Dr. Mohanbir Sawhney of Kellogg School of Management, delivered the keynote address at the SPJIMR Business - Academia Conclave 2018. The topic of the keynote was how large companies could engage with startups
8. A Marriage Made in Heaven?
8
Large Corporations
• Access to Markets
• Customer Base
• Capital Resources
• Brand Equity
• Distribution
• Domain Expertise
• Economies of Scale
Startups
• Creativity
• Agility
• Execution Capability
• Entrepreneurial Talent
• Motivated Teams
• Willingness to Take Risks
• No Fear of Cannibalization
9. Or Hell?
1. Lack of mutual understanding
2. Lack of cultural compatibility
3. Lack of trust
4. Lack of clarity of goals
5. Lack of executive commitment
6. Lack of organizational ownership
7. Lack of alignment of interests
9
12. Goals from the Corporate Perspective
• Sourcing new technologies
• Spotting customer trends
• Accelerating time to market
• Securing platform leadership
• Fostering disruptive innovation
• Acquiring scarce talent
• Injecting entrepreneurial DNA
13. Goals from the Startup Perspective
• Validation of business concept
• Access to customers
• Access to markets
• Access to technology platform
• Access to distribution channels
• Access to investment capital
• Potential acquisition
18. Unilever Foundry Process and Results
• Since its 2014 launch, the Unilever Foundry has launched
over 100 pilots with start-ups
• Unilever posts a brief of their business problem online for 10
weeks
• Startups apply (average 80 – 100) and 5 to 6 are selected to
pitch to Unilever
• At least one startup is selected for the pilot a
• If the pilot is successful, Unilever signs a partnership
• Keys to success are a clear, simple and transparent process
for collaboration
19. Designs for emotional LED
solutions (Osram)
Disruptive ICT trends
Products & solutions for
urban markets and city
development (Siemens India)
Sustainable company and
portfolio ideas (Siemens)
Smart Grid Innovation
Contest (part I & II)
Idea Contests: Siemens
2009 2010
Innovation
Jams
Internal
contests
External
contests
Business opportunities for the
"Future of Hubs" (Siemens Mobility)
Anti-Piracy issues &
technical & legal
solutions
2011 2012
Future Business
opportunities for high-
voltage switchgears
Business opportunities for
"Future of Metals"
2013
Data-Driven Services
24. Incubators: BMW’s Startup Garage
24
• Allows for swift and flexible collaborative
projects with startups
• Interested startup companies can apply
online
• Startups are chosen by the innovation
management team and the relevant
departments of the BMW Group
• Selected startups undergo a special program
to develop a functional prototype with an
application relevant to the BMW Group.
• Startups also receive assistance in building
their network within the Group and in
drawing up a business plan
28. Steps in Startup Collaboration
• Define collaboration goals
• Decide resource commitments
• Secure leadership buy-in
• Define acceptable risk level
• Choose modes of collaboration
• Define organizational point of contact
• Define KPIs and roadmap
• Test, iterate, refine and scale
29. Secure Buy-In
Overcome the NIH and WKE syndrome
– Understand that you have no monopoly on expertise
– Be prepared to “let go” to grow
Communicate across the enterprise
– Listen to internal constituents and align the incentives
– Emphasize ‘complementing’ internal innovation efforts
Create new roles/units
– To interface with a rapidly growing portfolio of external entities
– Focus on client-centric funding, not corporate tax
30. Build Capabilities
Network Leadership
– Become the Preferred Partner
– Articulate the ‘value proposition’ for your partners
– Promote platform assets for partners
Relational capabilities
– Risk management skills
– Deal-making skills
– Team management skills
32. Best Practices in Managing Intrapreneurship
• Clear decision-making: Ensure clear ownership of collaborative innovation with
direct reporting to the CEO and Board.
• Flexibility and Independence: Delegate decisions on structure, strategy and
resource allocation to the innovation organization
• Clear Mission and Mandate: Looking for technology and business partnerships
that can create competitive advantage, market leadership and new revenue
streams.
• Fewer internal barriers: Separate the innovation organization from business unit
structure to mitigate procedural and structural barriers to startup collaboration
• Long time horizon: Have patience and allow for a learning and experimentation
phase
33. Best Practices in Startup Collaboration
• Make sure you have buy-in and not just a mandate from the
top
• Appoint a startup innovation champion
• Embed your firm in the local startup ecosystem
• Create the infrastructure (sandboxes, APIs, test data, innovation
spaces)
• Use a portfolio of collaboration modes
• Move at the startup’s clock-speed
• Identify the right KPIs for innovation
• Collaborate, don’t dominate!
