Corporate venturing: The start-up scouting process

This technical note codifies the Start-up Scouting Process (SPP) as a company-governed, problem-driven system that structures how corporations identify, evaluate, and select start-ups prior to engagement through corporate venturing mechanisms. Integrating fragmented views of ?scouting? from open innovation and interorganizational collaboration research, we formalize a three-phase framework?Identification, Selection, and Assessment?with concrete activities, decision gates, governance options (internal vs. external execution; outside-in vs. inside-out sourcing), and practitioner templates. Our contribution is threefold: (i) a precise SPP definition and operating model; (ii) decision tools for screening, due diligence, and portfolio fit; and (iii) large-scale empirical evidence that opens the ?black box? of scouting funnels. We provide a complete operating frame?phases, subphases, and step-by-step activities?linked to explicit decision gates, roles and responsibilities, standard artifacts (templates/checklists), and phase-specific KPIs, enabling teams to operationalize the SPP, monitor progress, and improve conversion from identification to commitment. The note is intended for corporate venturing practitioners and students seeking a rigorous, actionable blueprint they can implement, teach, and audit in real organizational settings.