mckinsey -连续建设者优势：为什么重复创新者会赢 The serial builder advantage Why repeat innovators win

Mckunsey

&company

July2026

BusinessBuildingPractice

Theserialbuilder

advantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin

NewMcKinseyresearchexplainswhyorganizationsthatrepeatedlybuildnewventuresoutperformthosethatapproachinnovationasaone-offeffort.

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin2

Inaneraofeconomicuncertaintyandacceleratingtechnologicaldisruption,creatingnew

businesseshasbecomelessofagrowthoptionandmoreofastrategicimperative.Inthis

episodeof

TheMcKinseyPodcast

,McKinseySeniorPartner

JasonBello

speakswithEditorialDirectorRobertaFusaroaboutMcKinsey’snewresearchoncorporateventurebuilding.Theyexaminewhyserialbuildersoutperformtheirpeers,howAIisreshapingtheeconomicsof

innovation,andwhatleaderscandototurnexperimentationintoarepeatablecapability.

TheMcKinseyPodcastiscohostedbyLuciaRahillyandRobertaFusaro.

Thefollowingtranscripthasbeeneditedforclarityandlength.

Whyit’sbettertobuildandrepeat

RobertaFusaro:We’reheretodaytotalkaboutMcKinsey’slatestsurveyon

corporateventure

building

.Beforewegetstarted,pleasedefinecorporateventurebuilding.

JasonBello:Wemeanastep-outbusiness.Itcanbeintheareawhereyouworkorwiththe

customersthatyouserve.Butwe’retalkingaboutwhollynewproducts.It’simportantbecauseitmeansyouneedadifferentlevelofinvestmentandmanagement.

Oftentimes,evenifit’sthesamecustomer,there’sadifferentsalescycle,orperhapsyou’re

dealingwithsoftwareinsteadofhardware.It’sthesethingsthataren’tjustanotherturnoranincrementonanexistingproductthatyouhave,butsomethingthatisusinganadvantageyouhavebutinafundamentallydifferentway.

RobertaFusaro:Whatwastheresearchbaseforthis?Tellusalittlebitmoreaboutthestudyitself.

JasonBello:Theresearchlookedatbothventurebuildingandcompaniesexperimentingwithventurebuilding.Welookedatarangeofcompanies,fromlargetosmall,andattheCEOsandthegeneralmanagersofthesenewbusinesses.

Whenyouthinkaboutcapitaldeployment,ifyouhaveadollarofcapitaltodeploy,youcandeployittoM&A,andthat’sgreat.However,there’salotofuncertainty,andyoudon’t

necessarilyknowwhatyou’rebuying.You’repayingabigpremiumtopurchaseit.

Ifyoucandeploythatcapitalinternallyagainstsomethingwhereyoumighthavemore

convictionintheopportunity,butyoudon’thavealotofconvictiononyourcapabilitytodeliverit,that’sarealopportunity.Sowestartedaskingourselves,“Whatdogreatbusinessbuildersdothatothersdon’t?Howdowehelpotherslearnfromthosegreatbusinessbuilders?”

RobertaFusaro:Theresearchshowsthatthecompaniesthatbuildthreeormoreventuresallatoncedramaticallyoutperformthosethatonlytrytobuildsomethingnewonce.Whydoyouthink

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin3

practicemakessuchabigdifferencehere?

JasonBello:Ithinkit’sbecausebuildingbusinessesisamuscle.Inordertoleadanewbusinessventure,youneedtofunditdifferently.Youcan’tjustlookatlastyear’sbudgetandsay,“You

getlastyear’sbudgetplusorminusXpercent.”Youhavetoaskyourself,“Whatismy

investmentgoingtobetolaunchthisbusinessendtoend?HowdoIbreakthatinvestmentintotranchessothatthereislessrisk?”Also,thesebusinessesarequitecashconstrained.

Everybody’scashconstrainedtobeginwith,soyoudon’twanttooverdoit.Thinkingaboutmilestone-basedfundingisafundamentallydifferentwayoffundingabusiness.

Youmustthinkabouthowyouholdpeopleaccountable.It’snotlikeyou’resettingannualgoalsthatarethesameyearafteryear.Youhavetoaskyourself,“Whataremyobjectivesandkey

resultsforthenextquarter?HowdoItrackthat,andhowdoIholdteamsaccountabletothat?”Everypieceofbusinessbuildingisalittlebitofastepoutfromwhatcompaniestraditionallydo.Whenyourepeatthatprocess,youbuildthatmuscle.

Serialbusinessbuildersalsodobetterbecausetheytakeaportfoliomindset.Noteveryoneofthesebusinesseswillbesuccessful,justasnoteveryM&Adealorproductlaunchwillbe

successful.Theyhaveriskattachedtothem.Sowhenbusinessbuilderssay,“I’mgoingtotacklethreeofthesebusinessideas,”theynaturallyderisk,andtheyalsonaturallygetmore

comfortablekillingthingsearlywhentheydon’tmeetthecustomerorperformancemilestonesearlyon.

RobertaFusaro:Itseemsliketheexperience,aswellasthe“practicemakesperfect”mindset,isheavilyreflectedintheresearch.Onethingthatalsostruckmewasthequestionofcost.In

2024,theaveragecosttoreachbreakevenonthetypicalnewventurewasaround$125million.In2025,thatnumberdroppedto$77million.Whatdoyouthinkisdrivingthatshift?

JasonBello:Ithinkit’stwothings.Weareinanenvironmentwherecapitalisconstrained,andorganizationsareholdingtheirbusinessesonatighterleash.Ithinkbusinessesaregenuinely

saying,“Findawaytogetimpactearlier,”andthey’relookingforbusinesscaseswhereyoucanget30to50percentofthevalueofyourbusinesscasewithinthefirst12to18months.

Thesecondthingdrivingthisshiftisthe

introductionofAI

.AIhascompletelyreinventedthewaywedobusinessbuilding,aswellasthetypesofbusinessesthatwe’rebuilding.WecanuseAI

companionsthroughouteverystepoftheprocesstomakebusinessbuildingfasterandbetter.ManagersandCEOsarerecognizingthatandholdingtheirteamsaccountableforbakingthatproductivityintotheirprocesses.

AIisrewritingthebuilderplaybook

RobertaFusaro:HowarecompaniesusingAIinthebuildingandscalingprocess?Doyouhaveexamplesofcompaniesthataredoingthiswellrightnow?

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin4

‘AIhascompletelyreinventedthewaywedobusinessbuilding,aswellasthetypesofbusinessesthatwe’rebuilding.’

JasonBello:There’sAIasabusiness,andthenthere’sAIinthebackgroundofbusiness

building.Let’sstartwithAIasabusiness.Alotofmyclientsareasking,“HowdoIcompletelyreinventthewaythatIworkwithAI?”

Itmaybesomewhatclosetotheircorework,butthey’rethinking,“CanIactuallybuilda

businessonthesidethatwouldbeanAI-nativeversionofmyselfthatwoulddisruptme?”Forexample,we’veaccomplishedthiswithabank,whereabankhassaid,“IwanttobuildaB2B

bankforsmallbusinessestotakeoutloans,dotheirdailybanking,andmanagetheirsuppliers.

ButIwantittobecompletely

AInative

.”

Theclientbuiltthissecondarybankasanewbusinessontheside,eventhoughitwasdoingtheexactsamestufftheydoasacorebank.However,theKYC[knowyourcustomer]processwasfullyautomatedandagentic.Customerservicewasfullyautomatedandagentic.Andtheflowoffundswasautomatedandagentic.

Ispentallmylifeinhealthcare.I’mdoingthesamekindofthingswithhealthcarepayersandhealthcareintermediaries,wherewe’reaskingourselves,“Couldwebuildtotallynewwaysofdoingpriorauthorizationsorprocessingclaimsusingagentic?”

Wetreatitlikeanewbusiness.Atsomepoint,we’regoingtoreintegratetherestofthebusinessback.That’sallAIasabusiness.

WecanalsotalkabouthowfoundersandbusinessbuildersareusingAItoacceleratetheirownbusiness,withinthebusiness.ThereareacoupleofthingsthatIwouldhighlightthere.Oneis

usingAItobuildbusinessesfaster.Therearecopilotsforeverystepofbusinessbuilding.We’vebuiltourownplatformcalledBeacon,andourclientsareusingit.They’realsousingnative

platforms,likewhatyoucangetinCursororCopilot,forproductmanagement.Productfailureshappenallthetimewhensomeonedoesn’tthinkthroughthenthdegreeofdetailonallthosethings.AIcandothatthinkingforyou.

ThereareplatformsouttherethatallowyoutoenteronestatementtohaveabriefconversationwithAI,anditfillsouttheentire“acceptancecriteria,”whichisallofthosedifferentdimensions

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin5

ofwhatitmeanstohavethisfeatureautomatically.

We’veallseentheuseofAItosupportsoftwareengineeringincoding,andthat’sbeenhuge.Ateachstep,there’sbeenarealproductivityadvantage.However,themorefunandexcitingusecasehasactuallybeenonthequalityofbusinessbuilding.

RobertaFusaro:I’dlovetohearmoreaboutthat.

JasonBello:InourBeaconplatform,youcanenteryourideaortheseedofaconcept,anditwilldrawfromotherindustriesandplacestogiveyouvariationsonathemeinordertohelpyou

ideateandbroadentheapertureonyourconcept.Youcanimagineabusinesswhereyou’re

focusedononesetoffeatures,andthetoolcansuggest,“Haveyouthoughtofusingthisotherintermediaryasacustomerandgettingthemengaged?”or“Haveyouthoughtaboutadifferentsaleschannel?”or“Maybeyouwerethinkingaboutsellingthisproductasaperpetuallicenseorasapay-per-click.However,aSaaS-basedsolution,whereyoupayannually,mightbeabetteroption.”Itreallychallengesyourthinkingalongtheway.

We’veevenbeenexperimentingwiththingslikesyntheticcustomers.Iwasinvolvedinan

examplerecentlyinthepetcarespace,andwewereabletosetupsyntheticpetowners

becausethere’ssomuchdataoutthereaboutpetowners.They’reonRedditandFacebook.

Therearearticlesfeaturingtheiropinions.Wecouldsegmentthesesyntheticcustomersintoolder,younger,andfirst-timepetowners,andpeoplewithmultiplepets.Wehadpersonas

drawnfromrealdatafromactualpetowners,andwhenwewereideating,wetypedthema

question,andtheyrespondedasthatpersona.It’snotperfect,becauseAIcanbesycophantic,andourpersonasloveeverything.

RobertaFusaro:I’veheardthataboutthesyntheticpersonas.Theywillenjoyeveryoptionyouprovidethem.

JasonBello:It’sallabouthowyoupromptthem.Butitisuseful.It’snotareplacementforuserresearch,butitcanbesomethinginbetweentofillthegapsortohelpyouframeyourquestionstorealusersinyourresearch.

RobertaFusaro:Isthereawayaroundthesycophanticresponses?Howdoyougetyourpersonastobeauthenticwithyou?

JasonBello:InBeacon,wetrytobuildtheplatformtoprompttheengineortheagentsthatareproducingthesesyntheticpersonastotampthatkindofresponsedownsomewhat.It’sthewayyoupromptthemthatcanhelptosomedegree,andencouragingthepersonastochallengeyoucanbehelpful.

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin6

‘It’snotareplacementforuser

research,butitcanbesomethingin

betweentofillthegapsortohelpyouframeyourquestionstorealusersinyourresearch.’

Theneweconomicsofexperimentation

RobertaFusaro:YoumentionedusingAItomovebeyondthecorebusiness.There’sabalancebetweenbeingenthusiasticaboutwhat’spossibleandmanagingbusinessasusual.Howshouldleadersthinkaboutthatbalance?

JasonBello:Youneedtothinkofitlikeaportfolio.Mybestadviceistostartwiththebusinessproblem.Don’ttakebusinessbuildingasahammerlookingforanail.Pickabusinessproblemthatyouwanttosolveandtrytosolvethatproblemthroughmultipleavenues.

Businessbuildingshouldbethoughtofasawaytosolveaproblem.MaybeyoucanthinkaboutM&Aasawaytosolvethatproblem,andstarttoexperimentwithmultipleshotsongoal.We

havefoundthatplayerswhotakemultipleshotsongoalagainstasinglegoaltendtobemuchmoresuccessfulthanplayerswhoareplacinglotsofbetsallovertheplace.

Tome,that’sthemostimportantthing.Ifyouknowwhatyouwanttodo,youroddsofdoingitwillgoupdramatically.

Youalsohavetoisolatethebusinesssomewhat.Forexample,ifyoupullitoutfromtheday-to-daymanagement,haveitreportdirectlytoaC-levelexecutive,andpreservethefunding

specificallyforthisventure,youroddsofbeingsuccessfulgoupdramatically.

RobertaFusaro:Itmakessense,right?Otherwise,theinitiativegetslostintheshuffleorotherthingstakeprecedenceoverit.

JasonBello:Thereare1,000waystofailinbusinessbuilding.Ithinkthat’swhypeopleare

afraidofit.Butifyoulookatthenumbers,it’sagreatreturnoninvestedcapitalbecauseyouhavesomanyassets,likeuntappedcustomersandintellectualproperty.Theoddsofbeingsuccessfulwithbusinessbuildingwhenitismanagedwellareactuallyquitehigh.

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin7

RobertaFusaro:BecauseofAI,Iknowalotofpeoplesay,“It’ssomuchfastertobuildorscalethroughM&Aorotheroptions.”ButwithAI,therereallyisnoexcuse.

JasonBello:Exactly.Weusedtowowourclientsandcustomerswithwireframes.Irememberdoingaproductinthedigital-surgeryspace,andwearrivedattheconferenceondayoneandshowedclickablewireframestocustomers.

Thenourteamwentandworkedhardovernightandcamebackondaytwowiththenextversionofthewireframes.Andthecustomersandtheclientswerejustcompletelyblownawaybythat.That’soldnews,andthatwasonly24monthsago.Nowwedon’tusewireframes.Wecomewithanactualvibe-codedprototypethatcanbemadeinaday.Soyounotonlyhaveamuchbetter

visualandexperientialanchor,butyoucanalsousethatanchortotestfeaturesinthemarket.

RobertaFusaro:ArethereotherareaswhereAIcanhelpwithnew-businessbuilding?

JasonBello:Absolutely.We’renowusingAItohelpbuildandpressure-testbusinesscases,

writesurveysthatgoouttocustomers,buildmarketingmaterials,andcreateA/Btestingfor

marketing.Whenyou’rebuildingabusiness,youneedfractionalrolesatthebeginning,andAI

canplaysomeofthoseroles.Forexample,asalesoperationsrolecanbeplayedtosomedegreebyAIbeforeyouhireafull-timeperson.

Theadvantageofbeingwrongearly

RobertaFusaro:Doesitstillmakesensetothinkaboutnew-businessbuildingwhilewelive

withafairamountofeconomicandgeopoliticaluncertainty?Whatargumentwouldyouprovidetoleaderswhomightsay,“It’sjustnottherighttime”?

JasonBello:Iwouldsaythatduringaperiodofdisruption,businessbuildingisactuallyof

paramountimportance.You’reverylikelytogetdisruptedyourselfifyoudon’tstartbuildingthoseprojects.That’swherealotofthisbusiness-buildingconceptofbuildinganAI-nativeversionofyourselfhasbecomesuchapowerfultheme.

You’renotnecessarilybuildingastep-upbusinessinthatcase.You’rebuildingsomethingthatreplacesyou.Butyou’redoingitlikeanattackerwould,andthatbecomesimportant.

We’realsoinaworldwherestandardsarebeingset.Iwasjustreadinganarticleabouthow

governmentshavepotentiallybeeninfluencingLLMs[largelanguagemodels]andtryingtoswaythewayLLMsrespond.Everybody’susingAIandtakingadvantageoftheabilitytobuildtheir

ownworkflowsandcompetitiveadvantages.ItisalsoreallyimportanttoinjectthegreatthingsaboutyourproductsintotheAIworkflowsofothers.

RobertaFusaro:Anotherfindingfromthereportshowsthatacultureofexperimentationispositivelycorrelatedwithsuccessfulnewventures.However,culturesarenotoriouslyhardto

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin8

change.Whatarethefirststepsthatyouthinkleaderscantaketobuild

psychologicallysafe

environmentswhereit’seasierforteamstocarrythesenewideasforward?

JasonBello:Ithinktherearestructuralthingsfolkscandoandbehavioralorculturalthingsthatfolkscando.Breakyourplanintosmallpieces,settingagoalthatwouldhaverealcustomer

impactinsixorninemonths.Ifyousetagoalthat’snottoofaraway,itisverytangible.Asan

example,let’ssayyou’redealingwithaB2Bbusiness.Youcansay,“Iwanttohave50B2B

customersonmyplatforminninemonths.”Great.Ifyousplitthatninemonthsintothreeparts,whatareyougoingtoaccomplish,andwhatfundingdoyouneedineachperiod?Thenyou

checkinonwhetheryou’veaccomplishedwhatyousaidyouweregoingtodo.Whatnew

informationdidyoulearn,andhowcanyoupivot?Thenyoucanreleasethefundingandmove

forwardaccordingly.Whenyoubreakitdownlikethat,theriskoffailureismuchsmaller

becauseyou’renotbettingthefarm.Youcanalsoattributethefailuretosomethingspecificyoulearned,andnottoapersonalfailing.

RobertaFusaro:Youcanchangecoursemuchmorequicklyifyou’rejusttalkingaboutonesmallbitoftheentireprocess.

JasonBello:Ionceworkedonaprojectwherewewerelookingataproductset.Ourclientwasinthehighendofthisset,andtheproductsservingthemiddlerangewerelow-endproducts.

Ourclientthought,“IfIcouldtakemyhigh-endproductandproduceitatalowercost,Icouldwinthismid-rangemarket.”Wedidthisexactapproach,andoneofourearlymilestoneswasvalidatingthesizeofthatmarket.

Wefoundoutthatthemarketwasmuchsmallerthanwethought.Andthatwasfine,sowe

pivoted.Wedidamuchsmallerbusinessbuild.Theyfocusedinamuchnarrowerwayandendedupreleasingaproductthatwassupersuccessful.Itcouldhavebeenseenasafailure,but

insteaditwasseenasapivot.

RobertaFusaro:Talkalittlebitaboutmindsetsorbehaviorsthatneedtochangewhenitcomestobusinessbuilding.

JasonBello:Ithinkitmustcomefromthetop.Greatbusiness-buildingleadersarereallyclear

thatitisafact-basedorganization.Theysay,“We’regoingtolearnfromfactsandhaveno

shameaboutthem.Ifthefactstellusourproductsstink,sobeit.Ifthefactstelluswemadethewrongdecisionaboutsomething,sobeit.”Getthefactsonthetable,andaslongasyou’repartofthesolutiontofigureoutwhattodobasedonthefacts,there’snofinger-pointing.It’s

importanttosetupatop-downculture.

RobertaFusaro:You’vesetthestructure,changedbehaviors,andgotyourpeopletobuyintoyourideas.Oncethatsparkhasbeenlit,it’shardtoextinguish.Whatisitaboutbuilding

somethingnewinsideabigcompanythatbecomesaddictive?

Theserialbuilderadvantage:Whyrepeatinnovatorswin9

JasonBello:Ithinkthethingthatissoaddictive,especiallyaboutcorporateventurebuilding,isthatyouhavetremendousadvantages.Ifyouthinkaboutastart-up,theyspendhalftheirtimebuildingtheirproductandhalftheirtimepitchingtoinvestors.Thatinvestmentcaseisoften

muchmorestreamlinedbecauseyouknowthatthepeoplemakingtheinvestmentarethoseonyourleadershipteamandyourboard.Youtakeawaythehugepainofbuildingabusiness.

Thenyouaddtoittheadvantagesyouhaveasanincumbent.Youusuallyhavethecustomerbasethatyou’regoingafter,oryouhavesomekindofuntappedintellectualpropertythatyoucanleverage.Idoalotofworknowwithclientsthathavevaluabledata,andtheywanttofindnewwaysto

monetizetheirdata

.

They’resittingonthatdataandnotdoinganythingwithit.Thereistheadvantageofhavingthenuggetready-madeforyou.Plus,thisway,youtakeawaythepainofhavingtogocupinhand,investortoinvestor,lookingforinvestment.That’swhatmakescorporateventurebuildingso

addictive.Butitdoescomewithitspainsaswell.Bigcompaniesstruggletomoveorevendothingsdifferently.Sothat’swhyhavingtherightleadershipmakessuchadifference.

Youaskedaquestionearlier:“Whatdogreatleadersdoculturally?”Ialreadyspokeab