At GCO Ventures, we do not see venture capital and venture building as mutually exclusive paths, but as two complementary ways to participate in the startup ecosystem.

Through venture capital:

• We invest in external startups that already have a product, a team and signs of traction.
• We look for companies in areas connected to the GCO ecosystem, where we can add value as partners.

This activity keeps us close to the market, allows us to understand new business models and enables us to support teams with strong potential.

Through venture building:

• We build new ventures from scratch when we identify market opportunities that have been sufficiently validated.
• We apply a fast-follower logic, looking for markets where proven models already exist but where there is still room for new players.
• We create propositions adapted to a specific context and rely on GCO’s internal capabilities, including sector knowledge, market access, network and operational experience.

The two lines reinforce each other: investment allows us to observe trends, understand which models are working and expand our network; venture building allows us to turn that learning into new businesses when we see a clear opportunity to build.

The goal is not to choose between investing or building, but to combine both capabilities to identify, validate and scale opportunities with a more complete view of the market.

Related: [FAQ 1: What is GCO Ventures] | [FAQ 6: What makes our model different]