Corporate Accelerators: Best Practices and Success Criteria
Romolo Ganzerli, Global Digital Innovation Brand Manager - Procter & Gamble on creating corporate accelerators.
Romolo Ganzerli:
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The number of corporate accelerators is growing. More and more large corporations directly or indirectly invest in the organization of accelerators. Orange Fab, Microsoft Ventures, Hub: Raum and Wayra are just a few examples of the trend that has dominated the field in recent years. But questions arise: Why do they do this? What are the best practices for successful implementation of acceleration programs in a corporate environment? To answer these questions, on the one hand, we took qualitative data collected in interviews with four startups and nine different corporations that recently launched acceleration programs, and on the other hand - data from 102 accelerators around the world.
Why do large corporations finance acceleration programs?
Below are the three main reasons why corporations launch accelerators:
Studying the new business model: it is important for corporations to identify the most breakthrough startups and business models in order to jointly shape the future of the industry. This is a natural consequence of the digital revolution, which threatens several sectors of the industry.
Training and structural transformations: corporations want to spread the culture of “open innovation” in organizations, integrate innovations into the company, set up start-up-style business processes, thus making the company more agile, efficient and economical.
Marketing and Human Resources: Corporations are aiming to build a company's reputation around young talents, recent university graduates, and participants in the startup ecosystem as a whole, in order to ultimately recruit staff with the best specialists or create a commercial partnership.
What are the best practices for implementing successful acceleration programs in a corporate environment?
Coordinating market verticals with product needs: creating a vertical market in a particular industry is useful for distancing from other programs and creating a full-fledged network so as to be attractive for startups in this field. Ideally, corporations in work with start-ups focus on the same industry in which they operate.
Working with startups at the same stages of development: leveling the stages of development is a key factor in the success of the program. Start-ups at the product development stage and start-ups that are ready to enter the international market in one program are not a very good idea, since they have different needs and need different types of support.
Thoughtfully consider their participation in the capitalization table of start-ups: from the point of view of a startup, the presence of a strategic investor in the capitalization table is not always reasonable. This may limit the freedom to cooperate with competitors. This is especially true for B2B startups. To solve this problem, a corporation can invest through a third party.
Full access to the resources of the corporation: the corporation must provide access to all its resources and connections and make every effort to give the startup the best experience during the program. Most corporations have unimportant departments and divisions that can be very useful for startups. If the acceleration program is used only as a marketing ploy, then startups will most likely not go anywhere, and your accelerator will not attract the attention of good teams and innovative ideas.
Corporations choose a link: it is important to designate a person in the accelerator that will serve as a link between startups and a corporation. His job will be to identify and explore potential points of contact between startups and divisions of the corporation.
Support for interaction between start-ups: from the very first day, the accelerator should provide start-ups with the opportunity for constructive dialogue between the various teams participating in the program. This aspect is often underestimated, since all efforts are aimed at providing start-ups with advice and training programs, especially at the beginning of the program.
A fair assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in creating an accelerator: launching accelerators may not be the main specialty of a corporation. Then why not attract a partner who has the right skills and knowledge? This worked in Techstars, Startupbootcamp and Axel Springer Plug & Play. Do not forget about the main task: corporations must become a valuable resource. Otherwise, your program will not attract the best teams and mentors.
findings
Corporate accelerators are fundamentally different from standard accelerators like Y-Combinator or Seedcamp. This does not necessarily mean that some are worse than others. Of course, corporate accelerators have a positive impact on the development and success of startups, and can attract capital and investors.
After all, accelerators are like universities. The best minds aspire to the best universities, launching the wheel of fortune, which can lead to long-term success. Hopefully, if corporations follow these tips when launching accelerator programs, they can become a leader in this area.
From GVA LaunchGurus:
The fact that interaction between corporations and startups is effective confirms the launch of corporate niche accelerators around the world. The solution to the existing problems of the corporation in an innovative approach lies in the use of the “open innovation” method, with the help of which the corporation's request for innovations goes into the market and is realized through the involvement of breakthrough technologies created by active start-up teams in the process.
In our experience, for many companies, the process of integrating startups into an established business is a complex and not always clear task for corporations. In this case, corporations build this process with the help of operators, who organize interaction with start-ups, based on the tasks of the corporation and the possibilities of innovative projects. Such an operator can be a professional team that has the competence to create acceleration programs, build a pool of quality projects, develop and sell them, a wide network of partners, experts and investors at an early stage to interact with start-up teams and, not least, experience scaling projects to global market.
In March, GVA LaunchGurus, together with IKEA Centers Russia, launched the MEGA Accelerator-acceleration program for retail startups.
“The startup development process differs from the management of an already established business, although both pursue the same goals - creating a product or service demanded by consumers. For many companies, especially in Russia, the process of integrating innovative solutions is still a challenge and not always clear. In this case, to improve the effectiveness of the process of working with start-ups, corporations today are better off building this process with the help of operators who are familiar with the features of the development of innovative products and businesses. In such a situation, the project operator will help build a link between the tasks of the corporation and the possibilities of innovative projects. IKEA Centers Russia is working on a project with GVA LaunchGurus, a company developing an enterprise ecosystem in Russia. This approach will allow, first of all, to level the difference in goal setting between the corporation and the startup, as well as effectively manage the process of developing projects and bringing them to the level of the corporation’s tasks, ”says Sergey Mitrofanov, branding expert and business coach GVA LaunchGurus. “In addition, such operators may attract venture investments in the development of projects, it’s not a secret that for many venture investors often the reason for refusal to invest in projects is the lack of a clear market for innovation, and here the corporate accelerator significantly reduces the risks of the lack of demand for new products and services.” .
GVA LaunchGurus is also a partner of the industrial acceleration project for the Territory plant and production facilities.
“All the partners we are trying to unite have the skills to create production and a working business. GVA LaunchGurus helps us shut down all the business parts of acceleration and set up the right atmosphere in the ecosystem. Daniil Kozlov and Zamir Shukhov have a tremendous skill, a kind of common vision: they are absolutely transparent and honest in working with start-ups and partners, detail every step, go forward, thanks to which they managed to create their own ecosystem and develop it at a rapid pace. Competences to be masters of establishing transparent and strong partnerships in the market is the point of our joint start: we stand back-to-back with GVA and begin to plow the undeveloped lands of the Territory, supporting each other in our endeavors. ” - says Alexander Morozov, the founder of the Territory project.
GVA LaunchGurus is a project to support entrepreneurship and has been working with Russian start-ups for several years, providing them with support in developing and scaling a business. We are happy to share our experience and are open to cooperation with corporations to create acceleration programs.
Romolo Ganzerli:
')
The number of corporate accelerators is growing. More and more large corporations directly or indirectly invest in the organization of accelerators. Orange Fab, Microsoft Ventures, Hub: Raum and Wayra are just a few examples of the trend that has dominated the field in recent years. But questions arise: Why do they do this? What are the best practices for successful implementation of acceleration programs in a corporate environment? To answer these questions, on the one hand, we took qualitative data collected in interviews with four startups and nine different corporations that recently launched acceleration programs, and on the other hand - data from 102 accelerators around the world.
Why do large corporations finance acceleration programs?
Below are the three main reasons why corporations launch accelerators:
Studying the new business model: it is important for corporations to identify the most breakthrough startups and business models in order to jointly shape the future of the industry. This is a natural consequence of the digital revolution, which threatens several sectors of the industry.
Training and structural transformations: corporations want to spread the culture of “open innovation” in organizations, integrate innovations into the company, set up start-up-style business processes, thus making the company more agile, efficient and economical.
Marketing and Human Resources: Corporations are aiming to build a company's reputation around young talents, recent university graduates, and participants in the startup ecosystem as a whole, in order to ultimately recruit staff with the best specialists or create a commercial partnership.
What are the best practices for implementing successful acceleration programs in a corporate environment?
Coordinating market verticals with product needs: creating a vertical market in a particular industry is useful for distancing from other programs and creating a full-fledged network so as to be attractive for startups in this field. Ideally, corporations in work with start-ups focus on the same industry in which they operate.
Working with startups at the same stages of development: leveling the stages of development is a key factor in the success of the program. Start-ups at the product development stage and start-ups that are ready to enter the international market in one program are not a very good idea, since they have different needs and need different types of support.
Thoughtfully consider their participation in the capitalization table of start-ups: from the point of view of a startup, the presence of a strategic investor in the capitalization table is not always reasonable. This may limit the freedom to cooperate with competitors. This is especially true for B2B startups. To solve this problem, a corporation can invest through a third party.
Full access to the resources of the corporation: the corporation must provide access to all its resources and connections and make every effort to give the startup the best experience during the program. Most corporations have unimportant departments and divisions that can be very useful for startups. If the acceleration program is used only as a marketing ploy, then startups will most likely not go anywhere, and your accelerator will not attract the attention of good teams and innovative ideas.
Corporations choose a link: it is important to designate a person in the accelerator that will serve as a link between startups and a corporation. His job will be to identify and explore potential points of contact between startups and divisions of the corporation.
Support for interaction between start-ups: from the very first day, the accelerator should provide start-ups with the opportunity for constructive dialogue between the various teams participating in the program. This aspect is often underestimated, since all efforts are aimed at providing start-ups with advice and training programs, especially at the beginning of the program.
A fair assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in creating an accelerator: launching accelerators may not be the main specialty of a corporation. Then why not attract a partner who has the right skills and knowledge? This worked in Techstars, Startupbootcamp and Axel Springer Plug & Play. Do not forget about the main task: corporations must become a valuable resource. Otherwise, your program will not attract the best teams and mentors.
findings
Corporate accelerators are fundamentally different from standard accelerators like Y-Combinator or Seedcamp. This does not necessarily mean that some are worse than others. Of course, corporate accelerators have a positive impact on the development and success of startups, and can attract capital and investors.
After all, accelerators are like universities. The best minds aspire to the best universities, launching the wheel of fortune, which can lead to long-term success. Hopefully, if corporations follow these tips when launching accelerator programs, they can become a leader in this area.
From GVA LaunchGurus:
The fact that interaction between corporations and startups is effective confirms the launch of corporate niche accelerators around the world. The solution to the existing problems of the corporation in an innovative approach lies in the use of the “open innovation” method, with the help of which the corporation's request for innovations goes into the market and is realized through the involvement of breakthrough technologies created by active start-up teams in the process.
In our experience, for many companies, the process of integrating startups into an established business is a complex and not always clear task for corporations. In this case, corporations build this process with the help of operators, who organize interaction with start-ups, based on the tasks of the corporation and the possibilities of innovative projects. Such an operator can be a professional team that has the competence to create acceleration programs, build a pool of quality projects, develop and sell them, a wide network of partners, experts and investors at an early stage to interact with start-up teams and, not least, experience scaling projects to global market.
In March, GVA LaunchGurus, together with IKEA Centers Russia, launched the MEGA Accelerator-acceleration program for retail startups.
“The startup development process differs from the management of an already established business, although both pursue the same goals - creating a product or service demanded by consumers. For many companies, especially in Russia, the process of integrating innovative solutions is still a challenge and not always clear. In this case, to improve the effectiveness of the process of working with start-ups, corporations today are better off building this process with the help of operators who are familiar with the features of the development of innovative products and businesses. In such a situation, the project operator will help build a link between the tasks of the corporation and the possibilities of innovative projects. IKEA Centers Russia is working on a project with GVA LaunchGurus, a company developing an enterprise ecosystem in Russia. This approach will allow, first of all, to level the difference in goal setting between the corporation and the startup, as well as effectively manage the process of developing projects and bringing them to the level of the corporation’s tasks, ”says Sergey Mitrofanov, branding expert and business coach GVA LaunchGurus. “In addition, such operators may attract venture investments in the development of projects, it’s not a secret that for many venture investors often the reason for refusal to invest in projects is the lack of a clear market for innovation, and here the corporate accelerator significantly reduces the risks of the lack of demand for new products and services.” .
GVA LaunchGurus is also a partner of the industrial acceleration project for the Territory plant and production facilities.
“All the partners we are trying to unite have the skills to create production and a working business. GVA LaunchGurus helps us shut down all the business parts of acceleration and set up the right atmosphere in the ecosystem. Daniil Kozlov and Zamir Shukhov have a tremendous skill, a kind of common vision: they are absolutely transparent and honest in working with start-ups and partners, detail every step, go forward, thanks to which they managed to create their own ecosystem and develop it at a rapid pace. Competences to be masters of establishing transparent and strong partnerships in the market is the point of our joint start: we stand back-to-back with GVA and begin to plow the undeveloped lands of the Territory, supporting each other in our endeavors. ” - says Alexander Morozov, the founder of the Territory project.
GVA LaunchGurus is a project to support entrepreneurship and has been working with Russian start-ups for several years, providing them with support in developing and scaling a business. We are happy to share our experience and are open to cooperation with corporations to create acceleration programs.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/299432/
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