Innovative startups reveal their top tips on how to engage with large businesses

15 tips for startups on how to engage and collaborate with corporates

London Tech Week always brings a great buzz to London and with it some of the greatest minds in technology and innovation. It always reminds me why working in tech in one of the greatest cities in the world is so rewarding. This year, for the second year running, I attended the London & Partners Innovation Festival, always a highlight for me as discussions are grounded in reality and practical advice.

I was inspired to write this because of a brilliant session where startups shared their top tips on how to engage and collaborate with corporates, a topic close to my heart and central to my role at Digital Catapult.

The lessons shared were all practical and useful, many of which I’ve learned myself over the years through the different roles in my career and setting up a business of my own. Hearing them all today was a great reminder of why these tips are so valuable.

15 top tips from startups on how to engage and collaborate with corporates

1. Your agility is your strength — use this to your advantage
2. Amplify your personal and company profile
3. Offline lead generation — identify places and events where corporates you want to work with will be in attendance and focus on building an initial relationship rather than pitching
4. It is all about them, not you — focus on what you can do for them, rather than what you have done for others in the past
5. Ask ‘Why’ and ‘Why now’ — this will help you understand the corporate dynamic and how you can add value in the long term
6. Always tailor your presentation content based on research and information you have already gathered
7. Build relationships for the long term — ensure you build a web of internal champions who will act as advocates for your business. In return, help to make the corporate the hero of the story
8. Go BIG — aim your sights on the big corporates. Most other startups will be targeting the low hanging fruit. Go big but be ready for the lengthy procurement processes
9. Sustain yourself by making profitable sales. There will be time later to work on the wider community and to give favours but you need to build a stable base first
10. Collect your invoices on time
11. Identify your product market fit — do not waste time and money speaking to nice people from corporates which do not lead to a sale. Target your marketing and networking towards those who will actually be interested in your solution
12. Make your website work for you — use direct language and simple contact forms
13. Nurture your opportunities, not your leads — qualify early on and understand which leads are ready to go into your pipeline and which ones are not worth pursuing
14. Be courteous and patient — corporates do not tend to have the same sense of urgency as a startup so you need to take this into account
15. Don’t be afraid to say no, no matter how big and sexy the client is

Thoughtfully, Andrew Macadam, Western Europe Managing Director at Mircosoft for Startups gave his perspective on this and shared an acronym that he keeps in mind when engaging with startups. He always makes a conscious effort to share this information upfront to help ease the way for a smooth interaction — BANT:

1. B — Budget: What budget is available and what needs to be done to gain access to it?
2. A — Authority: Who is the key decision maker? Aim to make the introduction as quickly as possible.
3. N — Need: What is the need for the business? Why is it important? And why is it important now?
4. T — Timeframes: How long is it likely to take for something to progress to the next stage?

Next time you’re wondering how to engage with corporates, consider these 15 top tips and Andrew Macadam’s BANT. Digital Catapult is interested in hearing from companies who specialise in advanced digital technology that can help to solve the challenges facing industry right now. If that’s you, keep an eye on our activities page here or contact us here.

Thank you to Andrew Macadam (Western Europe Managing Director at Microsoft for Startups), Ranzie Anthony (Chief Creative Officer, Athlon), Urenna Okonkwo (Founder, Cashmere App), Dr. Zara Nanu (CEO, Gapsqaure) and Zed Vakil (CEO, StepJockey) for sharing your insights.

AUTHOR: Kathryn Molloy