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Two thirds of new business builders are confident about the next five years

Resources are tighter. Organisations become leaner. And yet two thirds of the new business builders we surveyed or our 2026 study across DACH believe new business building will contribute to their organisation's growth and stability over the next five years. That confidence isn't blind optimism. It comes from a specific set of choices these organisations have already made.

WhatAVenture team during a workshop.

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39% of corporate venture building teams in our 2026 study report that their resources have decreased in the past 12 months.  

Organisations that are thriving in this environment aren't doing so despite the pressure. They're using the pressure to recalibrate and to secure top management commitment.

Lower resources require to increase focus

The organisations we see performing well right now have gone through what we'd describe as a strategic recalibration. Not a retreat: a sharpening.  

They've cut activities that weren't producing strategically relevant results, tightened their search fields, and rebuilt their operating models in a way that actually creates impact.

The result is new business building that is leaner, more focused, and more directly tied to the strategic ambitions of the parent organisation.  
More ventures that survive the next budget cycle because they have a clear reason to exist.

This is what we mean when we talk about recalibration. It's not cost-cutting dressed up as strategy. It's the deliberate decision to do fewer things, with a lean team setup, with more conviction, in closer alignment with corporate direction.

The confidence gap

Our 2026 study shows: The two-thirds of builders who are confident about the next five years share a few things in common. Their opportunity search fields connect to corporate strategy. Their governance models allow fast decisions without constant escalation. Their top management is structurally committed, not just verbally supportive.

As I often say to the teams we work with: the best time to build new business is when the current business is still strong. Waiting for a crisis to force the question is a strategy of last resort.

The organisations currently recalibrating are not stepping back from new business building. They're building the conditions under which new business building will actually deliver. That's a different thing entirely.

What to take from this

If your organisation is in the middle of a resource review right now, the question worth asking is not whether to continue with new business building. It's whether the new business building you're doing is sharp enough to survive and justify its place in the portfolio.

Leaner can be better. But only if the focus is right.

The full data on how DACH new business builders are navigating this phase is in our study, "The state of new business building 2026"  

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The publication behind this article

The state of new business building 2026

New business building is shifting: Resources are tighter. Expectations are higher. This study shows how new business builders in DACH are responding and which ones are pulling ahead.

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Stefan Peintner

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Stefan Peintner
CEO & Managing Partner whataventure

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