They combine banking and the startup world: Interview with LBBW's Venture Clienting team

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is not only the largest state bank in Germany, but also an innovative financial institution that is actively looking for new ways to make banking better and more efficient through the use of new technologies. Maximilian Dreher, head of the LBBW Venture Clienting team, knows how the fusion of traditional banking and forward-looking innovation works. The unit was founded as part of LBBW's Innovation Lab under the leadership of Dominik Schütz. The aim is to efficiently integrate start-up solutions into the Landesbank.

Since the beginning of the year, you as a team have been pursuing a strategic venture clienting approach to make LBBW more innovative. What is behind this?

We are building bridges between start-ups and LBBW. Our goal as a team is to generate business impact for LBBW by solving internal strategic and urgent problems. In many areas, start-ups have the innovative solutions that help us move forward. They have important know-how, resources and new technologies. To ensure that the collaboration works, we act as a competent point of contact for both LBBW and start-ups. On the one hand, we understand the bank's processes, needs and pain points. On the other hand, we have a lot of experience in the startup scene, both individually and as a team. As intermediaries, we combine both worlds.

How do you know what LBBW needs?

We work very closely with the specialist and market departments. Contact is established in a wide variety of ways. Some colleagues come to us directly with problems for which they want to work out a solution together. Others observe trends among competitors or on the market for which they see promising use cases. We also often actively seek an exchange of ideas. The first in-depth point is then our awareness sessions, where we explain what venture clienting is, why start-ups are so exciting for us as an innovation resource and how we can implement a successful collaboration in a structured way. In this way, we build a common understanding of suitable problems and potential solutions.

How do you integrate innovative solutions into existing banking processes?

In the first step, it is crucial to define the problem that we want to solve very precisely. Only when we understand its complexity can we really contribute to the solution. And then we look for the startup with the best solution. We coordinate closely with the experts from the specialist department, who select the most promising solution and test it in a pilot project. If the pilot is successful, the next step is to integrate the solution. This requires going through the purchasing process. As we are in close contact with our colleagues from Purchasing and understand the needs of both sides well, we can provide both sides with optimal support and contribute to a long-term implementation that bears fruit.

What tips and tricks do start-ups need to know in order to work successfully with Germany's largest state bank?

The best tip is to get in touch with us! Not only can we facilitate access to crucial resources, we can also assess the chances of success in a largely objective manner. We want to create win-win situations that benefit both the startups and LBBW, which is why we are your best supporters. Beyond that, I can only recommend: Create solid basic conditions and adapt to the financial sector. A high level of venture capital funding, clear USPs and a solution that is mature enough to be piloted and then scaled is very important. You will also help yourself if you deal with regulations and security standards early on and are prepared for them. Another important factor is adaptability in order to create the best problem-solution fit.

Thank you very much for the interview.