This document provides a checklist of 5 questions for corporations to consider before partnering with startups. It discusses assessing goals, partnership types, dedicating resources, readiness for the startup culture and pace of change, and industry outlook. A data-driven solution is proposed to help corporations identify relevant startups through AI analysis of profiles and proven startup scouting methods.

1. 5 QUESTIONS TO
ANSWER BEFORE
GOING INTO BED
WITH STARTUPS
www.catapult.guru
CORPORATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

2. IN THIS SLIDESHARE,
YOU'LL GET INSIGHTS INTO:
☑ Aspects to look at before partnering with startups
☑ Ways to prepare your organization for venture collaboration
☑ Types of startup-corporate collaboration
☑ Cultural / organizational differences
☑ Final checklist aka Reality audit
☑ Data-driven solution

3. THE GLOBAL BUSINESS
LANDSCAPE IS
TRANSFORMING AT A
SPEED OF LIGHT.
WHY?
RAPID DIGITALIZATION.

4. 80% OF
CORPORATES
BELIEVE
that startups can have a positive
impact on a large company’s
approach to innovation.
study by the Unilever Foundation
80%
20%

5. 89% OF
STARTUPS
BELIEVE
they are able to deliver business
solutions which can scale.
study by the Unilever Foundation
89%
11%

6. WHAT QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD
ASK YOUR ORGANIZATION AND
YOURSELF BEFORE GOING
INTO BED WITH STARTUPS?

7. QUESTION #1
Often companies embrace startup-corporate
collaboration for the wrong reasons, that are
not aligned with company’s short-term and
long-term strategies, across departments or
among corporate’s leaders.
DO YOU KNOW
WHAT YOU WANT
TO ACHIEVE?

8. It is also about setting preliminary goals in
accordance with available resources:
BUDGET PEOPLE TIME KNOW-HOW

9. QUESTION #2
Drawing a clear path for partnership is not only
one of the main criteria for successful startup
scouting and validation, but a fundamental
internal strategy to be agreed upon in advance
with staff involved in venture collaboration.
WHAT TYPE OF
COLLABORATION IS
SUITABLE FOR YOUR
ORGANIZATION?

10. Some types of the startup-
corporate collaboration
COLLABORATION
Are you seeking for new
technologies, innovations
and solution providers to
collaborate with?
INVESTMENTS
Is your main goal to find
an investable company?
ACQUISITIONS
Are you serious about
acquiring a promising
startup?
OTHER?
Establishing an in-house
acceleration program, an
investment fund, or smth
entirely different?

11. QUESTION #3
One way to minimize risks and assure
successful partnership with startups is to
recruit/assign a dedicated person, or a
team, or even an entire department to
oversee venture-collaboration activities.
DO YOU HAVE A
DEDICATED PERSON OR
A TEAM FOR VENTURE
COLLABORATION?

12. Questions to ask:
INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL
Can we validate ourselves which startups
are the right fit for us, or we do recruit an
external partner with in-depth knowledge
about startup ecosystem?
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Are we going to scout relevant technologies
through digital tools, consulting firms, events
or elsewhere, and what human resources do
we need in accordance to the chosen path?

13. QUESTION #4
Take a look at your industry, its trends, its
market leaders, its growth. With more
Ubers and AirBnBs challenging big
traditional players, corporate giants need
to act fast to the changes in the industry.
HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT THE FUTURE OF
YOUR INDUSTRY, AND
YOUR COMPANY’S
PLACE IN IT?

14. Time is a pressing matter.
Think of the following questions:
THE FUTURE
How do you see your
organization in 5 years?
Will the industry still exist?
RIGHT PATH?
Are you confident that your
current direction will
strengthen your position
on the market long-term?
SPEED
Are you fast enough to find
promising technologies,
growth companies and
innovations?
COMPETITION
What are other corporates
doing in this focus area
and are they succeeding?

15. QUESTION #5
Good startups are like good programmers.
You don't choose them, they choose you.
Ask yourself: what can we offer to a
startup? Are we sexy enough? Can we
move along with the same speed?
ARE YOU READY TO
ADAPT THE STARTUP
WAY/CULTURE?

16. Differences in innovation and
organizational structure
(startup VS corporate):
TOP-DOWN
Startups cannot be
approached top-down way,
but rather at eye level.
ATTITUDE TO FAILURE
Failure is a natural milestone for a
young company, wherein in many
corporates even the slightest sign of
failure has a heavy cost for those
involved.
MATCHING THE SPEED
Things move fast in a startup - few
months can mean growth or death
valley, wherein corporates might
take months just to make a
decision on venture collaboration.

17. FINAL
CHECKLIST
Do you know what you
want to achieve?
What type of collaboration is
suitable for your organization?
Do you have a dedicated staff for
venture collaboration?
Are you ready to adapt
the startup way/culture?
How do you feel about the
future of your industry?

18. Senior management has
to be ready to adapt, make
fast decisions, and throw
overboard conventional
and tested ways of
thinking, i.e. be curious
and open-minded.

19. CATAPULT'S DATA-
DRIVEN SOLUTION
FOR CORPORATES
Helping corporates find the best and most relevant
tecnologies, startups, innovations, solution-providers.
Our data-pool on 100.000+ European startups
+
State-of-the-art AI/ML algorithms
+
In-depth startup scouting and validation
+
Venture collaboration know-how
+
Proven record of success with industry-leading corporates www.catapult.guru

20. HAVE A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION?
WISH TO GET MORE CONTENT ON THIS TOPIC?
READY TO START VENTURE COLLABORATION?
Drop us a message --> www.catapult.guru/contact
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS READ!