From Industry to Investment: Lessons and Reflections from My Secondment at CM Venture Capital

06/016/2026

CM Venture is Yokogawa’s first venture capital partner in China. Through its deep technical expertise and extensive industrial network, Yokogawa aims to strengthen its global innovation capabilities and expand collaboration opportunities. As my secondment comes to an end, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the CM Venture team for their guidance and support throughout this journey. The investment team’s professionalism, technical expertise, and disciplined decision-making approach have left a lasting impression on me.

Reflecting on this experience, I have taken the opportunity to summarize how my perspective has evolved over the course of the assignment. More than a short-term work experience, this secondment represented a systematic shift—from working within an industrial enterprise to engaging with the innovation ecosystem, and from an operational mindset to one focused on investment and strategic collaboration.

From Individual Project Evaluation to an "Opportunity Pipeline" Mindset

Before joining CM Venture, my understanding of startups was largely based on evaluating individual companies, focusing on factors such as technological advancement or potential business collaboration. Through participating in due diligence and investment discussions, however, I came to realize that a more valuable capability lies in continuously and systematically monitoring entire areas of innovation rather than assessing isolated opportunities.

A “pipeline” is far more than a collection of startup projects. It is a dynamic map of emerging innovations built through continuous screening, tracking, and knowledge accumulation. This approach enables companies to move beyond passively encountering individual startups toward proactively identifying industry trends and future opportunities, ultimately strengthening both strategic foresight and decision-making.

From Technology-Centered Thinking to Commercialization-Oriented Evaluation

Throughout interviews and analyses of multiple startups, I gradually developed a more comprehensive evaluation framework. Technological excellence is only the starting point; what matters equally is the company’s ability to commercialize its technology successfully. This includes progress in real-world applications, scalability, and the team’s capability to continuously execute and improve its technology roadmap.

This experience transformed my evaluation approach from primarily assessing technical merit to considering technology, commercialization potential, and strategic fit with industry needs as an integrated framework.

From Product Provider to Ecosystem Enabler

Within Yokogawa’s traditional business model, customer engagement typically begins with products and solutions. At CM Venture, however, I became involved in facilitating interactions among startups, investors, and industrial partners.

Through these experiences, I gained a deeper appreciation that a company’s value within an innovation ecosystem extends beyond its products. Equally important are its understanding of industry applications, its ability to connect customers and partners, and its engineering expertise in enabling successful technology implementation. Together, these capabilities define a company’s unique role within the broader innovation ecosystem.

Rick [pictured right] on the CM Venture LP trip to Huangshan in May 2026.

From Information Collection to Decision-Oriented Communication

Another significant area of growth was in how I communicate insights. At CM Venture, research is not simply about gathering information; it is about forming clear judgments around key questions and proposing actionable next steps.

This conclusion-and-action-oriented communication style will be highly valuable when driving innovation initiatives within Yokogawa, while also improving communication efficiency and supporting more effective decision-making.

Observations on Working Rhythm and Decision-Making

The pace of work at CM Venture is fast, emphasizing the ability to form initial judgments despite incomplete information and then continuously refine those judgments as new insights emerge. This differs from the more traditional industrial approach, where decisions are often made only after comprehensive information has been collected.

Although different, this iterative decision-making model offers a practical approach for operating in rapidly changing and uncertain environments.

Final Remarks

Overall, this secondment has fundamentally broadened my perspective in three key areas: shifting from evaluating individual projects to building an opportunity pipeline mindset, from technology-focused thinking to commercialization and industry-fit evaluation, and from a product-centric perspective to an ecosystem collaboration perspective.

These new ways of thinking will serve as an important foundation for my future work in driving Yokogawa’s innovation partnerships and technology exploration. Looking ahead, I hope to apply the methodologies and perspectives I gained at CM Venture more effectively, translating them into tangible value for the Yokogawa Group.

Written by
Rick He
Senior Specialist Public Relation Room, Yokogawa China Investment Co., Ltd.