I’ve always been a believer in the value of Corporate Startup relationships. Today, I am lucky enough to witness the synergies of such partnerships at maze, and we’ve compiled a few tips on how to set the scene for successful Corporate Startup pilots.
But first, I have a confession*.
During my corporate years, I was a pain in the ass to my bosses. I was restless and impatient. I wanted to see change, and I wanted it fast. I lost count of the number of times I broke into their offices with revolutionary ideas to make our lives easier and completely change the way we worked.
At some point, I was actually the person making PowerPoint slides listing all the things we could learn from Startups — there was even one explaining the differences between Unicorns (them) and Dinosaurs (us). Charming*.*
It was tiring but I had fun. More importantly, it was useful because it taught me a lot about the decision-making process of corporations and all its implications. It was also useful for my bosses because it forced them to consider and be open to different possibilities.
A few years later, when I joined maze, I was given the challenge of making corporate startup relationships work (considering a future post on karma, the universe, planets alignment, and all of that).
Today I know that Startups have a lot to learn with Corporates as well — on structure, processes, doing things at scale and long-term vision, to name a few. I also know that these 2 worlds are drastically different and hard to combine, but they have so much to gain working together. Definitely worth the shot.
A startup pilot program is when a corporation decides to test internally an innovative solution created by a startup for a business challenge they are facing. Generally, startup pilot programmes happen in the context of a startup acceleration programme or in partnership with innovation departments of the corporation itself.
In this year’s edition we have 3 Startups piloting with our Corporate Partners
Whether you are a Startup or a Corporate, when starting a pilot, there are a few details that you should have in mind. Before starting this relationship, we’ve prepared a quick checklist of things to have in place that have mainly to do with expectation alignment: agreeing on a plan, a common language, and a comfortable pace.
Spend time understanding the Corporate’s reality, their culture, their industry and why they want to work with you in the first place. Learn as much as you can about them by listening. Do this before presenting a formal proposal. If you see it just as a commercial opportunity, you are probably missing the point.