07 HOW DO YOU TAME THE CORPORATE GIANT? While there are clearly many advantages to partnering find the complicated and lengthy internal processes with corporates, startups aren’t approaching this within corporates to be the biggest challenge when collaboration with rose-tinted glasses. They know trying to collaborate with them. It can be hugely there are challenges that need to be overcome and frustrating for the fast-moving entrepreneur when the 72% of startups we surveyed had concerns prior timelines start moving at the slower pace of the to working with big businesses. corporate partner. This will be a challenge we’ll tackle later when our corporate interviewees offer advice for The first hurdle is simply knowing how to make startups. contact with corporates in the first place. Around two in five (39%) of startups are unsure about who Another cause for concern is protection of the to approach within the businesses they’ve identified, startup’s IP. Small businesses often fear the resources and this isn’t a surprise. Even if a business has an of larger organisations and worry that it could be easy innovation practice, there could be multiple people for their idea to be taken, replicated and implemented with varying remits to talk to, and they are likely to without them seeing any benefit. It’s rarely a problem be inundated with unsolicited approaches. Working in reality, as corporates are likely to be too committed with organisations that can facilitate this process to delivering their own road map to change tactic, becomes highly valuable, which is when programs like but 8% of our survey respondents are still concerned Startupbootcamp’s come into their own. their idea would be stolen. It suggests a need to build trust at the early stages of the corporate collaboration Once startups have their foot in the door, the issues and underlines the importance of cementing solid are not over. Nearly three quarters (70%) of startups relationships. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WHEN TRYING TO WORK WITH CORPORATES? 70% of startups 70% experience a complicated or long internal process working with corporates 9% of startups feel there is 9% no single point of contact 4% of startups believe 4% there is a lack of priority and uncertainty