---
id: "claim-skeptic-focus-backfires"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["§ Frontstage Work: Managing Tensions in the Spotlight"]
tags: ["stakeholder-management", "momentum"]
related: ["concept-frontstage-work", "action-back-believers", "contrarian-ignore-skeptics"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
speakers: ["Ezra Carlson", "Mehdi Safavi", "Nicolas Sauvage"]
sources: ["ecosystem"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-ecosystem"
originDay: 11
articleStem: "hbr-cl-81-corporate-vc-funds"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/what-successful-corporate-venture-capital-funds-do-differently"
sourceTitle: "What Successful Corporate Venture Capital Funds Do Differently"
---
# Focusing initial CVC efforts on internal skeptics backfires

## Claim

Many newly launched CVCs try to prove their worth by immediately winning over their biggest internal skeptics. The authors claim this is **counterproductive**. CVCs should instead allocate scarce early attention to *believers* — units and leaders already open to experimentation. Partnering with believers on early pilots and co-investments generates **visible, rapid wins**; those partners then become credible internal advocates who explain the CVC's value to the rest of the organization. This reframes the tension between *fairness* (serving everyone) and *focus*, building necessary momentum. (See [[concept-frontstage-work]], the action [[action-back-believers]], and the contrarian framing [[contrarian-ignore-skeptics]].)

## Confidence: HIGH (testable)

## Enrichment / external assessment

**Conceptually supported by change-management and practitioner guidance; CVC-specific empirical evidence is suggestive but limited.**

- A practitioner article on CVC evolution notes CVCs that survived multiple cycles set forward-looking objectives early and demonstrated clear strategic value to internal stakeholders — easier with receptive units.
- WilmerHale emphasizes trust-building, earning a seat at the executive table, and structured *on-ramps* for collaboration, typically built first with engaged partners then generalized.
- Kotter's *guiding coalition* supports early wins with champions creating momentum and credibility. Safavi's LinkedIn summary states plainly: *Start with believers, not skeptics. Early internal champions create momentum and credibility.*

**Counterpoint / nuance:** there is limited *quantitative* CVC evidence that focusing on skeptics specifically backfires. A strong counter-view: **ignoring powerful skeptics too long can create veto coalitions** later. Governance guides recommend mapping stakeholders and at least *neutralizing* key detractors early — especially those with formal decision rights over budgets or strategy — even while operational focus stays with believers.