Frederic Hofmann, Managing Director at ING Ventures, based in London, UK, explains:

• ING's approach to working with start-ups - a range of teams and strategies, from partnering to investing and ING's commitment to digital transformation

• ING Ventures' mandate - do they focus on the strategic alignment with ING or financial gain?

• Deal sourcing - how does ING find new investment opportunities

• What are the minimum criteria to invest, if any?

• Success stories: Eigen Technologies, Flowcast - an early warning system for ING retail to identify when retail clients are likely to be distressed, Cobase, a company built and spun out from ING Labs (now with Nordea and Credit Agricole as investors)

• Lessons learned: 

  • Lean governance for a corporate VC is key to success in a fast-changing environment

  • Working with a large bank takes time, but it can be massively impactful. 

  • There is no silver bullet when it comes to innovation in a large corporate, so many avenues need to be explored at the same time

  • Start-ups should continuously invest time in building a network of potential investors and, more

• The most efficient way to pitch your ideas to the ING Ventures team or ING in general