Rebuilding Venture: From Funds to Ecosystems

Why the next generation of venture is built, not managed

By Thijmen Meijer

If you spend enough time in the venture world, you start to notice something uncomfortable.
The industry that was created to support builders has stopped building.
It has become slow.
Overstructured.
Risk averse.
Busy managing assets instead of creating value.

Venture capital was never meant to be a financial product.
It was meant to be a platform for ideas, people, and momentum.

But somewhere along the way, the builder’s spirit got replaced by processes, committees, and spreadsheets that sit far away from the founders who actually create the outcomes.

The future of venture will not come from the ones who wait.
It will come from the ones who build.

My belief is simple.
We are entering the next chapter of venture, and it looks less like a fund and more like an ecosystem.
Hands-on.
Human.
Collaborative.
System-driven.

1. The Next Generation of Venture is Built, Not Managed

A fund is a financial structure.
An ecosystem is a human structure.

Funds move money.
Ecosystems move people, ideas, and impact.

For years, the industry has optimised for scale, not for creation. The result is a landscape filled with very large funds that operate more like financial institutions than partners in the building process.

But founders do not need more asset managers.
They need people who help them build.

This is where the next generation of venture is heading.
From passive oversight to active co-creation.
From distance to partnership.
From management to making.

2. Venture Studios Will Replace Passive Capital

Funding alone does not build companies.
If it did, every well-capitalised startup would succeed.
We all know that is not the case.

What changes outcomes is the ability to build side by side with founders.  Venture studios do this naturally. 

They combine:

• hands-on operators

• shared infrastructure

• strategic resources

• real talent systems

• structured speed

• continuous improvement

A startup inside a venture studio does not waste eighteen months figuring out what others have already solved. It starts running on day one. That is why studios consistently outperform. They remove friction, shorten feedback loops, and place experienced builders close to the problem.

Studios do not replace founders.
They multiply them.

This is the direction we lean into with UniPrisma.
Building with founders, not around them.

3. Power Is Moving From Institutions to Individuals

Something important is happening in the venture world.
The center of gravity is shifting.

It is moving away from large institutions and toward individual operator investors, microfunds, and builder communities. People who think like founders because they have been founders. People who prefer doing over managing. People who show up with sleeves rolled.

These are individuals with:

• deep domain knowledge

• strong networks

• hands on experience

• the ability to sense potential

• the willingness to engage directly

They move faster than large firms because they have fewer layers and clearer incentives. They also attract better founders, because founders want partners who speak their language.

This shift will accelerate.
The future belongs to entrepreneurial investors, not corporate ones.

4. Human Infrastructure Is More Important Than Capital

Money does not build companies.
People do.

If you want a startup to grow, the fastest way is not to add more capital. It is to add the right people at the right time with the right structure around them.

Every startup needs:

• strong leadership

• clear roles

• a system for hiring

• a transparent talent pipeline

• operators who can fill the early gaps

• specialists who can take it to the next stage

Most venture firms do not help founders with this.
They give the money and hope for the best.

A modern venture ecosystem treats talent as infrastructure.
It connects universities, researchers, operators, and founders in a way that lets people move where momentum is needed most.

This is what turns ideas into companies.
People who care.
People who act.
People who build.

5. Platformization Is the Next Evolution

The future of venture will look like a network of connected systems.
Not standalone funds.
Not isolated studios.
Not fragmented communities.

We are already seeing the early signs of this. Data sharing, cross-university deal flow, shared talent pools, operator networks, and integrated support platforms. When you connect these pieces, something powerful happens.

Ideas flow faster.
Talent moves quicker.
Capital becomes smarter.
Founders get support earlier.
Ecosystems raise their own bar.

You cannot build an ecosystem by centralising power.
You build it by enabling all parts to move and contribute.

This is the model we are building with UniPrisma.
A venture studio, a VC platform, and a university network that feed each other.
Human first.
System enabled.
Builder-driven.

6. Why Venture Needs Builders More Than Managers

Traditional VC has become bureaucratic.
Too many committees.
Too many senior titles.
Too much analysis.
Not enough creation.

The irony is that the venture was designed to support risk, not avoid it.

The founders who build great companies are the ones who get their hands dirty, make fast decisions, learn quickly, and surround themselves with people who think the same way.

Venture should mirror that behavior.
Not fight it.

This is why the next wave of venture will be driven by builders who bring structure to creativity. Builders who respect speed. Builders who understand both the human side and the system side of entrepreneurship.

Venture capital needs fewer managers and more makers.

7. The Philosophy Behind the Shift

I see venture as an ecosystem business.
Human, connected, and data-enabled.

It is not enough to hand out capital and then wait.
It is not enough to run a fund and call it value creation.
It is not enough to give advice without rolling up your sleeves.

Real value is created when:

• operators and founders work together

• systems accelerate learning

• talent flows freely

• universities become active partners

• small funds collaborate instead of compete

• builders support builders
  
  

This is how venture returns to what it was meant to be.
A platform for creation.

Final Thoughts

We are entering a new era of venture.
One where capital alone is not the advantage.
One where ecosystems outperform institutions.
One where speed beats size.
One where collaboration beats hierarchy.

The future of venture belongs to the ones who build, not the ones who wait.

If you want to move fast, do not chase capital.
Build systems that attract it.

And if we want to rebuild venture into something meaningful, it starts with a simple question.
Are we here to manage, or are we here to make?

For me, the answer is clear.
I choose to build.