Corporate startup collaboration checklist

@danto_ma
Corporate-Startup
Collaboration
Checklist

@danto_ma
Dan Toma
co-author of the award winning
book The Corporate Startup |
founding partner
weareoutcome.co 12 years
digital product ownership
experience | MBA | certified
lean startup coach

@danto_ma
The (lean) startup expert for
big businesses.
“

@danto_ma
BENEFITS OF THE
COLLABORATION

@danto_ma
… FOR THE STARTUPS
➔ Revenue
➔ Riskless internationalization
➔ Brand recognition
➔ Marketing
➔ Distribution channels
➔ Large user base
➔ Case studies and testimonials
➔ Industry knowledge

@danto_ma
… FOR THE CORPORATIONS
➔ Innovation
➔ New revenue
➔ Customer centricity
➔ Understanding market trends,
purchasing behaviours and technology
trends
➔ Entrepreneurial culture

@danto_ma
➔ Long sales cycle
➔ Top down decision making

@danto_ma
➔ Not-invented-here syndrome
➔ Conflicting requirements
➔ Different culture

@danto_ma
➔ Getting engulfed by one single
client
➔ Ending up offering free
consulting services to the
corporation
➔ Premature scaling
➔ Delays
➔ Losing the agile spirit

@danto_ma
➔ Reputation damage
➔ Lost investment
➔ Lost time/opportunity

@danto_ma
… FOR THE STARTUPS (1 of 3)
➔ The first item on the startup’s checklist revolves
around the target of the partnership: ‘What is the
target of the partnership for them as a startup?
What is the target of the corporate partner? Are
the two targets achievable at the same time? Is
the partnership, in its current state (eg.: paid
demo), going to lead to both parties achieving
their targets?’
➔ The second item on the list has to do with the
way the success of the collaboration will be
measured. ‘How will you as a startup measure
the success of the collaboration? How will the
corporate partner do that? Are the two
measurements contradictory or not?’

@danto_ma
➔ The third item on the startup’s checklist is budget:
‘Do you, as a startup, have enough run-way to
deliver on the collaboration’s goals? Is the budget
that’s being allocated on the corporation’s side
(time, resources, other materials) sufficient to
achieve the goal of the partnership?

@danto_ma
➔ The fourth and last item the startup needs to be
aware of is the person they are in contact with on
the corporate side: ‘What buyer persona are you
speaking with? Is this the only person you are in
contact with? Is the person the right one to achieve
the goals of the partnership? (make sure you speak
with at least two people. in case you are in contact
with just one person from the corporation and this
person changes jobs or leaves the company the
collaboration is in jeopardy. At the very best, the
collaboration might still happen, but you are going
to spend countless hours figuring out who the new
person in-charge of the deal is. This will impact
your ‘runway’. This risk is greater at the beginning
of the collaboration before any agreement is
signed.) Does any of the people you are in contact
with have enough influence to shield the
collaboration in case priorities get reshuffled on the
corporation’s side?’

@danto_ma
… FOR THE CORPORATIONS (1 of 3)
➔ The first item on the corporation’s checklist is similar to
the first one on the startup’s checklist, the target of the
collaboration. However the questions differ: ‘What are the
goals of the collaboration? Are the goals of the collaboration
aligned with our company’s (innovation) strategy? Is the
startup’s target for the collaboration competing with our
target?’
➔ The second item the corporations need to be aware before
going into a partnership is the internal reasoning behind the
collaboration. To get clarity on this the corporation needs to
find answers to the following questions: ‘Does it make sense
for us to collaborate with a startup to achieve our goals or
can we achieve the same results using internal resources?’

@danto_ma
➔ Thirdly the corporation needs to get clarity around the best
way to collaborate (and consequently achieve their targets):
‘What form should the collaboration take in order for us to
achieve our target (eg.: paid demo, joint venture, free demo
etc.)? Is this form of collaboration going to help the startup
achieve their goal too?’
➔ The fourth item on the corporation’s checklist revolves
around resources and their allocation: ‘What resources are
needed for this collaboration to succeed? Can we allocate
the necessary results for the collaboration to succeed? Do
we have the necessary resources at our disposal?’
➔ The next item on the list has to do with the way the success
of the collaboration will be measured. ‘How will you as a
startup measure the success of the collaboration? How will
the corporate partner do that? Are the two measurements
contradictory or not?’

@danto_ma
➔ The fifth item on the list touches on the internal stakeholders
from the corporate side: ‘Who will be the stakeholders
responsible to drive the collaboration in our company? Are
these people the right ones for the collaboration to
succeed?’

@danto_ma
Partnering between two different size companies will never
be easy, regardless of how much they need each other. The
success of a collaboration depends on one hand on mutual
understanding (each side appreciating the risks and the
differences the other faces in embarking on collaboration)
and on the other hand on thoroughly preparing before
signing on the proverbial dotted line.

@danto_ma
Contact Email: me@danto.ma
Website: danto.ma
thecorporatestartupbook.com
innovationaccountingbook.com
Twitter: @danto_ma
LinkedIN: linkedin.com/in/dantoma/

Corporate startup collaboration checklist

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Corporate startup collaboration checklist

Similar to Corporate startup collaboration checklist (20)

More from Dan Toma

More from Dan Toma (7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Corporate startup collaboration checklist