International Startup Collaborations: Ambivation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

Ambivation connects startups and established companies – not only in Germany, but also internationally! In order to find suitable cooperation partners for our clients, we are therefore regularly on the road abroad. After longer stays in San Francisco, Tel Aviv and Paris, part of our team is currently working from Barcelona. From February 28 to March 3, the Mobile World Congress and the startup meeting 4YFN ( Four Years From Now) were held there. In this interview, Ambivation CEO Christoph Baier shares his personal impressions and explains how Ambivation supports companies in international collaborations with startups.

Chris, last week’s Mobile World Congress was overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. To what extent did that make itself felt at the international event?

Of course, no one expected this situation. I think we all thought that war in Europe was a thing of the past and that conflicts could be resolved diplomatically in 2022. Nevertheless, we decided to take part in the Mobile World Congress, because it’s no use to anyone if we let our work rest and bury our heads in the sand. In fact, I had an appointment at the Mobile World Congress with an open innovation manager from Kiev, who had to cancel due to circumstances. I sincerely hope he is doing well. We agreed to make up the appointment later. At the fair, some participants showed their solidarity with badges. Basically, however, business issues were already in the foreground.

As part of the 4YFN meeting, more than 600 startups came together at the congress. Which founders or ideas particularly impressed you personally, or what can we look forward to in “4 Years FROM NOW”?

It was definitely super exciting to experience this abundance of startups and innovation from different countries. The participants came mainly from the mobile, digital health, smart mobility, energy and blockchain sectors. From Germany, not only individual startups, but also some federal states were represented with booths. I was particularly impressed, for example, by the Berlin startup MOWEA, which builds mini-turbines that can be integrated very quickly and easily into all kinds of infrastructures, such as mobile phone towers.

How did your interviewees receive Ambivation’s work or offerings? Does the need for support in cooperation between startups and established companies also make itself felt at the international level? Or is it perhaps even higher there, because such cooperation brings additional challenges with it?

Our work and especially our new commitment to the topic of startup challenges have been very well received. For startups and other innovators, it is usually extremely costly to find such challenges. Even we, with our extensive experience in the field, often have to look very hard. Partners from both established companies and startups were extremely grateful that we provide an overview of current Challenges in English at www.startup-challenges.com.

On the other hand, we still need to raise awareness of the opportunities for international cooperation. For many SME customers, it doesn’t even occur to them at first to look for cooperation partners abroad. From their perspective, the international market is confusing and they don’t know where to start. When we at Ambivation do startup scouting for our clients, it is not enough for us to find just “any” potential cooperation partners – we look for the ones that fit best! That’s why we’re always on the road internationally. And yes: it is definitely a different challenge to do startup scouting on an international level than in Berlin or Munich. That’s why we support our clients in this.

How do you encourage interlocutors who are skeptical about international cooperation?

If only cooperation partners from the German-speaking region are an option for a client, we respect that and look for startups from the DACH region for them. We encourage companies that are looking for the best European or global cooperation partner for their request by explaining our support measures – from startup scouting, to filtering a shortlist, to initiating contacts and accompanying the cooperation process. Then, as soon as we are no longer needed, we are happy to withdraw. However, we also have customers whom we accompany and advise on a permanent basis with their innovation projects.

Have you already drawn any concrete conclusions from the event? For example, did you get to know a startup that you would definitely like to introduce to one of our cooperation partners, etc.?

Actually, I was already able to connect an established company with a startup on site. I spoke with over 20 Open Innovation Managers in total at the congress and with just as many startups. Now, the first thing to do is to follow up. I’ve taken a lot of notes on who might be a good fit for our customers. Out of 50 to 100 relevant startups, probably five to ten will be shortlisted in the end. It was also important for me to get to know the Spanish startup ecosystem even better. That’s simply best done on site!