How Equity Works Inside a Venture Studio.

Investors and founders need to understand this.

One hot topic was equity and how it plays out.

There’s no universal equity model for Venture Studios, but two clear patterns have emerged. If you’re stepping into this space, know the difference.

What All Venture Studios Have in Common: They build companies from scratch (not acquisitions) Provide capital, team, and proven founders to drive growth Assume full financial risk through concept and validation Recruit Founding Teams to lead the business Lead early fundraising, compliance, and operational structure

The Two Equity Models You’ll Typically See:

Model 1: Studio Majority (Active Partnership) Studio retains majority equity until Series A/B Studio team stays embedded as co-founders until scale

Model 2: Studio Minority (Consultative Model) Studio holds majority equity only through pre-seed Post pre-seed, studio steps back, operates more like a VC

The Key Difference? Higher studio ownership means deeper involvement, more resources, more team, more operational support. The challenge is the Founder who joins as a CEO, they need to be incentivized with the right equity to stay committed and drive external investment.

Before joining any Venture Studio, founders should ask:

1. What equity model do you use?
2. How long does the studio team stay actively involved?
3. What happens at each funding milestone?
4. How is the budget allocated and recouped?

Know the structure. It defines the support, and your upside.

See the visual breakdown below to compare both Venture Studio models.

Author

Ai Backbone Network (ABN), ABN ASIA was founded by people with deep roots in academia, with work experience in the US, Holland, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. ABN Asia is where academia and technology meet opportunity. With our cutting-edge solutions and competent software development services, we're helping businesses level up and take on the global scene. Our commitment: Faster. Better. More reliable. In most cases: Cheaper as well.

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