Adaptation, the key idea behind theories coined by Darwin. It’s not that strongest species that survives the tests of the time. It is the most adaptable and the most evolutionized species.
It does not amuse us much when we realize that Darwin’s theories are relatable in today’s technological world.
Our technological world has been going through a revolution for a long time now. This revolution, as pointed out by experts is just the beginning. Day by day technology is becoming more affordable and available. The needs of the market are growing and taking new shapes every day. In the latest times, well-rooted industries such as media and banking underwent unimaginable changes.
The disruption we are witnessing today is nothing but the result of collaborations between startups and big corporates. The well-balanced amalgam of new and fresh minds with old and wise techniques does not only skyrockets customer satisfaction but also increases the technological growth of each industry.
How will these collaborations benefit Corporates?
It is true that today’s marketplace never sleeps. It is ever evolving and changing landscape. In this changing landscape, big players are not the only rulers. Startups participate actively in shaping today’s market.
Keeping this in mind, a number of leading stakeholders are joining hands with startups to facilitate their growth in a number of ways. Today, corporates depend on startups for understanding the target audience, to build new and innovative products and what not.
Given below are a few points focusing on the benefits for corporates from corporate-startup collaborations:
Startups boost Corporate’s innovation speed:
Corporates and startups are built on the same skill set. However, startups are known to innovate faster than the big players in the market. But why so? It is because corporates are bound with liabilities and internal barriers that stop them from taking innovative risks. Startups, on the other hand, are still in their infancy and hence, open to innovation and changes.
A major example supporting the above-stated statement is a strategy adopted by an eminent corporate, Capgemini. With the help of its Applied Innovation Exchanges, Capgemini has bridged the gap between multinational clients and a worldwide system of startups. To this Adele Every, vice-president of Capgemini says that it is the best way to stay relevant, fresh and updated with ever-evolving requirements of clients.
Startups bring a ground report of consumer patterns:
For corporates sitting high up in the chair, it is hard to notice the base level trends of the market. This is why big players miss out on the datasets and trends until they become hard to ignore. Startups, however being close to the ground know the ground-level trends and reports with more precision. Considering this, collaborations with startups help corporates earn close looks at their client base.
Unilever, the ruler of the Consumer goods industry accepted this theory at an early stage ad founded the “Foundry”. This has allowed the company to collaborate with growing and innovating startups at an early stage.
Startups help with product validation:
For corporates, startups act as sounding board. With a leading and growing startup in partnership, corporates can conduct testing and validating of products and services in a controlled environment. This allows corporations to have a second opinion on their upcoming product. Furthermore, this helps them to create a more robust and customer-oriented product.
How will these collaborations benefit Startups?
Corporates can become mentors for the new players of the market.
Startups look up to corporates. But working with them does not only provide them with support but also with new and growth stimulating challenges. With such collaborations, startups can overcome a huge variety of challenges and accelerate their growth.
No doubt, collaborations with corporates can help startups in a number of ways.
Here are a few elucidated points as to how startups can benefit from these collaborations:
Collaborations bring a win-win situation for both:
On one hand, corporates benefit from fresh, updated and innovative approaches presented by the startups. On the other hand, startups benefit from the support offered by corporates in terms of manpower, logistics, and expertise in various sectors. Together, startups and corporates can take calculated and safe risks. This will not only benefit them in terms of growth but will also provide the consumer with the best of worlds.
Increases credibility of Startups:
One of the major hurdles faced by startups is brand recognition. During infancy, almost all the entrepreneurs have sleepless nights pondering on the question: “how to put my product out there?”. Being a new player in the market can be hard as everyone questions your ideas and credibility. A solution to these problems could be collaborating with a corporate. With a well-established corporate backing you, your product and services become more trustworthy and favorable. This makes it easier for founders to finally launch their product or service “out there”.
Corporates become a helping hand in product validation:
Startups concentrate their innovative and fresh mind to produce the most customer-oriented product. However, apart from production, it is equally important to test and validate the produce product.
Big players, the one with resources can become a huge helping hand in test-driving your product. A collaboration with corporate does not only provide a testing environment, but also expert advice to startups. This allows the startup to improve their product before shipping it to customers.
In these terms and many more, collaborations between startups and corporates prove to be fruitful to both parties. Corporates and startups fit together like Yin and Yang, accepting and correcting flaws of each other.