What if the smartest way to build a high-growth company is not to invent the technology yourself, but to find breakthrough R&D already proven inside the biggest corporations on earth and then build a company around it? In this episode, Josh Cary sits down with Roland Austrup, Chief Growth Officer at publicly traded Innventure, to unpack a rare business model that combines the private-equity and venture-capital models with public-market liquidity. You’ll hear how Innventure evaluates hundreds of technologies, says yes to only a tiny fraction, and focuses on one thing: execution without guessing on the tech or the market. What You’ll Learn in This Episode How to explain Innventure at the dinner table Roland gives a simple way to describe what they do: they find transformative technologies and build companies around them from the ground up. The “commercialization gap” most people miss Big multinationals can fund world-class R&D, but they are not always built to commercialize as entrepreneurs are. That’s the lane Innventure plays in. How they choose what to build Roland walks through the filters: unmet market need, technical validation, immediate value proposition that drives adoption, and a strategic partner that becomes a channel or early customer. Why they only want one type of risk Innventure aims to eliminate technology and market risk, so they primarily manage execution and scaling risk. The data center cooling story that matters right now Their company, Accelsius, targets next gen cooling where chips run hotter and traditional cooling methods stop working. Roland breaks down why “air and water” are not enough and uses a simple frying pan analogy you’ll never forget. The hardest part of building something new Even with deep diligence, Roland says adoption timing is the wildcard. Predicting how fast an industry will change is what keeps him up at night. Leadership chemistry and why it beats talent alone Roland shares why synergy matters at the top, why you do not want clones, and how complementary strengths are a form of risk mitigation. A career built on flow, not a straight line From almost becoming a doctor to philosophy to trading to building a hedge fund, Roland’s path is a masterclass in curiosity, contrarian timing, and following what life keeps putting in front of you. The quiet truth about personal brand and business Roland puts it simply: no matter what you do, you are always marketing yourself. Conviction, trust, and integrity are the whole game. Stoicism for builders “Why worry, it doesn’t change anything.” Roland ties business leadership back to controlling what you can control and using adversity as fuel. Learn More About Roland and Innventure: https://www.innventure.com/team/roland-austrup
