Startups represent a tsunami of disruption that is about to crash into your industry. They also represent a source of high-potential new products and services, investment and acquisition opportunities, and partnerships that could help you stave off disruption.
If you work in an established organization, depending on the day, all of those messages may be in circulation. And you may also have colleagues who believe that startups are overhyped—fantastical unicorns that attract funding, generate publicity, but never produce profits. Just ignore them, and maybe they’ll vanish…
For this research report, we wanted to understand how some of the top-performing organizations in the world design strategies to engage with startups. We gathered quantitative data from 115 large organizations in a survey we fielded in March 2019.
We also conducted 15 qualitative interviews with a range of companies, from Royal Dutch Shell (82,000 employees, and #5 on the Fortune 500 list, with $311 billion in revenue) to The Shubert Organization, an owner of Broadway theaters and the ticketing system Telecharge, which is privately-held and has 1,800 employees.
Here’s what you’ll find within the report:
- Case Studies & Advice: Leaders from Shell, Metlife, the Air Force, and more discuss their approaches. Plus, direct advice from survey respondents on what works.
- Data: We asked 115 innovation professionals about their experience working with startups.
- Thought Leadership: Our sponsor for this report, Techstars, provides expertise on how corporations and startups can work together.
Sample Data
Table of Contents
Introduction & Data Overview
How to Approach Startup Engagement 2
Survey Data 4
Advice on Startup Engagement 6
Learnings from Startup Collaborations 11
Sample Titles and Departments 17
Guidance & Tools
Roadmap: Effective Startup Engagement 19
Create An Innovation Win-Win: How Corporations & Startups Work Together 20
Interviews
Anheuser-Busch InBev/ZX Ventures 23
BAE Systems 25
BASF 26
Boeing 27
Citi Ventures 28
Comcast NBCUniversal 29
CSAA Insurance 30
Galeries Lafayette/All Turtles 32
MetLife 34
New York Life 36
Royal DSM 37
Shell 39
The Shubert Organization 41
Suffolk Construction 42
United States Air Force 44
