Get to know startups – how to find suitable startups

Once the match has taken place, the cooperation between the start-up and the medium-sized company can be initiated with a pilot project and, if successful, subsequently expanded into a long-term partnership. But before both parties can even find out whether they are a perfect match, they must first get to know each other. The challenge as a company is therefore not only to decide whether the startup fits you, but also to get to know startups where it is worth getting to know them better. 

But how do I find suitable start-ups anyway? How can you get to know startups and make first acquaintances in order to establish a good basis for cooperation? What possibilities and formats are there to do this? Some of our customers ask themselves these questions, because especially if you are not yet at home in the startup industry, it can quickly turn out to be a little confusing. If medium-sized companies have recognized the necessity and advantages of dealing with innovation and implementing it in their company structure, the multitude of start-ups and offers can quickly lead to overstrain and uncertainty about where to start looking for the most suitable match.

To shed some light on this, we have developed our series “Getting to know Startups”. In this series we present the various possibilities of how startups, medium-sized businesses, corporations and the public sector can make the best possible contacts. These range from events like innovation competitions and innovation challenges to startup challenges, scouting, sourcing and startup engagement. The personal network should also not be underestimated here. If this accumulation of terms seems a bit confusing at first, we hope to provide some help here.

But first we will explain why it makes sense for both start-ups and companies to work together. Since both parties bring their own knowledge and strengths to the cooperation, they can learn a lot from each other. If the cooperation runs optimally, there is a win-win for both sides. In the next article in our series, we will discuss exactly what this win-win can look like and what concrete advantages a partnership between start-up and company offers.

Of course, with a successful match the work is not yet done, but only just begins. After all, a successful partnership does not come about by itself. Since there are many differences between startups and companies in terms of culture, work processes and structure, there can be a number of hurdles on the way to long-term cooperation. In order to ensure that these can be avoided, both sides must be accommodating and do their part. Christoph Baier explains how this works and what needs to be considered in an interview our blog.

If you have any further questions please contact us, we will be happy to help you! Here you can get to our contact form.