Last week I gave a quick talk at ResolveTO about how big companies are disrupting themselves through startup innovation. The goal of the talk was to walk through why companies should engage with startups, and a few methods they’re employing. I’ve included the presentation below: There’s a time and…

Successful startups usually don’t win with their first idea or first product. There are many examples of startups that pivoted (in some cases multiple times), or completely reinvented themselves, in order to win. Starbucks started selling espresso machines and beans door-to-door before pivoting to coffee shops on every corner. Avon…

As Steve Blank said, “A [big] company is a permanent organization designed to execute a repeatable and scalable business model.” Simply put, this usually boils down to, “Do more and sell more of the same.” Big companies have cash cows and milk them as much as possible. This makes complete…

Successful startups are a bit like puzzles. You have to put a lot of pieces together, in the right way, to win. Except with startups, you don’t get all the pieces in advance (or even know how many pieces there will be), and there’s no final picture beautifully printed on…

At Highline BETA we believe that a key way to drive startup success is through partnerships with corporate leaders. Our mission is to unlock the assets locked up inside big companies (think: ideas, industry expertise, customers, distribution, capital), and combine them with the assets of startups (think: speed, ability to…

I remember when AngelList first came out in the U.S. It had a very quick impact on a startup’s ability to build momentum in the investor community. If you had a lead or a few investors (+ traction), you could get featured on AngelList and others would notice. Fundraising momentum…

Highline BETA is all about connecting corporates and startups in a meaningful way. We believe that many of the problems & opportunities worth going after are locked up inside of large companies — and startups are (in some cases) the right vehicle for solving those problems and unlocking those opportunities…

WTF does that even mean? It means: You’re not a young white guy. And it’s total bullshit. Heather Anne Carson, co-founder @ Repable recently posted this on Facebook: (She didn’t ask me to write this.) Oy. It’s not surprising that guys feel / think this way (but saying it out…

In a recent presentation I gave on the use of data in the product management/development process there was one slide that I ended up taking out. It didn’t fit the flow of the talk, but I think it’s still an important point. Here’s the slide: The presentation in question was…