How Businesses Can Fast-Track Growth by Participating in These Events

As an skilled company govt, entrepreneur and investor, I usually advise companies about accelerating their progress. This can be a widespread problem for firms across the globe. These firms could be utilizing previous-generation know-how and, sadly, conventional Analysis & Improvement (R&D) efforts are sometimes ineffective in creating innovative ideas. Firms generally accomplice with universities on joint know-how initiatives. Nevertheless, such partnerships often produce outcomes too slowly in right now’s fast-paced enterprise surroundings.

I imagine that the key to accelerating company progress is to develop into extra revolutionary. Whereas it’s attainable to innovate internally, organizations making an attempt this fail extra usually than they succeed. It is inherently difficult to ask company staff to think like a startup founder. As a substitute, I like to recommend that companies develop into extra revolutionary by investing in startups, which permits the company to develop extra shortly. For the reason that startup ecosystem develops revolutionary concepts regularly, investing in startups is the quickest and most cost-effective solution to develop.

Associated: Startups & Corporates: A Symbiotic Relationship

Capitalizing on international startup competitions

Startup competitions are rising all over the world. Taking part in them — whether or not this implies attending, talking or judging — presents companies an opportunity to community with revolutionary startup founders. By doing so, they will construct relationships, be taught market insights, uncover revolutionary know-how and achieve entry to expertise. Collectively, such alternatives will assist companies develop into extra revolutionary and develop shortly. Since startup competitions deliver collectively the most effective firms from all over the world in a single place, that is an efficient solution to meet a lot of them in a brief timeframe.

At the moment, it is typical that main conferences — comparable to TechCrunch Disrupt, Startup Grind, Dublin Tech Summit, and Web Summit — host startup competitions at their occasions. Universities additionally host marketing strategy competitions, usually for startups which can be already producing income whereas their founders are nonetheless in class. There are additionally devoted startup competitions such because the Startup World Cup, which hosts 100+ regional competitions across the globe. It culminates in a grand finale occasion the place the winner receives a $1 million funding prize. All a majority of these occasions are sturdy networking alternatives since they’re attended by startups, companies, buyers and the media.

How startup competitions profit companies

Let’s overview particular ways in which companies can get probably the most out of startup competitions. As a place to begin, companies ought to search for startups that match their strategic course and enterprise targets. Firms can use these competitions to provoke partnerships designed to assist each events develop. As these partnerships develop, companies can assess whether or not to put money into the startups they partner with.

Startup competitions additionally function a testing floor for brand new applied sciences and revolutionary concepts. There are usually stringent standards to enter these competitions, so as soon as a company supervisor or govt decides to attend, they are often assured that solely the most effective concepts are being offered. I imagine it is a good suggestion for firms to search for startup applied sciences that complement their know-how in order that the 2 firms can work collectively to develop in a mutually helpful method.

One other method companies can profit from collaborating in startup competitions is to make use of the occasion to know market trends. Firms ought to study what new applied sciences are being developed and what buyer challenges startups are attempting to resolve. This helps decide which startups are most related for a company to develop into extra aggressive. One other alternative that startup competitions supply is the possibility for firms to take a look at new expertise. Sometimes well-educated, inventive individuals are those that take part in these competitions. Firms can develop their networks and will even be capable to rent startup staff from these occasions.

The position of company enterprise capital

Past networking and partnership, I like to recommend companies think about investing in startups to develop into extra revolutionary. At startup competitions, they will meet founders and uncover new know-how. They’ll then make investments with the help of a Enterprise Capital (VC) accomplice. Though a company can arrange an inner investing group, doing so is tough and costly. Hiring VC professionals who need to work in a company surroundings can be tough. An alternate mannequin is Venture Capital-as-a-Service (VCaaS), which suggests aligning with a VC agency to take a position on the company’s behalf.

Firms that make the most of the VCaaS mannequin make investments primarily based on their funds, timeline and strategic targets. VCaaS presents a excessive stage of flexibility and advantages companies because the VC agency finds startups with revolutionary know-how and conducts thorough due diligence. This ensures that an funding is mutually helpful.

Associated: Corporate Innovation Through Effective Startup Investing

Startup competitions do a outstanding job of attracting the most effective know-how concepts and the most effective founders from the world over. These occasions permit startups to share their experience, know-how and concepts. They’ll additionally use these competitions to fulfill new companions and buyers. Finally, it will assist startups and their company companions attain new clients and markets, rising extra shortly than they’d in any other case.