Many of today's multinationals began their lives as startups - driven by a vision to change the world and a need to experiment with minimal resources. Today, they have ossified into hierarchical machines with a command and control culture - antithetical to new ideas and approaches. By contrast, disruptive players like AirBnB, Square and Zappos have redefined and reshaped existing markets by combining new technology with a fanatical approach to customer service. Our research - "Learning from the Startups" - surveyed 60 startup founders in the US, UK and Germany to discover their recipe for success. We wanted to find out: ● How startups innovate so rapidly ● What large organizations can learn ● How culture and IT interact to determine potential for innovation

1. LEARNING FROM START-UPS
Innovation requires risk-taking and strong leadership
70 percent of all start-ups see their own business well positioned
for innovation processes while the majority of big companies
seem to struggle with that task.
WHY ARE START-UPS ONE STEP AHEAD?
75%
75%
Have a highly automated
basic IT infrastructure that
makes them ‘work smarter’
instead of ‘working harder’
Have a process and
methodology around
innovation and especially
product development
90%
Believe that a powerful founder
and their vision are of crucial
importance for success
in innovation
THINK LIKE A START-UP AND DRIVE INNOVATION!
Start-ups believe...
100%
90%
80
80%
62%
52%
60
40
20
0
you must be
willing to fail
large companies fail
due to a lack of
empowerment and
resources
Challenge
commonly-held and
often long-standing
assumptions
that large corporations
run too much on
consensus
THE BIG 5
Key characteristics of
innovative companies
Accept failure
Focus on new
product development
and listen to customer
and employee
suggestions
a strong dictator
figure at the top
is not a bad thing
Employ people
who, like them, create
ideas and challenge
the norm
Are led by senior
management who
prioritise innovation
The research was undertaken from November to December 2013 by face-to-face
interviews with 60 start-ups in the U.S, U.K and Germany on a non-attributable basis
and using a questionnaire