“Collaboration can no longer be viewed as an optional extra, it’s a strategic imperative. Startups are now widely recognised as invaluable sources of innovation, fueling growth and providing pioneering business solutions”.
– Aline Santos, Unilever EVP for Global Marketing
While thinking about corporates and startups together a few questions that pop-up in out minds are: Build with or buy them? Win the race or innovate together? Well, in today’s scenario, the later options win.
Day by day the number of startup-corporate collaborations is rising. From big players to growing companies, every company is looking for a startup to complete them like soulmates.
But unlike Indian marriages, matching horoscopes is not enough! For a perfect collaboration, both startup and corporate should take a deep look into each other’s work, goals and background. Like mature relationships. A fruitful collaboration needs a lot of discussion, goal orientation and synchronisation.
But well, who has figured out the math to a perfect relationship? However, this blog will present you a helpbook for a productive and successful collaboration!
What can startups do?
As a startup, a possible collaboration with a corporate can mean a lot. This collaboration will not only bring home resources and popularity, but will provide the much needed Constructive criticism for growth.
However, the most important factor to consider here is that you collaborate with the right corporate. Moreover, as a small team, it can be overwhelming to collaborate with a well-established firm with thousands of employees. To help you choose the right one and to ease your journey, here are a few must-remembers to keep in mind:
1. Decide before you board the train.
Before joining hands, do your homework and research well. Going over product list, experience and their established connections will ensure that corporate’s credibility and position in the market. Apart from this, try looking at the bigger picture. Make sure that the corporate you collaborate with has values and goals similar to yours.
2. Have a look at what you bring to the table.
Before contacting the corporate, make sure that it will be worth their while. Identifying your strong and weak points will not only help in the collaboration but will also give you a chance to introspect and improve.
Once you introspect, keep the best foot forward and prepare well before meetings. Moreover, also make sure that you keep your documents, catalogues and papers in check to avoid any setbacks.
3. Value your solutions and products.
Make sure that your products and solutions get the respect and price they deserve. As a startup, finances and popularity in the market are some of the most important elements. A collaboration should help you improve and grow your business and technology. Hence, keeping a check at the proceedings will benefit you in the long run.
What can corporations do?
No wonder that well-established corporations lead the industry due to their long existence and high capitals. However, they do not disrupt the industry as often. This is because, their well-rooted systems and stakes. And this is where startups become game changers. Joining hands with driven and hardworking startups, can prove to be a turning point for corporations.
However, picking the right startups to invest your time and resources in is crucial. Given below are a few points that you can keep in mind as a firm owner before teaming up with a startup.
Right one:
Before bringing a startup on board, consider a number of factors. A few factors that you might want to keep in mind include:
- Looking into their working and existence. A background check before initiating a partnership will save you from any surprises in the future.
- Take a look at the funding any specific startup has received. Furthermore, confirming the sources of these fundings will save you from any allegations that might come in your way in the future.
- Check their samples, prototypes and roadmaps for a smooth journey together.
Apart from these points you might also want to evaluate their goals with your. Having the same goals will not only be great for partnership but will also ensure the success of your partnership.
Plan! Plan! And plan some more:
After selection and clarification of goals, your next step is to prepare a roadmap to these goals. While planning a framework, you should consider history, working and resources of both the parties business. The better your framework is, the smoother and more fruitful your collaboration will be!
Respect the startup’s passion:
As a well-established firm, you should take the first step in establishing trust and respect. Unlike corporations, startups are driven by their passion and problem solving skills. Often startups do not have a legacy to care about, hence they tend to take risks to innovate further. However, as a company this might be odd to accept. But you must also remember that, it is their capacity to take risks that keeps them running for the better.
In the end, a collaboration should turn out to be productive for both startups and corporates. Like any partnership, this collaboration might have bumps and breaks. But with small careful steps, these could be avoided easily.
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