Wouter Koetzier, Adi Alon, and Kenneth Hooper

Venture capital firms typically create a portfolio of investments and manage them through the insights gleaned from the results of each. These firms often know in advance that most experiments will fail. They are often able to use their growing knowledge to double down on promising avenues and leverage the “skill to kill” to move away from investments that aren’t panning out. They understand that the fruits of one or two experiments may earn back the cost of the entire portfolio—and then some. To achieve the highest return on their portfolios, many VC firms apply three principles to their work: flexibility, speed, and control. Companies can use these principles and techniques to create a powerful alternative to the funnel process.