Venture Company

The Venture Company or Venture Trading Company, often shortened to simply Venture Co., is a goblin-run cartel notorious for plundering Azeroth's natural resources. Considered part of the Trade Coalition, the company operates throughout many parts of Azeroth, including Mulgore, the Barrens, the Stonetalon Mountains, and Azuremyst Isle in Kalimdor, Stranglethorn Vale in the Eastern Kingdoms, and Sholazar Basin and the Grizzly Hills in Northrend. During the Fourth War, the organization took control of the MOTHERLODE!! on Kezan. In addition to being known for their ruthless methods, the company has historically had dealings with various destructive organizations, including the Defias Brotherhood, the Iron Horde, and even the Burning Legion.

World of Warcraft
The Venture Company activities can be discovered in Mulgore, the Barrens, Stranglethorn Vale, and Stonetalon Mountains. They were known for stealing many of the best goblin minds.

During that time the Venture Company was known to trade with various shady groups. It had dealings with the Zanzil of Stranglethorn Vale, which had discovered a way to raise the dead through the use of poison. The Company stored some of the mixture at Venture Co. Tower and traded the formula to the Defias Brotherhood, especially to Klaven Mortwake.

The Burning Crusade
Elements of the Venture Company have also entered into the service of Kael'thas Sunstrider, via his agent Engineer "Spark" Overgrind, the emissary of the gnomish High Tinker who accompanied Admiral Odesyus. Kael, via Overgrind, hired the Venture Company to recover the crashed Exodar, a portion of the Tempest Keep draenei were able to escape with when the aforementioned was hijacked by blood elves under Kael'Thas' command. It is unknown what happened to Geezle and the other members of the expedition.

Wrath of the Lich King
The Venture Co. is present in the Grizzly Hills of Northrend, where they try to deforest the land. They also appear at a small site in the Sholazar Basin, known as Swindlegrin's Dig, mining the crystals at the base of the Suntouched Pillar.

Cataclysm
After the Cataclysm, Venture Co. has lost the control of the wells in Mulgore to the Grimtotem tribe but is still in control of the Venture Co. Mine. The company lost most of Windshear Crag in the Stonetalon Mountains to Alliance and Horde forces.

Warlords of Draenor
Numbers of goblins joined the Iron Horde as Iron Engineers on. It is not known how they got there but it is likely they entered Draenor during the brief time when the Ironmarch force took control of the Dark Portal and the Blasted Lands.

A joint operation between the Venture Co. and Iron Horde took place at the Darktide Roost, probably implying that Blackfuse Company is its sub-group.

Legion
During the Legion Invasions, the oil platform at the Sludge Fen was defended by Oilrig Bombers, Oilrig Snipers and Oil Rig Engineers. It is unknown if they worked for the Venture Company normally occupying the area or the Horde-aligned Bilgewater Cartel.

An archaeology consultant from the Company is seen with Rohan Sunveil and Clarya Sunveil in a camp near the ruins of Kal'delar in Val'sharah.

Battle for Azeroth
The Venture Company can be found at the Jeweled Coast in Stormsong Valley on Kul Tiras running an oil rig. Their actions have caused them to come into conflict with the Tortollan Seekers living at the nearby Seekers' Vista. Having enlisted the aid of adventurers, the Tortollan Seekers turned the Company's own weapons against them and beat them back. Despite their victory Toki remarked that the Venture Company was a resilient foe and was sure that they would meet again. They can show up on island expeditions looking for Azerite.

The company made a deal with the Bilgewater Cartel and the Horde to refine Azerite for the Horde's war with the Alliance, but Venture's leader Mogul Razdunk backed out of the deal and Bilgewater's Trade Prince Jastor Gallywix sought revenge to get what they were owed. The Company also attacked Blackrock Depths and stole Ironfoe, earning the Dark Iron dwarves' and Alliance's ire. On Kezan, Razdunk started great dig sites in search of Azerite. Having never been able to ascend to Trade Prince, Razdunk was certain that becoming the world's foremost Azerite baron would bring him fame and fortune beyond his station. However his actions in betraying the Horde and stealing from the Alliance caused adventurers to turn their ire upon him and they ventured to the MOTHERLODE!! to put an end to the leader of the Venture Company.

The Venture Company later traveled to Tanaris to scavenge materials for their own use, however, the company came into conflict with the Horde and Alliance who sought to repair Feathers by using the machinery the Venture Company had acquired.

They had a presence in Vol'dun and killed Dataguru Gryzix.

A group of thieves led by Verd Twiceswindle‎ stole leather from Sheza Wildmane in Thunder Bluff and camped in a hut in eastern Mulgore.

Soon after Mechagon Island was discovered by the Horde and Alliance the Venture Company would arrive in order to exploit the land for every ounce of profit they could make. In return, adventurers were tasked with driving them off the island.

Unnamed
These members of the Venture Co. are found in the northeast part of the Barrens, the Sludge Fen:
 * Venture Co. Drudger
 * Venture Co. Peon

Background
The Trade Coalition is huge, far-reaching and massively complicated. In addition, numerous other, smaller goblin companies, created and run by entrepreneurs called moguls (the hands of the trade princes) operate throughout Azeroth. Perhaps the most famous of these smaller businesses is the Venture Company, founded and ruled by Mogul Razdunk. The corporate group is a collection of greedy entrepreneurs who keep both eyes on the bottom line at all times. Mogul Razdunk owns and runs the Venture Company.

The headquarters of the Venture Company is located in Undermine. Ratchet also serves as a base of operations for many members of the company. Though the city is governed from Undermine by the trade princes, Ratchet is (or was) run by members of the Venture Company. The Venture Company is in competition with Gazlowe of the Steamwheedle Cartel who is the ruler and Overseer of the city. While the city operates under the watchful eyes of the trade princes, Gazlowe has considerable free rein. The Venture Company employs a complex device known as a Truth detector in the City of Ratchet when they were making an important deal with a new supplier and wanted to ascertain whether or not the supplier is trustworthy.

The Venture Company is known for spearheading the efforts to reestablish trade routes across eastern Azeroth, to connect isolated goblin trading posts. A growing number of shops in Azeroth have signs declaring that they are owned and operated by the "Venture Company," which the proprietors claim is headquartered in a faraway city ruled by goblins. The Venture Company sometimes hires heroes to build new trading posts in the wilderness — a job that could take them anywhere in the world. The Venture Company is infamous for its massive numbers of goblin shredders.

The trade princes have recently caused problems for the Venture Company, and it is looking increasingly likely that the goblins will turn on each other soon. Ziz Fizziks, a goblin who works with the trade princes, works to retrieve plans that a disloyal goblin stole and sold to the Venture Company.

Projects in Central Kalimdor
The goblins of the Venture Company threaten to reduce the entire Central Kalimdor section into an uninhabitable wasteland.

Mulgore is rich with iron and tin, which has attracted the attention of the Venture Company. With the centaur gone, the Venture Company has taken advantage of the tauren’s peaceful nature and have set up mining operations throughout the region. The Venture Company’s presence here is for profit, plain and simple. Driven by profit, the Venture Company mines for the iron and tin in eastern Mulgore, depleting the land’s natural resources, and hoarding the region’s water supplies. They are disturbing the balance of nature in the region, and drawing the anger of the tauren. Although the tauren have tried to share their land, the continuous encroachment and lack of respect shown by the Venture Company has resulted in escalating conflict in the region. The Venture Company buys poached hides from Palemane gnolls near Palemane Rock. The goblins intended to capitalize on the peaceful nature of the tauren and steal the resources of their home, and that plan has begun to fall apart only recently. It is believed if the goblins are pressed hard enough, they will eventually get the picture and withdraw. Baine Bloodhoof, the son of Cairne, leads an investigation into Venture Company operations to the east of the village.

Agents of the goblin-run Venture Company have also been sighted in the Stonetalon Peak area, searching for potential tracts to deforest and streams of precious ore to plunder with their mining machines. They have a significant presence in the Stonetalon Mountains, chopping down trees and burning huge stretches of forest in the Windshear Crag basin. The goblins of Stonetalon are among the finest engineers of their race, and their inventions have allowed them to remove massive chunks of the forest in a few short months. The Venture Company is gradually destroying the remaining trees and taking the remaining resources from the earth There has been a near-complete annihilation of sections of the Stonetalon Mountains (the Charred Vale in particular) with lumber-cutting machine by the Venture Company. The Venture Company’s expeditions and mining operations changed much of the landscape to dusty, barren canyons and desolate cliffs. If this process continues, Stonetalon could soon become as much a wasteland as Desolace in the south or the Barrens in the east. This endeavor draws ire from the night elves and tauren alike, who find the deforestation barbaric and dangerous. Many of the tauren still hold the unrealistic hope that the Venture Company can be reasoned with, and this belief prevents progress. While the majority of the night elves and tauren take defensive roles, the Grimtotem tribe strikes back against the goblins.

The Venture Company has an operation in the Sludge Fen, in the Barrens' northern hills. They also can be seen in Boulder Lode Mine, close to the shores of the Southfury River (and the oft-overlooked western entrance to Orgrimmar).

Relationship to Steamwheedle Cartel
Members of the Venture Company are said to "run Ratchet", and that one of their major operations is in the city. It is also said that the trade princes govern the city, and allow Gazlowe free reign to rule under their watchful eye. Thus Gazlowe is affiliated with the Steamwheedle Cartel, and the trade princes. It is also said that the trade princes have recently caused problems for the Venture Company, and that it looked increasingly likely that the goblins would turn on other. Thus it appears that the Venture Company is a powerful competitor in the city, but how they "run" the city is unclear, perhaps they have some control over the city as a mafia, manipulating the elected officials and Lawkeepers.

In addition as noted above the Venture Company is run by a mogul, the hand of a trade prince. This would imply that Razdunk and the Venture Company has either betrayed its trade prince or one of the princes has betrayed the others.

Notes and trivia

 * Though the Company is largely run and managed by goblins, it employs a few gnomes in high engineering positions. This is symptomatic of the group's diversity hiring policies, as it provides employment to all of the sentient races of Azeroth as laborers, even usually hostile ones such as Dark Iron dwarves, undead, ogres and gnolls.
 * Even though Venture Company has been called a cartel, its leader Mogul Razdunk is not a Trade Prince.
 * Pinchwhistle Point in the Spires of Arak was originally called "Venture Cove" during the Warlords of Draenor beta, indicating the Venture Company might have been intended to play a role there.

Speculation
Since the Company had acquired a way to raise voodoo drones from the Zanzil trolls, it is possible the various undead members of the group in the Grizzly Hills are not former Forsaken but zombies as well.