The framework outlined in this document can help companies evaluate their existing and potential VC investments and determine when and how to use corporate VC as an instrument of strategic growth. It helps explain why certain types of corporate VC investments proliferate only when financial returns are high, why other types persist in good times and in bad, and why still others make little sense in any phase of the business cycle. It can also help companies evaluate their existing and potential VC investments and determine when and how to use corporate VC as an instrument of strategic growth.