Rainmaking

Rainmaking operates primarily as a corporate venture builder, not a traditional venture capital fund. Instead of raising blind-pool funds from limited partners, the firm partners with large corporates to co-found new businesses, sharing both the risk and the returns. Its Venture Studio also launches companies independently, but the core model is fee-for-venture-creation tied to corporate innovation mandates.

Rainmaking's founders created Startupbootcamp, a global accelerator network, before launching the firm in 2007. Startupbootcamp's network and startup-selection expertise continues to feed Rainmaking's deal-flow and corporate-pilot capabilities. The two entities share DNA and networks but operate as separate organizational vehicles, with Rainmaking focused on venture building for and with corporates.

Investment decisions are driven by the regional partners and venture studio heads: Mats Stigzelius serves as Partner & CIO of Rainmaking Venture Studio UK, while Kasper Vardrup is Founder & CEO of Rainmaking Venture Studio. At the group level, Founder & CEO Carsten Kølbek and Europe CEO Phil Roche set the strategic direction for which corporate partnerships and sector areas to pursue.

In July 2023, Bain & Company acquired Rainmaking's APAC operations. The transaction carved out Rainmaking's Asia-Pacific team and client base, leaving the remaining firm more concentrated on Europe, the Middle East, and North America. For Bain, the deal provided a ready-made corporate-venture-building capability integrated into its consulting engagements, validating Rainmaking's build-operate-transfer model.

Rainmaking participates in direct venture creation, not fund commitments. The firm co-founds and spins out companies directly with corporate partners, or through its own Venture Studio. It does not market itself as a fund-of-funds investor, nor does it publicly report commitments to third-party venture capital or private equity funds.