Solo founders have speed; scale-ups have agility. But what happens when you’re a giant sitting on decades of legacy infrastructure? You can't pivot on a dime, but with AI commoditising software, you can't afford to stand still either.

Adrian Waters, Principal of Corporate Innovation at NEXEA, joins BFM’s P&L for Part 3 of our series on "The New Math of Business Building, Powered by AI." We dissect the "Empire's Playbook," moving beyond the "Innovation Theater" of bean bags and labs to the hard math of Venture Building and M&A.



We discuss:




The 80% Failure Rate: Adrian reveals why the vast majority of Malaysian corporate innovation dies at the pilot stage, arguing it is rarely an "ideas" problem, but a "culture of execution" problem.


Venture Building Mechanics: How to run internal projects like actual startups. We break down the requirements: separate P&Ls, ring-fenced teams, and distinct incentives, even within hierarchical cultures.


The "Sunk Cost" Trap: The mathematical threshold for when to stop building and start acquiring. Adrian explains why projects are rarely killed past the 70% completion mark due to ego, and how to objectively "kill" a zombie project.


The Venture Client Model: A lower-risk strategy for risk-averse corporates. Instead of buying a startup immediately, become their customer first to test capabilities before marriage.


Valuation in 2026: In the age of AI, software is no longer a scarce asset. Adrian argues that acquisition targets are no longer valued on code, but on Execution, Data, and Distribution.

The 70/20/10 Rule: A tactical guide for CEOs on where to spend the innovation budget, starting with using AI to automate the core business before chasing "moonshots."

Solo founders have speed; scale-ups have agility. But what happens when you’re a giant sitting on decades of legacy infrastructure? You can't pivot on a dime, but with AI commoditising software, you can't afford to stand still either.Adrian Waters, Principal of Corporate Innovation at NEXEA, joins BFM’s P&amp;L for Part 3 of our series on "The New Math of Business Building, Powered by AI." We dissect the "Empire's Playbook," moving beyond the "Innovation Theater" of bean bags and labs to the hard math of Venture Building and M&amp;A.We discuss:<ul><li>The 80% Failure Rate: Adrian reveals why the vast majority of Malaysian corporate innovation dies at the pilot stage, arguing it is rarely an "ideas" problem, but a "culture of execution" problem.</li><li>Venture Building Mechanics: How to run internal projects like actual startups. We break down the requirements: separate P&amp;Ls, ring-fenced teams, and distinct incentives, even within hierarchical cultures.</li><li>The "Sunk Cost" Trap: The mathematical threshold for when to stop building and start acquiring. Adrian explains why projects are rarely killed past the 70% completion mark due to ego, and how to objectively "kill" a zombie project.</li><li>The Venture Client Model: A lower-risk strategy for risk-averse corporates. Instead of buying a startup immediately, become their customer first to test capabilities before marriage.</li><li>Valuation in 2026: In the age of AI, software is no longer a scarce asset. Adrian argues that acquisition targets are no longer valued on code, but on Execution, Data, and Distribution.</li></ul>The 70/20/10 Rule: A tactical guide for CEOs on where to spend the innovation budget, starting with using AI to automate the core business before chasing "moonshots."

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