Corporate innovation projects stuck in pilots but never generating revenue? 

Here’s why 👇

I help corporate innovation and business development teams turn new products and services into real, scalable revenue, before momentum is lost.

At BW Ventures, we work with enterprise organisations (1,000+ FTE) to validate demand, design go-to-market strategies, and accelerate growth.

Most corporate innovation teams struggle with:

- Building solutions before validating real customer demand
- Strong pilots that never scale commercially
- Slow, unclear go-to-market execution
- Innovation teams disconnected from revenue ownership
- Missed growth opportunities due to internal complexity

Our work is structured around three growth levers:

1️⃣ Pre-Acceleration
Validate demand and secure early customers before heavy investment.

2️⃣ Go-To-Market Execution
Design and launch enterprise-ready GTM strategies for new products and services.

3️⃣ Strategic M&A (Growth Acceleration)
Acquire or partner to scale new business lines faster.

(Most clients start with Pre-Acceleration & GTM.)

Over the last few years, we’ve:

- Supported multiple corporate teams in launching new revenue streams
- Reduced time-to-market for enterprise innovations
- Helped innovation teams move from experimentation to commercial traction


👉 DM me “INNOVATION” if you’re responsible for turning new ideas into revenue and want to validate your next move before scaling.

Maarten Kroonenburg

Most innovation teams aren't testing ideas. 

And it’s exactly why they don’t grow. 

And look, I get it. 

You can have the best idea in the world. 

But in practice, it usually turns into: 

- Roadmaps that feel solid (without market proof) 
- Business cases built on assumptions 
- Steering committees approving vibes 
- Internal alignment instead of customer truth 

It looks professional. 

But none of it proves that a customer will ever pay. 

And that’s exactly why most initiatives die before revenue. 

The top 1% do something different.

They disqualify bad ideas early:

→ Dozens of actual customer conversations 
→ Pricing tests before building anything 
→ Kill criteria defined upfront 
→ Assumptions written down and then attacked 

Roadmaps by themselves don’t reduce risk. 

Nor do business cases make people buy. 

Only customers do. 

The fastest way to accelerate isn't speed. 

It’s using money wisely when you don’t yet have answers.

Maarten van Kroonenburg

I help corporate innovation leaders turn new products into revenue | Pre-Acceleration & Go-To-Market for enterprises

Almost all new corporate ventures could make money. 

If they just knew how to validate. 

The biggest mistake most business developers and innovation managers make isn't having a bad idea. 

It's spending 6 months building something nobody wants.

Then wondering why revenue never shows up.

I've seen it dozens of times: 

- Smart people 
- Solid execution 
- But absolutely zero customers 

All because they never validated the willingness to pay before launch. 

So I built something different. 

Not another guide or a framework you'll never use. 

A Revenue Readiness Diagnostic. 

It’s a structured assessment that exposes the gaps between what you believe and what you’ve actually validated. 

Here's how it works: 

→ You answer a short series of scored questions 
→ Questions force brutal honesty about your evidence 
→ You get a clear score showing where you actually stand 
→ The system identifies your biggest risk gaps 
→ You receive a prioritised validation plan Instant insights

It's clear roadmap showing what must be proven before revenue.

This will save you months of pain. 

Want the diagnostic? 

1. Connect with me 
2. Comment "READY" 

And I'll send it straight to your DMs.

Most people think Go-To-Market is a launch event. 

It's not. 

GTM isn't a date on your roadmap or a campaign you run once. 

Nor should it be. 

Here's what it actually is: 

→ Repetition: Does your motion work the 100th time?
→ Objections: Every "no" tells you what's broken in your model 
→ Unit economics: Can you acquire and retain customers profitably? 

The biggest mistake? 

Optimizing for visibility before proving viability. 

Teams spend months on launch decks and enablement materials... 

Before they've heard a single real objection. 

And before they've even proven the model repeats. 

GTM isn't a phase you complete. 

It's a system that either compounds or collapses. 

If it only worked once, it wasn't GTM. 

It was pure luck.

P.S - We don't create unicorns,

We breed blue whales 🐋

"We'll let the product speak for itself." 

Don’t. 

Because it never works. 

And this is the exact sentence that kills more deals than bad products ever will. 

Because buyers don't start with logic. 

They start with risk. 

Your product might be brilliant. 

But if your offer doesn't answer these questions up front, you lose: 

- What if this fails? 
- Can I defend this internally? 
- How much will this cost me politically? 
- Will procurement block this? 

Most innovation teams spend 90% on building. 

Almost nothing on packaging the offer. 

People assume that once the prospects see it, they'll get it. 

But they won't. 

Nobody has the time or attention to figure it all out. 

Strong offers do three things instead: 

1. Translate value into belief 
2. Remove risk before objections appear 
3. Give buyers a story they can repeat internally 

Without that, even the best product stays stuck in "interesting." 

Closing isn't about persuasion. 

It's about removing uncertainty.

Innovation teams don't have a budget problem. 

They have an investor mindset problem. 

Here's what I mean: 

Innovation teams manage projects as if they were parents. 

They protect each one. Defend their potential. Keep them all alive. 

But investors manage portfolios differently: 

- Expect 80% to fail 
- Fund small, early 
- Kill fast when evidence is weak 
- Double down only when signals are strong 

The difference? 

One keeps everything alive. 

The other moves resources to what's working.

If you protect everything, you’ll end up with: 

→ Crowded portfolios 
→ No clear winners 
→ Capital stuck in weak signals 
→ Decisions delayed because killing feels like failure 

Innovation isn't about running more experiments. 

It's about capital allocation under uncertainty. 

Without that mindset, teams just stay busy. 

Not effective.

A lot of innovation teams are lying to themselves. 

Not on purpose. 

But almost by default. 

Because if innovation never changes the budget, it’s just theatre. 

And as a result: 

- Companies run pilots. 
- Build prototypes. 
- Test new ideas. 

But when it's time to allocate capital? 

The innovation work sits in a separate folder. 

So what actually happens: 

→ Projects get explored, but budgets don't move 
→ Teams learn, nothing scales 
→ Experiments end, funding stays the same 

Meaning that nothing really happens. 

Real innovation doesn’t do this. 

It forces hard choices. 

It kills bad ideas instantly. 

And it gives the few that survive more funding, faster. 

Anything else is activity without consequence. 

And that’ll take you nowhere.

P.S - We don't create unicorns,

We breed blue whales 🐋

Most innovation teams don’t realise how much money they leave on the table. 

Not because they don't have budget.

But because they lock it in too early. 

Here's what I mean: 

A company has €6M for innovation. 

Bad approach: 

- 12 projects at €500k each 
- All run in parallel 
- No hard stops

Result? €6M spent. Maybe 1 project works. 

€5.5M went to ideas that never got a real yes/no. 

Better approach with the same €6M: 

Phase 1: 20 ideas x €75k 
Kill 14 fast. Continue 6. 

Phase 2: 6 projects x €250k 
Kill 4. Continue 2. 

Phase 3: 2 projects x €1.5M 
Fund what's actually working. 

Same total budget. 

Completely different logic. 

The first setup commits money once. 

The second moves capital toward signal. 

Innovation doesn't fail from lack of budget.

It fails because money gets allocated too early and reallocated too late. 

Good systems don't spend less. 

They just move faster.

A mediocre idea tested fast beats a great idea tested late.

Not because brilliance doesn't matter.

Because the market doesn't wait.

Most teams spend months perfecting the pitch.

Polishing the deck.

Aligning stakeholders.

While their competitors are already learning what works.

Speed isn't reckless execution.

It's cutting the gap between your assumption and real feedback.

Test fast and you get:

- Bad ideas exposed early
- Good ideas validated quickly
- Less money stuck in "what ifs"

Brilliant ideas feel too precious to risk.

Mediocre ideas feel safe to throw at the wall.

That's why "smart" projects die in planning.

They're waiting for certainty only customers can give.

Innovation isn't won by the best idea.

It's almost always won by whoever learns fastest.

P.S - We don't create unicorns,

We breed blue whales 🐋

Most corporate innovation will fail in 2026.

Not because they lack ideas.

Because they're structurally incapable of scaling them.

They all run innovation like project management.

But the companies that win?

They run innovation like investors.

These are Spawner companies.

And they operate on a completely different capital logic.

I just created a full breakdown of the Spawner framework covering:

- The 5 Spawner types (Adjacent, Embryonic, etc)
- Why asymmetric capital allocation drives real growth
- How to stage funding: Discovery → Validation → Scale
- The innovation system that actually works
- A practical checklist to start acting like a Spawner

This is the same system used by companies that continuously create new businesses while most corporates kill good ideas with bad process.

Want the full Spawner framework?

1. Connect with me
2. Comment "SPAWNER"

And I'll send it over to your inbox.

P.S - Repost this to get it early!

Most innovation projects I’ve seen have failed. 

Not because the idea sucked. 

But because validation stopped way too early. 

Here's what happens: 

- A prototype works 
- Users say "this is cool" 
- Team celebrates the quick win 

Then 2 years later, someone asks: "Where's the revenue?" 

The problem? 

You validated interest. 

But skipped the only thing that matters:

Actual willingness to pay. 

Real scaling requires: 

→ Moving from niche to real problem 
→ Turning promises into commitments 
→ Building repeatable economics, not just pilots 

Innovation doesn’t scale on enthusiasm. 

It scales on evidence. 

And evidence starts with customers paying.

Most bold ideas don't fail in the market. 

They fail in the building. 

Not because leadership said "no". 

Because they said "let's revisit this next quarter." 

Here's what kills internal innovation: 

- Extra approval layers 
- Requests to "refine the strategy" 
- Endless re-scoping 
- Death by a thousand delays 

The bigger the idea, the stronger the resistance. 

Beautiful pitch decks don't create confidence anymore. 

They create doubt. 

What actually builds internal support: 

1. Show evidence of a real problem worth solving 
2. Prove people will actually pay for it 
3. Be honest about what's working and what isn't 
4. Ask for small staged funding, not one massive bet 

Internal champions aren't won in boardrooms. 

They're built during the work. 

Long before you ever pitch. 

When stakeholders see the evidence early, buy-in stops being political. 

It becomes obvious.

Innovation teams obsess over burn rate.

They ignore opportunity cost.

And that's the real killer.

Burn rate shows up in dashboards.

Opportunity cost doesn't:

- It's the capital that could've gone somewhere better.
- The stronger projects that never got funded.
- The options you lost by locking budgets in too early.

Most teams track spend.

Almost none track optionality.

Here's what happens when budgets get locked:

- Weak projects keep running because they were "approved"
- Dead signals get more runway than they deserve
- Better ideas arrive when there's nothing left to move

On paper? Everything looks fine.

In reality? You've killed your ability to adapt.

The strongest innovation systems don't just control burn.

They keep capital flexible.

Fast kills. Clear thresholds. Money that follows evidence, not history.

Because the real risk isn't running out of budget.

It's running out of options.

P.S - We don't create unicorns,

We breed blue whales 🐋

Most companies fund innovation backwards.

And it can end up costing millions.

First, they approve big budgets upfront.

Then spend months defending why they shouldn't lose it.

Here's what actually works:

Start small. 

Really small.

Give teams just enough to test their riskiest assumption.

If the signal is weak? Kill it.
If the signal is strong? Add fuel.

The goal isn't to protect budgets.

It's to protect speed.

Because innovation dies in two ways:

1. Bad ideas that get too much runway
2. Good ideas that don't get rewarded fast enough

The solution is simple.

Treat funding like a filter, not a commitment.

- Start with tiny bets across multiple ideas
- Cut aggressively based on evidence
- Double down only when conviction is earned

This forces two critical behaviors:

Teams move faster (because they know decisions are coming)

Capital flows to what's working (not what was approved 6 months ago)

Shrinking budgets early isn't about thinking small.

It's about staying honest.

P.S - We don't create unicorns,

We breed blue whales 🐋

Almost all innovation teams seem busy from the outside. 

Close to 0 are actually moving the needle. 

Because rarely any of them track the right things. 

But instead, they track: 

- Experiments run. 
- Pilots launched. 
- Decks presented. 
- Stakeholders aligned. 

None of that proves actual impact. 

And that drives the wrong decisions: 

→ Projects stay alive longer than they should. 
→ Momentum gets reported instead of results. 
→ Weak ideas avoid being killed, because stopping doesn’t look like progress. 

The outcome is predictable. 

Initiatives move forward without earning the right to scale. 

And capital gets stuck in “promising” work that never moves. 

The fix isn’t complicated. 

Just change what you measure. 

Stop rewarding motion, and start rewarding outcomes. 

Revenue doesn’t come from being busy. 

It comes from narrowing the field. 

If your KPIs don’t make stopping easier, they won’t make scaling possible.

P.S - We don't create unicorns,

We breed blue whales 🐋

The most expensive mistake in innovation?

Waiting too long to kill a bad project.

Early-stage experiments are cheap to stop.

A prototype costs time, and maybe a few weeks of resources.

That’s easy to walk away from.

But here's where teams get trapped:

The "almost proven" zone.

You've got:

- Pilot data showing promise
- Teams already staffed
- Budget allocated
- Stakeholders invested

And as a result, you run "one more test."

Then another.

But that uncertainty is very expensive.

Especially when the core questions still remain unanswered:

→ Will customers actually pay? 
→ Can this scale profitably? 
→ Who owns this commercially?

The project hasn't earned the right to scale.

But it's no longer cheap to stop.

The fix is simple:

Define your evidence thresholds before you start.

And agree on kill criteria while stopping is still affordable.

Early uncertainty costs you weeks.

Late uncertainty costs you years.

“Almost proven” is where innovation bleeds money.

Not at the start.

Not even at scale.

But right in the middle.

We see this phase all the time:

- A prototype works.
- Early users are positive.
- The team feels ~70% confident.

Not enough to scale, not bad enough to kill.

So what happens?

Early ideas are cheap.

Late uncertainty is expensive.

This is the moment where:

→ Kill decisions get delayed because optics matter
→ “Just one more pilot” sounds reasonable
→ €100k quietly turns into €500k without a real yes or no

Not because teams are reckless.

But because stopping late feels worse than continuing.

So projects drift, stay alive, all while capital stays locked.

We’ve helped multiple teams step in exactly at this point.

When things feel promising, but unclear.

Want to see if we could help navigate your situation better?

Comment "INNOVATION" and I'll shoot over a DM.

Innovation teams optimise projects.

Real spawners optimise decision speed.

Because the real bottleneck isn’t ideas.

And it isn’t funding.

It’s how long teams stay in uncertainty.

Most organisations are great at starting things.

They’re terrible at deciding:

→ Is this real demand or just polite interest?
→ Is this scalable or just a nice pilot?
→ Is this worth real capital or not?

So projects linger.

More research.

One more experiment.

Another stakeholder update.

Not because the team is slow.

But because the system makes decisions hard.

Spawners work differently.

They design their innovation process around one outcome:

Turning uncertainty into a clear decision, fast.

That’s also exactly what Pre-Acceleration is built for.

It’s not about running more experiments.

It’s about shortening the distance between:

“We think this might work” and “We now know what to do with our capital.”

Google Trainer | 🏆 1st Greek LinkedIn Certified Marketing Expert | Helping Businesses Grow via Advanced Marketing Strategies, PPC, SEM, SEO, CRO | Growth Architect & Behavioral Economist.

Hello and welcome to my profile! I'm Vasileios, a Development Economist with over 14 years immersed in the world of Digital Marketing. Fun fact: I'm also the first LinkedIn Certified Marketing Expert in Greece! I hold a BSc in Economics and Regional Development and an MSc in Behavioral Economics and Growth & Sustainability. As a Google Partner and a seasoned marketer, I've managed over $15 million in ad spend across various channels including Meta, Google, LinkedIn, X, and others, consistently achieving outstanding results through strategic planning and best practices.

In addition to my proficiency in SEO and CRO, I specialize in harnessing my understanding of social norms and behaviors to craft highly effective, tailored marketing strategies. These strategies resonate with specific audiences, delivering impressive conversion rates. My approach is to try to create and communicate micro-win-win moments, via proper framing and messaging.

My professional philosophy is simple yet profound: "If you know what you are looking for, then you just need a plan to get there." This approach guides me in helping businesses find clarity and reorient towards enhanced profitability through data-driven problem-solving.

In the ever-evolving field of marketing, ambiguity is often the only constant. My experience has helped me thrive in this environment, identifying the most effective solutions in a landscape where answers are seldom clear-cut. My ability to navigate these grey areas helps identify the most effective strategies, that tend to stand out in a crowded marketplace, in dynamic and complex market conditions.

As a leader, I believe in leading by example. Hard work, mutual respect, and unwavering support are the pillars of my leadership style. I strive to create an environment where my team feels valued and empowered, fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration. This approach has not only enhanced team productivity but also cultivated a positive and inclusive workplace.

My ambition is to be recognized as a leading authority in my field. I am committed to continuous learning and skill development, ensuring that I stay ahead of industry trends and best practices. This dedication has been key to overcoming numerous professional challenges, allowing me to grow and evolve as a marketer and a leader.

I invite startups, founders, and business enthusiasts to connect. Let's book a 30-minute call to discuss your digital marketing strategies, and how we can elevate your business together.
👉https://calendly.com/mylonas-vasilis/30min_intro-talk_calendly

Vasileios Mylonas 🤘

Today was my speech at Inspire Day in Milan.

And it took me a bit to post this.

Not because I was tired.
But because I wanted to let it sink in.

All of you who came.
Who inspired me.
Who got inspired.
Who quoted me during the talks.
Who tagged me on your stories.
Who sent me messages with images and lines from my presentation.

You have no idea what that does to a speaker.

If I’m honest, for the next few days one sound will keep replaying in my head:

My name being called on stage.
The opening slide behind me.
That first second of silence before I started speaking.

That moment.

That’s the one you carry home with you.

Thank you, Milan.
Thank you, Inspire Day.
And thank you to every single one of you who made this feel less like a talk and more like a shared moment.

Founder of The Cool Legion & The Cool Lion | 🏆 1st Greek LinkedIn Certified Marketing Expert (Top 30 Influencer Worldwide) | Digital Strategist, Performance Marketing, PPC, SEO, CRO & Analytics | Author & Public Speaker

At the airport.
Gate open. Coffee overpriced. Vibes immaculate.

On my way to Milan for Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn®  where I’m not just attending…

I’m opening the event as the honorary international speaker. No pressure. 😅

I’ve packed:
• My laptop
• My slides (Final_finalv3.7, obviously)
• My The Cool Lion t-shirt 
• My passion for discussion - beware people
• And a dangerous amount of bad jokes nobody asked for

Forgot my charger because sh*t happens.

Plan for tomorrow:
Open Inspire Day.
Inspire people.
Try not to say “LinkedIn” every 40 seconds.
Fail at that last one.

If you’re going to be there, come say hi.
I’ll be the Greek guy by the espresso machine.

Milan, see you in a bit.
My phone is on roaming.
Hope my humor catches up on the time difference.

No alternative text description for this image

Huge thanks to Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn® for having me, the vibes and the experience have been great. Loved the crowd and their connection with my presentation.

This speech will always have a special place in my heart.

Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn®

View company: Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn®

Come trasformare connessioni in conversioni? Questo è uno dei principali obiettivi per chi utilizza LinkedIn. 

Una strada ce l'ha mostrata Vasileios Mylonas 🤘, LinkedIn® Ambassador. 

Non ci sono segreti o scorciatoie, ma molto lavoro quotidiano e consapevolezza rispetto al proprio target e obiettivi! 

#InspireDay

Monday morning.

Back home.
Back to routine.
But my head is still somewhere between the stage and the Duomo.

Last week in Milan, I opened Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn® as the honorary international speaker.

This week, I’m opening my laptop with the same feeling.

Because something strange happens after a talk like that.

You don’t come back with notes.
You come back with echoes.

People quoting you.
Tagging you.
Repeating your lines.
Telling you what stuck with them.

And you realize:

The real impact of a speech is not what you say on stage.
It’s what people keep saying after you leave it.

So this Monday is not a “back to work” Monday.

It’s a “carry the energy forward” Monday.

If you were there, you know.
If you weren’t, I hope you felt a bit of it through the screen.

Milan gave me memories.
You gave me meaning.

What’s the one LinkedIn feature that quietly builds your authority?
Most people don’t even use it: LinkedIn Articles.

Here’s why they’re a game-changer:

🚀 Position Yourself as a Thought Leader
Writing long-form content lets you dive deep into your expertise, showcasing your knowledge in a way posts can’t.

🚀 SEO for Your Profile
Articles are indexed by search engines and LinkedIn’s own search, driving organic traffic to your profile.

🚀 Engage Your Audience Over Time
Unlike posts, articles have a longer shelf life. They continue to bring value and visibility long after publishing.

💡 Pro Tip: Write articles that solve a specific problem for your audience. Then, repurpose key insights into posts to extend their reach.
Are you using LinkedIn Articles? If not, what’s stopping you? Let’s discuss below! 🚀👇
#LinkedInTips #ContentStrategy #ThoughtLeadership #AuthorityBuilding

Outlive changed how I think about time.

Not productivity time. Not busy time. But usable time — years where your body and mind actually let you do what you care about.

What struck me most is how quietly decline starts. By the time something feels wrong, the damage is already done. The book makes a simple but uncomfortable case: waiting for signals is usually waiting too long.

That idea translates surprisingly well beyond health. Careers decay the same way. Relevance fades gradually. Skills atrophy silently. By the time results drop, the system has already failed.

Attia’s approach is preventive, data-driven, and long-term. Build strength early. Measure what matters. Fix problems upstream. Optimize for decades, not quarters.

It’s not a motivational message.
It’s a strategic one.

Vasileios Mylonas - Linkedin Expert - Outlive

Well what can I say?

I become a poet when inspired 😁

Grazie 🌙Elisabetta Pesenti,
Grazie Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn®

Autrice e Conduttrice del Podcast “Mamme in Carriera”| Founder & COO @La Luna del Grano | Proud mom of 4 | Coach Professionista ICF (ACC) | Trainer

"Ma tu, ogni quanto posti su LinkedIn?" 🙄

Ogni volta che sento questa domanda, vorrei nascondermi. Il mio lavoro vero è offline: formazione e parità di genere con La Luna del Grano - Società Benefit, coaching 1:1, il mio Podcast #MammeinCarriera. 
Sui social mi sono sempre sentita quella che "non si applica abbastanza". 

Poi ricevo l'invito di Terziario Donna Confcommercio Milano per l'Inspire Day | L'evento italiano dedicato a LinkedIn®... Ero indecisa se andare, pensavo di uscirne con l'ansia. 

Invece - SBAM - colpo di scena! Ne esco serena.

Ho capito che il mio intuito aveva ragione, mi porto a casa 3 pillole:

✅ Meno impressioni, più follower. Non conta chi ti vede passare, ma chi resta perché crede in ciò che dici. 

✅ Qualità, non rumore. Meglio poche interazioni reali che mille menzioni a caso. 

✅ La divulgazione è una maratona, non uno sprint. Siamo qui per la partita lunga. 

Grazie agli organizzatori, a tutti gli speaker, ma in particolare a Stefano Ferri, Vasileios Mylonas 🤘e Santina Giannone per avermi ricordato di essere autentica.  

Ah. Non taggo tanti altri per non confondere l'algoritmo... l'ho imparato oggi! 😉 

A domani per il secondo round! 🚀

#InspireDay #LinkedIn #PersonalBranding #Autenticità

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Maarten Kroonenburg

Vasileios Mylonas 🤘

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taplio

The Battle

Maarten Kroonenburg

Vasileios Mylonas 🤘

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Maarten Kroonenburg's LinkedIn Performance

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