We Rebuild and Energize a Clean and Vibrant World
By rewriting the rules of engagement among new ventures, legacy organizations and governments
Spin in
We match big problems with novel solutions
Spin out
We build new ventures with legacy company partners
What is Venture Development?
Venture Development is the process of building new disruptive businesses in collaboration with large successful incumbents. This phased model relies on seasoned professionals with backgrounds in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship to launch lean entities with the highest probability of success.
How ADL differs from consulting firms:
- We are a “do tank” -- not a “think tank”
- Our deliverables are outcomes, not reports
- We view challenges through the lens of an entrepreneur and investor
- We don’t “throw bodies” at problems -- we build or find technologies instead
- We are motivated to build businesses -- not just sell consulting work
- We know that big rewards can involve taking big risks -- so we are open to risk-sharing
Made by ADL Ventures
Corporate Venturing Experts
Every member of ADL leadership has start-up and/or venture fund experience AND knows “what good looks like” at scale through work at successful corporate entities.
ADL's Government Partners
“The initial round of this [ProblemSpace building materials] challenge yielded great response well beyond our expectations. The framework ADL provided to create a wide prospect funnel, then quickly navigate toward final selections, was essential in streamlining the process for Sto’s management. Without ProblemSpace we would have been unsure of the differentiation and fit, and hard-pressed to execute.”
Tyson Kindstrom
VP of Marketing, Sto Corporation
“What was unusual about ADL is how well they paired innovative thinking with their startup expertise. The American Healthcare system is entrenched and full of perverse incentives. ADL was not only able to imagine strategies that would reignite preventative medicine, establishing an approach that was focused on health and not sickness, but was also able to deliver and pitch a world-class execution plan for building the business.”
Brian Kennedy
Former President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Thought leadership
Mitigating the Impacts of Power Shutoffs through Building–Grid Integration
Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) have become a brute-force – and effective – way to mitigate the risk of wildfires for utilities in California. However, forced power outages are a last resort for a reason – not only do they create problems for utility customers, but they can represent millions of dollars in lost revenues for electric utilities…every hour!
As Hard as It Gets: Utility Hardening Efforts Under the Threat of Climate Change
At the current pace, it would take over 300 years to sufficiently harden the US electricity grid. As the climate changes and weather risks accelerate, it’s time to harden the grid faster and better. We need to do better than deploying more field workers for inspection and repair; we must deploy a suite of novel technologies that can scalably protect…
The Secret City that Paved the Way for Modern Prefabrication
The construction industry has been contending with an aging workforce, extended labor shortages, lack of innovation, and narrow profit margins for decades. Since 1947, it has been outpaced in labor productivity by a factor of 16. It’s no surprise then that, on average, large construction projects tend to be 80% over budget…