Co-Created is a venture development studio that partners with organizations to identify, explore, build, and launch innovative new businesses. Since 2010, Co-Created has partnered with over 70 companies to help bring more than 100 concepts to market. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Co-Created Partner Ron J. Williams to learn more.
Ron J. Williams’ Background
What is Williams’ background? Williams said:
“I’m passionate about tackling complex problems in ways that create real impact for real people and communities. So, I’ve spent most of my career bringing that lens to lots of different industries, which is what led me to my current role as a Partner at Co-Created.”
“Before joining Co-Created, I was Head of Strategy for D10X, the venture incubation program for Citibank, and a Managing Partner at Proof Labs, where I focused on digital innovation and helping new ventures find initial product-market fit so they could scale.”
Evolution Of Co-Created’s Thesis
How has Co-Created’s thesis evolved over time? Williams noted:
“Co-Created has constantly evolved as every single company tries to uncover new growth opportunities in a rapidly changing world – the pace of change isn’t letting up, so neither are our clients, and neither are we!”
“Every business is seeing competitors coming from new places and spaces, and so we’ve gotten laser-focused on helping them identify creative opportunities beyond incremental “traditional” growth. We help them look beyond known assumptions and familiar models, and help chart a course for them to act on these new opportunities and models.”
“So, our thesis has crystallized to helping organizations find opportunities that are worth doubling down on – and in this environment, we need to do this not only effectively, but quickly.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for your firm so far? Williams reflected:
“One especially gratifying moment was learning that a partner of ours at Scholastic wrote an incredible piece about some of our early work: while we’ve gotten some pretty cool feedback over 14 years, this stood out as one of the most kind (and entertaining) shout outs our team has ever received.”
“It stood out for me on a lot of levels: for one, it was incredibly validating (in the span of one week, they felt that we achieved more progress than they had made the prior 1,000 days!), but it also reflected the kind of fun our teams had while making this serious progress. It also helped affirm the fact that at Co-Created, we’re partners, not consultants. We don’t really talk about innovation as the thing that we do, rather, we’re helping companies identify growth in new places, new spaces, new markets with new models. The work that we achieved together – and that they were excited to share – truly embodied this. Finally, it showed our ability to lean into and align closely with our partners on their core values, and then show up with a different process and way of working to help them deliver on their fantastic missions.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of your firm’s most significant milestones? Williams cited:
“Creating more than $10 billion of enterprise value with our partners.”
Investment Success Stories
After asking Williams about investment success stories, he highlighted:
“Co-Created partnered with one of the world’s largest hardware manufacturers to stand up an entirely new hardware-as-a-service business in record time, setting up their own micro supply chain, to fulfill the new model – and then within 18 months built an 8-figure business.”
“So at Co-Created, it’s not just about identifying the signals and opportunities for growth or corporate training; we build alongside our partner teams and hold ourselves accountable for delivery. We’re effective at navigating large organizations, which can be the most challenging environments for innovation.”
Differentiation From Other Firms
What differentiates Co-Created from other firms? Williams concluded:
“First, we’re one of the only venture builders specializing in co-creating with large organizations. Beyond being able to explore spaces, identify, validate, and launch exciting new ventures, we’ve refined playbooks and processes for doing this with corporate innovators in ways that bring internal stakeholders along.”
“Second, Co-Created deeply believes that every business has the capacity to build impact into its long-term growth strategy – and we apply this lens to our work with partners for both their own benefit, and for that of their own customers, industries, and communities.”
“From big banks to insurance companies, from retail to cable operators, I’ve seen firsthand how companies across sectors are more and more curious about how to bring impact to life – and yet they know they can’t go at it alone. From Co-Created’s standpoint, solving more of the ‘main street’ problems is a massive opportunity for impact and economic growth. Every town is full of people thinking about some of the same things every day – is my family healthy? Will my kids be ok in the future? What will I be able to leave them as a legacy? Health and wellness; Learning and development; financial Security and Small business.”
“These ‘kitchen table’ issues impact everyone, and any companies that can help to make a difference in these areas are poised for long-term success. We stand out in our track record helping partners deliver “good growth” opportunities: good for the world and good for business.”
