How We Add Value: Portfolio Development

At Molten Ventures, investment is just the beginning. Beyond providing capital, we take an active role in helping our portfolio companies scale. Our Portfolio Development function exists to ensure that the businesses we back have access to the right resources, expertise and connections to tackle the challenges of building and scaling a fast-growing startup.

We believe that thoughtful, hands-on support drives better outcomes – accelerating the impact of a funding round, extending the effective runway of a team, and ultimately increasing the likelihood of a strong exit. At the same time, our approach strengthens our ties to the ecosystem: by staying close to our founders, we build long-term relationships that fuel future dealflow. 

Through our operating model, investment managers typically sit on the boards of new deals and engage directly in the development of the businesses we invest in. The Portfolio Development team builds on this by identifying patterns across the portfolio, cross-pollinating best practices, and delivering structured programmes to address common challenges – whether that’s sourcing talent, forming strategic partnerships or sharpening go-to-market execution.

The following case studies highlight how this model has played out in practice – showcasing the impact of our support in helping our portfolio companies grow, adapt and thrive.

Board & operational effectiveness  

We support our portfolio in building the internal discipline needed to scale responsibly, from aligning on the right metrics to strengthening board governance and risk management. This helps ensure teams are not only focused on the right priorities but are also set up to make informed decisions and deliver against their plans.

• Business Metrics Alignment: We help companies identify, define, and monitor the business KPIs that matter most at each stage, ensuring they focus on the right growth drivers to help maintain investor confidence to support future fundraising efforts.
• Funding Plan Operationalisation: We stress-test funding assumptions to help founders translate them into an actionable operational plans. This ensures that capital is deployed efficiently and milestones are met on time.
• Board Governance: A strong board provides critical oversight and strategic input. We 
• help companies strengthen governance by introducing them to experienced Chairs and Non-Executive Directors, who bring deep board management and operational expertise.
• Board Effectiveness: Well-run board meetings improve the quality of strategy and decision making. We help founders implement best practices for structuring board meetings, preparing materials, and delivering insights.
• Risk and Board Management: We help establish frameworks for identifying, assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring companies remain resilient and adaptable as they scale.

Case Study: Reporting Excellence

• Reviewed a large number of board packs across the portfolio to identify reporting gaps and best practices. By lifting the standard of board-level reporting, we aim to improve internal decision making and give leadership teams clearer forward visibility on key performance drivers.
• Used these insights to develop and distribute dozens of best practice reporting frameworks and guides for companies to implement.
• Reporting excellence is now a core part of our portfolio onboarding process, where we work with founders to help develop both their board and management reporting.

Exit Preparedness

Planning for a successful exit starts long before a buyer shows interest. We work with our portfolio companies early to lay the foundations, from identifying the right acquirers to crafting a narrative that sparks interest.

• Buyer Mapping: We support founders in mapping out the landscape of strategic and financial acquirers, identifying likely buyers based on market positioning, synergies and deal precedent. By analysing past transactions and emerging trends, we help build relationships with potential acquirers well in advance of any process.
• Equity Story Definition: A successful exit depends on a compelling equity story. We help founders define a narrative that clearly articulates why the company is valuable, highlighting growth potential, differentiation, and what the business could achieve as part of a larger organisation.
• Corporate Communication Plan: We help refine messaging across materials, press and internal channels to ensure the company is positioned as a credible and attractive acquisition or IPO candidate.
• Banker and Corporate Development Introductions: As a transaction approaches, we introduce founders to experienced investment bankers and corporate development leads to structure a process, shape deal terms and drive competitive tension.
• Transaction Support: We stay hands-on throughout the transaction via the formation of a dedicated internal exit team to support our founders through the process.

Case Study: Coaching our Portfolio Companies to exit

• Molten was invited to speak at Unilever’s Quarterly Leadership Team meeting to present on the European technology landscape. The session included senior Unilever leaders such as the Global CTO, Global CIO and CISO.
• Molten shared proprietary data and introduced its AI investment thesis, aligned with early-stage innovation trends.
• Three Molten portfolio companies were selected to present, each chosen for relevance to Unilever’s current innovation priorities.
• The showcased technologies demonstrated impact on transforming enterprise operations.
• Multiple follow-up conversations are now in progress, including a potential commercial partnership in development.

Talent acquisition 

Hiring the right people at the right time is one of the most critical, and difficult, parts of scaling a business. We work with our portfolio companies to define what “great” looks like for each stage of growth, from designing org structures and shaping search strategies to connecting with top-tier candidates and executive search firms.

• Defining talent needs & org structure: Work with founders to identify skills needed ahead of the next phase of growth by reviewing the current team, the goals of the business, and the profile archetypes that are present in the market. As a result, we define an organisational structure that supports scaling and sets the company up for success.
• Input into search strategy & materials: Support market mapping and advise on candidate pool selection. Refine search materials to optimise the chances of attracting top talent.
• Facilitating access to top-tier talent: Connect portfolio companies with experienced operators who have seen the next phase of growth and can bring that skillset with them. Support identification, evaluation and closing of these candidates.
• Sharing proven hiring practices: Leverage best-in-class hiring processes, tools and benchmarks to avoid common pitfalls.
• Navigating executive search landscape: Support portfolio companies to select partners based upon stage, industry and geography from a pool of executive and search firms that we have mapped and vetted.

Case Study: Material Exchange Leadership Build-Out

Go-to-market acceleration

Scaling a fast-growing startup requires more than product-market fit, it demands effective sales execution, clear messaging and the right network. We work closely with our portfolio companies to strengthen their commercial foundations through targeted support.

• Sales operations assessment: A well-run sales function is built on strong people, processes and systems. We help companies assess their sales operations, benchmarking their structure, tools, and workflows against best-in-class startups to identify gaps and opportunities for efficiency gains.
• Strategic introductions: One of the biggest challenges for B2B startups is breaking
• into enterprise accounts. We developed a proprietary network of enterprise executives, including CIOs, CISOs, and Heads of Innovation from Fortune 500 companies, to facilitate warm introductions that can accelerate pipeline growth and unlock high-value deals for our portfolio companies.
• GTM (go-to-market) expertise: We provide guidance on key GTM levers, from sales forecasting and compensation structures to tech stack optimisation and expansion strategies. By sharing best practices from successful scaling companies, we help founders avoid common pitfalls and refine their sales playbook.
• ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) Strategy: We support companies in refining their ICP, reviewing sales collateral to improve conversion rates and shorten sales cycles.
• PR & Brand Support: Strong positioning and visibility can be a major sales accelerator. We facilitate access to journalists and high-profile industry events to help companies build credibility and generate inbound interest from customers, talent and investors.

Case Study: Unilever Showcase

• Molten was invited to speak at Unilever’s Quarterly Leadership Team meeting to present on the European technology landscape. The session included senior Unilever leaders such as the Global CTO, Global CIO and CISO.
• Molten shared proprietary data and introduced its AI investment thesis, aligned with early-stage innovation trends.
• Three Molten portfolio companies were selected to present, each chosen for relevance to Unilever’s current innovation priorities.
• The showcased technologies demonstrated impact on transforming enterprise operations.
• Multiple follow-up conversations are now in progress, including a potential commercial partnership in development.