Oliver Schmäschke, T.Capital: 3 Principles to Prevent CVC Failure
Get the full intelligence
Search transcripts, export clips, track mentions, and explore all topics from “Oliver Schmäschke, T.Capital: 3 Principles to Prevent CVC Failure” inside PodZeus.
In this episode of EUVC, host Andreas interviews Oliver Schmäschke, Head of T-Capital, the strategic investment arm of Deutsche Telekom managing over €2.3 billion in assets. Schmäschke shares his three core principles for building a sustainable Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) unit that can outlast the average 3.7-year lifespan: (1) be crystal clear on strategic purpose—focus on being the best strategic investor, not a financial one; (2) select the right playing field by investing in mature startups (Series B+) that align with the corporation’s goals and actually want the partnership; and (3) design governance and structure to support strategic impact, not financial returns. He emphasizes that success hinges on trust, value creation, and long-term relationship-building with both internal business units and portfolio companies. Schmäschke also discusses talent acquisition, the importance of internal champions, and the need for corporates to define their innovation goals clearly before launching a CVC. The conversation underscores that while CVC is challenging, it can be transformative when executed with clarity, culture, and consistency.
Be crystal clear on your purpose: focus on being the best strategic investor, not a financial one.
Invest only in mature startups (Series B+) that are ready to partner and actually want your collaboration.
Design governance and incentives around strategic impact, not financial returns or carried interest.
Build trust through consistent value creation—show up, deliver on promises, and become a preferred partner.
Talent matters: hire people who love working with corporations, not just those chasing financial upside.
Introducing Oliver Schmäschke and T-Capital
Andreas introduces Oliver Schmäschke, Head of T-Capital, the strategic investment arm of Deutsche Telekom, which manages over €2.3 billion in assets. He highlights Oliver’s deep expertise in corporate venturing and the unique role T-Capital plays in driving innovation for Deutsche Telekom.
The Three Principles of Sustainable CVC
“If you're a strategic investor, you need to have a different governance. There's a corporation that needs to be involved in the right way. You need to set the incentive so that it is in line with making strategic impact.”
Why Most CVCs Fail: The 3.7-Year Lifespan
Oliver discusses the common failure point of CVCs—surviving CEO changes—and explains how clarity of mission, internal alignment, and long-term value creation help avoid the 3.7-year average lifespan. He references Ilya Strebolev’s insight: surviving three CEOs signals success.
Talent, Culture, and Internal Champions
“You need to find those people who love working with the organization, who love creating value, sitting on the board with a company and not only telling them, oh, you need to meet your quarter end numbers.”
The Strategic Edge of Corporations
“We need to be the first ones that Andreessen, Sequoia, whoever calls. If they think about, hey, this should be somewhere around telco, tech, Europe, who do I call? Okay, let's call T-Capital and ask if this is for them.”
“We need to be the first ones that Andreessen, Sequoia, whoever calls. If they think about, hey, this should be somewhere around telco, tech, Europe, who do I call? Okay, let's call T-Capital and ask if this is for them.”
“If you're a strategic investor, you need to have a different governance. There's a corporation that needs to be involved in the right way. You need to set the incentive so that it is in line with making strategic impact.”
“You need to find those people who love working with the organization, who love creating value, sitting on the board with a company and not only telling them, oh, you need to meet your quarter end numbers.”
Host
Guest
Deutsche Telekom
organization
T-Capital
organization
Andreas
person
Oliver Schmäschke
person
AI
other
Cloud
other
Hamburg
place
Cybersecurity
other
IoT
other
11 Labs
organization
E717 | Jessica Persson, Scania on Why Most Corporate VCs Are Built for a World That No Longer Exists
EUVC • 42m • 4/1/2026
E718 | Cameron McLain, Giant Ventures On Why Europe Needs to Own the Stack
EUVC • 37m • 4/3/2026
E719 | Europe Is Writing the Cheques. The System Still Doesn’t Work.
EUVC • 53m • 4/6/2026
Henrietta Moon, Carbo Culture on Building Multi-Revenue Carbon Removal
EUVC • 48m • 4/8/2026
Simone Maini (Elliptic) & Jay Wilson (AlbionVC): From Hype to Infrastructure? Crypto’s Second Act
EUVC • 43m • 4/10/2026
Get the full intelligence
Search transcripts, export clips, track mentions, and explore all topics from “Oliver Schmäschke, T.Capital: 3 Principles to Prevent CVC Failure” inside PodZeus.
Start discovering podcast insights today
Start with a 7-day trial and explore a growing catalog of popular podcasts. No credit card required.
No credit card required • 7-day trial • Cancel anytime