Preparing for Your Company’s First Meeting with a Startup Collaborator

Three priorities to help lay the groundwork for success.

by

and

Tomas Blomquist

by

and

Tomas Blomquist

April 08, 2022

Audrey Shtecinjo/Stocksy

Summary.

To understand how corporations and startups can better collaborate, researchers studied 150 meetings between 108 deep tech startups and 34 corporation. They found that collaborations that moved past the first meeting shared three characteristics: They had clarity about their current and future needs; they were open-minded to the novel ideas of startups; and they assembled a team of technologists, business developers, and decision-makers who could engage with the current and future opportunities that the startups presented.

Corporations and startups can both yield tremendous value when they collaborate with one another. Startups can offer corporations novel ideas and process flexibility, while corporations can provide significant resources and process efficiency.

MG

Medhanie Gaim, PhD is an associate professor of management in Umeå School of Business, Economics, and Statistics at Umeå University, Sweden. His research focuses on paradox theory and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on new venture creation support systems. He can be reached at: medhanie.gaim@umu.se
SN

Sujith Nair, Ph.D., is Professor at Nord University Business School, Norway. His research focuses on new venture creation, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the emergence of technological innovations. He can be reached at sujith.nair@nord.no
TB

Tomas Blomquist, PhD, is a professor of business administration at Umeå University. His research interests include entrepreneurship, management and innovation. He is currently working on interventions for a digitally conscious firm. He can be reached at: tomas.blomquist@umu.se

Preparing for Your Company’s First Meeting with a Startup Collaborator

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