

WeseethreeclearwaysinwhichGenAItoolscanbeusedtoenhancetargetaudiencedefinition:

1Buildingstrongpersonasquickly

2Acceleratingaudiencesegmentation

3Enablingreal-timevalidation

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Usage1:Buildingstrongpersonasquickly

LLMtoolscanrapidlyanalyzecustomerdata,reviews,andtrendstoinstantlygenerate

detaileduserpersonas.Thisreplacestheneedforlengthymanualresearchanditerations.

Togiveoneexample,ateamcouldinputmarketdataintoanyLLMandgeneratedetailsofdesiredpersonassuchas‘eco-consciousmillennials’or‘budget-focusedfamilies’tobuildin-depthpersonasforatargetaudiencewithinhours.

Usage2:Acceleratingaudiencesegmentation

GenAIcanutilizebehavioralanddemographicdatatoautomatetheprocessofclusteringpersonasintosegments,allowingteamstocreateactionableandpreciseaudiencegroupstailoredtotheirbusinessgoals.

Thisapproacheliminatesthemanualeffortofanalyzingpatternsandsimplifiesthepathtotargetaparticularaudience.ThestrategycanbetakenastepfurtherbycreatingaudiencesegmentsspecificallydesignedfordifferentadplatformssuchasMeta,TikTok,orGoogle.

Forexample,teamscouldpromptanLLMtogeneratetargetingcriteriaforapersona

suchas‘youngparentslookingfortrustworthyedutainmentcontent’.TheLLMplatform

wouldsuggestdemographics(e.g.,parentsaged25-40),interests(e.g.,childdevelopment,educationalgames,orfamily-friendlyactivities),andbehavioraltraits(e.g.,frequentonlineshoppers,appusers)tobuildadetailedandeffectiveadtargetingplan.

Usage3:Enablingreal-timevalidation

GenAIallowsteamstoquicklytestaudiencesegmentsthroughmultivariateexperiments.

ToolssuchasCreative.ai,WebflowwithAI,Copy.ai,andMixocanbeusedtogeneratelandingoradcampaignscustomizedforeachtargetsegment,providingimmediatefeedbackonuserengagement.

Teamscould,forexample,testpotentialad-targetingperformanceof‘workingparentslookingforchild-friendlytools’against‘ruralparentsseekingbudget-friendlysolutions’toseewhich

drivehigherengagement.Thisrapidvalidationofaudiencesegmentsbenefitsteamsbyprovidingactionableinsightsforgo-to-marketstrategies.

Step4:Evaluatingmarketviability

Marketviabilitytestingexaminesthecompetitive

environment,businessrationale,expansionstrategy,andgo-to-marketplanforaproductorservice.ThisisanotherofthefourcorelensesBCGXutilizestovalidateearly-stageconcepts.

Theprocesstotestviabilitycanleveragevariousmethods—fromteaserwebsitestoadvertisementsandpre-orders,

todetermineifaproductislikelytosucceed—preorders

aparticularlypowerfulindicatorofpotentialsuccess.If

customersarepreparedtopurchaseyourproductbeforeit’savailable,it’sastrongsignthatyou’reontherighttrack.

Ourexperienceclearlydemonstratesthatminimizingrisksthroughmarketviabilitytestingiscrucialforimprovingthesuccessrateofnewventures.

Traditionally,teamshavereliedonhistoricalreports,surveys,

andcompetitivebenchmarkstoundertakethistesting.This

canoftenbeatime-consumingandresource-intensiveprocess.GenAIonceagainoffersanefficientalternativetoundertake

comprehensivetesting,enablingfaster,data-drivenmarketsizingandvalidationifemployedsmartly.Wealreadyseethreeclearusagesforthesetoolsinevaluationofmarketviability:

1Estimatingmarketsize

2Testingwillingnesstopay

3Competitivebenchmarking

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Usage1:Estimatingmarketsize

GenAItoolscanbecombinedwithpredictiveanalyticsplatformstoanalyzevastdatasets,providingdetailedestimatesofmarketsizing.Bysynthesizinginformationfrommultiplesources—suchasindustryreports,onlinetrends,andcustomerdata—GenAIcanquicklycalculatethepotentialsizeanddemandofanopportunityarea.

OneexamplecouldbeateamusingGenAItoexploreedutainmentmarketsize.Thisplatformcouldprovidetotaladdressablemarket(TAM)foraproducttargetingparentsofyoung

children,factoringindemographictrendsandspendingbehaviors.

Usage2:Testingwillingnesstopay

GenAI-poweredexperimentationcanbeusedtogaugeusers’willingnesstopay(WTP)—acrucialindicatorofmarketviability.CreatingAI-generatedsurveys,mocklandingpages,

orA/Btestscanprovideapathtosimulaterealpurchasescenariosandmeasureinterest,offeringvaluableinsightintothepaymentpreferencesoftargetaudiences.

UsingthistocompareWTPforsubscriptionvsbundlingisaprominentexample,andhasusecasesfrompetfoodthroughtodigitalmarketingsolutions.GenAIexperimentscandeliver

actionableinsightsonWTP,reducingtheriskofcommittingresourcestoamarketsolutionthatisultimatelyunviable.

Usage3:Competitivebenchmarking

GenAIcanprovideasolutiontoautomatecompetitiveanalysisbysynthesizinginsightsfromcompetitorwebsites,reviews,andofferingstoidentifygapsandopportunities.

Forexample,aGenAItoolcouldcomparefeaturesandpricingbetweentwonamedcompetitors,highlightingpotentiallyunderserveduserneedsthatrepresentmarketopportunitiesforbrandswiththerighttargetedproduct.

Thiscanallowteamstorefinetheirpositioningandoffersquicklybasedonrapidcompetitiveinsights,sidesteppingmultipledaysofmanuallygatheringdata.

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Step5:Rapidlybuildingandtestingminimumviableproducts(MVPs)

Timetomarketisincreasinglythedifferencebetweencapturingvalueormissingmajoropportunitiesintoday’sdynamicmarketplace.MVPscanprovideanacceleratedpathtoachievethisgoal.

BuildingandtestingMVPsisoneofthemostresource-intensivephasesofventure

development,withteamsoftenbecomingboggeddownduetochallengeslikehandling

supportingcapabilities,definingthecoreMVP,andcreatingintuitiveuserinterfaces.However,GenAIandspecializedtoolsarestreamliningthisprocess,enablingteamstofocusontesting

corefunctionalitiesratherthanbecomingtieduponperipheraltasks.TherearethreeclearusecaseswhereteamscanproactivelyleverageGenAItoimproveMVPdevelopment:

1Automatingsupportcapabilities

2Prototypingwith‘goodenough’UIs

3Focusingoncorefeatures

Usage1:Automatingsupportcapabilities

AI-poweredcodingtoolsandLLMsarehelpingengineersautomaterepetitivetaskssuchas

writingboilerplatecode,settingupinfrastructure,andmanagingsmallersystemcomponents.Thesetoolsreducedevelopmenteffortbygeneratingcodesnippetsandofferingsuggestionsinrealtime.

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Usage2:Prototypingwith‘goodenough’UIs

GenAIca