Following the end of the internet gold-rush era large multinational companies are shifting attention to achieving profitable innovation, growth and returns by building businesses. One way they are doing this is through the emerging management practice of corporate venturing. Corporate venturing can be defined as: creating and growing one or more new stand-alone independent businesses from scratch from within the company under the corporate wing but with more freedom than a business unit. direct equity investment by a company in a start-up or very early-stage business. a formal, direct relationship between a large company and a smaller company where both contribute resources and share risks and rewards; more a partnership than, say, a subsidiary-parent relationship. an investment where the strategic returns are relatively more important to the company than they are to venture capitalists who are mainly concerned with financial returns. Corporate venturing specifically does not include: internal research and development (R & D) establishing a new division, subsidiary or business unit takeovers or mergers joint ventures or alliances minority strategic stakes (such as in McDonalds taking 33% investment in Pret a Manger in January 2001) acquiring a portfolio of existing businesses ...