This article is the second in a two-part series on how big companies can collaborate with entrepreneurs and startups engaged in “deep technology”—developing technologies that advance scientific and technological frontiers in industries as diverse as agriculture, health care, energia e transporte. Essas são tecnologias que, em muitos casos, abordam os maiores desafios sociais e ambientais e moldam a maneira como resolvemos as questões globais mais prementes. O primeiro, “ O que as startups de tecnologia profunda querem dos parceiros corporativos , "Artigo do BCG, abril de 2017, considera as necessidades das empresas jovens em relação a outros jogadores do ecossistema de inicialização, particularmente grandes corporações. Este artigo analisa as maneiras pelas quais as empresas podem criar colaborações com startups de tecnologia profunda. Ambos os artigos são baseados em empresas de pesquisa. O BCG e a Hello Tomorrow também realizaram entrevistas detalhadas com outros principais players do ecossistema, incluindo investidores, organizações de apoio e mentores. Da tecnologia à tecnologia profunda: promover a colaboração entre empresas e startups .
Colaborações entre grandes empresas e startups são os casais estranhos do mundo dos negócios - duas entidades, que em nível operacional têm pouco em comum, tentando trabalhar juntas. Um estudo recente relatou que "50% das startups disseram que sua experiência trabalhando com empresas era medíocre ou pior". Ao mesmo tempo, de acordo com esse estudo, 82% das empresas veem as interações com as startups como "um tanto importantes" para "muito importantes". Quase um quarto disse que
Defina o mandato
Successful companies develop innovation models and systems that are suited to their circumstances and reflect their corporate strategies. (See As empresas mais inovadoras de 2016: Passando do passado “não inventado aqui” Relatório do BCG, janeiro de 2017.) Empresas de sucesso também definem um mandato para seus programas de inovação, garantindo que suas organizações saibam quais são os objetivos, foco e parâmetros desses esforços. O mandato não precisa ser longo ou complicado, mas deve cobrir os seguintes pontos:
- Os objetivos de inovação da empresa. O papel da tecnologia profunda - em comparação com a aplicação de tecnologias digitais em produtos, serviços, processos e funções existentes - deve ser destacada. A empresa deseja fazer parceria deve incluir, por exemplo, se estão em estágio inicial, de estágio intermediário ou em estágio avançado. These may focus on strengthening the core business, expanding into adjacent areas, or exploring and preparing for future entry into currently unrelated business areas. The role of deep tech—compared with the application of digital technologies to existing products, services, processes, and functions—should be highlighted.
- R&D Focus. The topics on which the company wants to focus its R&D efforts should be defined.
- Preferred Partner Profile. An approximate profile of the kind of startups the company wants to partner with should include, for example, whether they are in early-stage, intermediate-stage, or late-stage development.
- Recursos. e fornecimento externo de inovação, incluindo parceria com startups de tecnologia profunda. Esses modelos podem funcionar bem, especialmente quando as empresas patrocinadoras estão aproveitando o efeito de escala de trabalhar com um número significativo de startups com ciclos e necessidades de desenvolvimento semelhantes. Como tantas startups de tecnologia profunda têm tecnologias exclusivas e ciclos de desenvolvimento singulares, no entanto, elas não se encaixam confortavelmente nesses sistemas. Além disso, confiar em uma operação independente pode mascarar as barreiras organizacionais e culturais da empresa controladora que devem ser abordadas para colaborar produzir produtivamente com parceiros mais jovens, mais rápidos e mais ágeis. As empresas precisam pensar, por exemplo, como planejam interagir com as startups, onde reside o poder de decisão, se podem agir e reagir tão prontamente quanto as startups esperam e exigem e que tipos de KPIs serão aplicados para avaliar o progresso. Rápido e leve. É mais importante adaptar os processos, como compras, jurídica e finanças, nas quais as startups se inclinam regularmente para obter suporte. A description of the required resources should specify, for example, the budget, people, and facilities that will be needed to meet the mandate.
Companies also need to define the desired balance between internal sourcing of innovation, using the company’s own capabilities, and external sourcing of innovation, including partnering with deep-tech startups.
Construct a Startup-Friendly Environment
Lots of large companies have established CVC arms, incubators and accelerators, and innovation labs to house their external innovation programs. These models can work well, especially when the sponsoring companies are leveraging the scale effect of working with a significant number of startups with similar development cycles and needs. Because so many deep-tech startups have unique technologies and singular development cycles, however, they don’t necessarily fit comfortably into such systems. Moreover, relying on a standalone operation can mask the parent company’s organizational and cultural barriers that should be addressed if it is to collaborate productively with younger, faster, more nimble partners. Companies have to think through, for example, how they plan to interact with startups, where decision power resides, whether they can act and react as promptly as startups expect and require, and what types of KPIs will be applied to assess progress.
On the basis of our research and case experience, we have identified five areas in which most corporate sponsors should assess their readiness for deep-tech collaboration.
Assuring That Processes Are Fast and Light. Big companies should either tailor their internal processes for more agile interaction or create parallel processes with dedicated staff to work with the smaller and more nimble startups while the rest of the organization focuses on business as usual. It is most important to adapt the processes, such as procurement, legal, and finance, on which the startups will lean regularly for support.
Making Certain That Governance Procedures Ensure Clear Responsibilities and Accountabilities. To ensure alignment with corporate goals and full management buy-in, companies need to set up a governance framework for startups that is anchored at top management levels and provides appropriate oversight.
Providing Startups with Easy Access to Resources. Startups look to corporate partners for nonfinancial assistance in several areas, the most important—from a startup’s point of view—being technical and business expertise and market access. From the sponsoring company’s perspective, getting value from its deep-tech ventures depends in part on engaging the relevant people and parts of the business. The company needs to identify the capabilities that potentially provide value—for example, data and access to customers, networks, mentors, and technical experts—and allow startups to navigate as freely as possible among them. Creating a network of engaged experts and champions across the business to act as project managers for the collaboration can help. Immersion programs enable talent from the company to work for the startups for predetermined periods. In addition to providing startups with access to expertise, such programs help companies enrich the development of their up-and-coming executive talent and emphasize entrepreneurial values in their own corporate cultures.
Adapting Company KPIs to Track Long-Term Results with a Portfolio Approach. The most consistently successful innovators have strong processes for reviewing development projects to ensure timely completion. But for collaborations with startups, they need to adapt these processes, especially those employed in areas not closely related to the core business. For nascent deep-tech ventures, for example, KPIs focused on short-term P&L impact can be counterproductive. KPIs should be adapted—by, for example, measuring knowledge acquisition in the early technology stages and financial impact in the later maturity stages—to reflect the maturity of the particular startup and the nature of the collaboration. KPIs should be clearly established from the beginning of the relationship and progress communicated regularly with the startup and within the company.
Making Sure That the Company Has the Right Culture and Mindset. Adapting the “hard” side of the organization—governance, processes, and KPIs—is not enough. Big-company and small-company values, cultures, and goals are different. The corporate individuals assigned to work with startups may need their own immersion in entrepreneurial cultures so that they can better understand what startups are trying to do and the particular challenges that they face. In this way, the corporate representatives will be able to see the startups as valuable partners to be championed throughout the larger organization.
Look Before You Leap
Deep-tech ventures represent deep commitment on both sides. Both corporate partners and startups are well advised to spend time “dating,” getting to know each other and their aspirations and expectations before entering into a more formal, longer-term relationship. One of the main challenges reported by both startups and large companies is the lack of transparency and alignment on common goals from the beginning. This is a problem that leads to wasted time and, perhaps, painful renegotiation down the road.
We have seen both sides benefit from temporary associations with clear (ad hoc) milestones for assessing how and when decisions could be made to extend and deepen the relationship. Companies and startups use these times to explore mutual goals, collaboration platforms, and team chemistry. They can also iron out potentially thorny issues—such as intellectual property (IP) rights—and test the viability of the partnership, achieving some quick wins, working on mutually defined projects, and building momentum through a short but intense period. They can agree on a common roadmap with clear milestones, defining the most efficient path to the common goal, with each milestone constituting an opportunity to assess the relationship, confirm or change the next milestone and go to the next level, or stop the relationship.
Choose the Right Model
Companies can choose from several different models—CVC arms, incubators and accelerators, and business partnerships—to bring relationships to the next level when it suits their deep-tech venturing objectives. As we indicated in the first article in this series, in many cases, the best model is determined by the startup’s maturity stage and its readiness to go to market. (See Exhibit 2.)
Modelos de parceria. Por exemplo, para startups nos estágios iniciais do desenvolvimento, um acordo de serviço de consultoria permite que a empresa ajude a pagar por P&D, pois aproveita a oportunidade para revisar e avaliar a tecnologia antes de buscar um relacionamento mais profundo e complexo. Quando a startup possui uma tecnologia ou produto mais maduro, as empresas podem buscar um acordo de desenvolvimento de código de produto sob o qual une forças com um orçamento dedicado, metas da empresa e um prazo claro para o mercado. Como alternativa, eles podem se envolver em um arranjo de terceirização de P&D, no qual, por exemplo, a startup desenvolve um produto para a empresa patrocinadora. Tais acordos permitem que a startup escala e construa a credibilidade necessária para convencer outras empresas a trabalhar com ela. As parcerias de distribuição podem ajudar o startup a acelerar o crescimento da receita, aproveitando os recursos de marketing e a base de clientes da empresa. Sob um contrato de licenciamento, a empresa maior pode licenciar o IP da startup para uso próprio e venda a outras pessoas. Para evitar problemas relacionados à ambiguidade, as empresas devem discutir a exclusividade, um obstáculo comum, o mais cedo possível em seu relacionamento. fabricação. Nos dois casos, os retornos financeiros são um fator importante, mas os benefícios estratégicos dos dois diferem. No entanto, pode limitar a capacidade da startup de trabalhar simultaneamente com outras empresas que poderiam beneficiar seu desenvolvimento tecnológico. Ele fornece acesso aos contatos de fundos de capital de risco experientes e acesso a uma variedade de investimentos mais amplos do que um braço CVC de propriedade da empresa provavelmente veria. Eles devem se fazer as seguintes perguntas: Companies can pursue multiple models of partnership, each with its own advantages. For example, for startups in the early stages of development, a consulting-service arrangement allows the company to help pay for R&D as it takes the opportunity to review and assess the technology before it pursues a deeper and more complex relationship. When the startup has a more mature technology or product, the companies can pursue a product codevelopment deal under which they join forces with a dedicated budget, firm goals, and a clear time frame for going to market. Alternatively, they can engage in an R&D outsourcing arrangement, in which, for example, the startup develops a product for the sponsoring company.
At the most mature stage, when the product is market ready, there are several likely variations of commercial partnerships to follow. Such arrangements enable the startup to scale up and build the credibility it needs to persuade other companies to work with it. Distribution partnerships can help the startup accelerate revenue growth by tapping into the larger company’s marketing capabilities and customer base. Under a licensing agreement, the larger company can license the startup’s IP for its own use and sale to others.
The deals that each company and startup actually strike vary according to need and circumstance, but companies should start by defining a framework, including key success factors, for each startup maturity stage and a checklist to help validate its go-no-go decision at each stage gate. To avoid problems related to ambiguity, the companies must discuss exclusivity, a common roadblock, as early as possible in their relationship.
Exhibit 3 illustrates a framework, which organizations should fine-tune, depending on their objectives and capabilities, and use as a tool—rather than a standardized process—to facilitate decision making.
CVC Models. Companies generally use one of two CVC models: investments made through their own venture capital arms or investments made externally through an in-dependent venture fund. In both cases, the financial returns are an important factor, but the strategic benefits of the two differ.
The internal CVC model can be a powerful vehicle for aligning the interests and strategies of the startup and the sponsoring company, and it provides for a much closer collaboration on technology development, business planning, and going to market. It may limit the startup’s ability to work simultaneously with other companies that could benefit its technological development, however.
The external model does not require the sponsoring company to develop its own in-house capabilities and is most relevant when a company would like to explore opportunities in new areas. It provides access to the contacts of experienced venture capital funds and access to a range of investments that is broader than a company-owned CVC arm would likely see.
Whatever their CVC approach, companies need to have clear goals and know how they want deep tech to fit with their larger corporate strategy. They should ask themselves the following questions:
- Qual são nossos objetivos relacionados ao CVC? Em 2016, o BCG examinou 83 unidades de CVC e descobriu que 66% eram focados em estratégia, embora o ROI positivo também fosse um pré -requisito e 34% se concentrassem puramente nos retornos financeiros dos investimentos que fizeram. (Ver In general, strategically oriented and financially oriented CVC investments have different goals. In 2016, BCG examined 83 CVC units and found that 66% were strategy focused, although positive ROI was also a prerequisite, and 34% focused purely on the financial returns of the investments they made. (See Corporate Surifica as marchas .)
- Onde-no centro corporativo ou nas unidades de negócios-é a responsabilidade de definir as prioridades e áreas de foco da empresa profunda? A responsabilidade da unidade de negócios é apropriada quando o objetivo é reforçar as linhas de negócios atuais ou desenvolver adjacências. O departamento escolhido deve possuir habilidades tecnológicas relevantes e know-how de mercado nas áreas de foco de negócios e deve ser capaz de garantir uma cooperação estreita com as unidades de negócios e as principais funções corporativas. Definition at the corporate level will focus investments in innovations that could create new businesses or disrupt core businesses. Business unit responsibility is appropriate when the objective is to reinforce current business lines or develop adjacencies.
- Where should the CVC unit’s organizational home be? CVC units can be based in several functions of the organization, but strategy and R&D are the most common. The chosen department should possess relevant technology skills and market know-how in the business areas of focus and should be able to ensure close cooperation with the business units and key corporate functions.
- Quantas ofertas queremos obter? As principais lições que as empresas devem retirar da indústria de capital de risco são que oportunidades atraentes são poucas e o tamanho de um investimento é uma alavanca importante para gerenciar o risco de investimento e aprofundar o conhecimento de um ecossistema de tecnologia. A análise do BCG dos CVCs mostrou que apenas 0,5% de todos os planos de negócios recebidos chegaram ao estágio de investimento. Ou seja, as empresas examinaram cerca de 700 planos de negócios para fazer três ou quatro investimentos em CVC. Em vez disso, eles devem levar em consideração a cooperação e a colaboração com o ecossistema mais amplo de tecnologia profunda. Companies can use CVC to gain exposure to a few high-potential or strategically important startups, or they can invest, and scout for opportunities, more broadly. The primary lessons companies should take from the venture capital industry are that attractive opportunities are few and the size of an investment is an important lever for managing investment risk and deepening knowledge of a technology ecosystem. BCG’s analysis of CVCs showed that only 0.5% of all business plans received made it to the investment stage. That is, companies screened some 700 business plans to make three or four CVC investments.
Build Your Own Ecosystem
Whatever form they take, the relationships between established companies and startups should not be built on the typical one-to-one basis. Instead, they should take into account cooperation and collaboration with the broader deep-tech ecosystem.
Como dissemos em nosso Primeiro artigo Os empreendedores de tecnologia profunda procuram um amplo ecossistema de organizações, instituições e indivíduos para apoio e assistência. As empresas são parceiros preferenciais por vários motivos, mas as startups ainda olham para os outros - incluindo outras startups, empresas que não são concorrentes diretos, fornecedores, clientes e cientistas - para suporte e assistência. Isso inclui o equilíbrio dos riscos em um portfólio que inclui muitas startups, permitindo que as startups se ajudem e se orgulhem e obtenham uma compreensão mais ampla do escopo das tecnologias em desenvolvimento. Além disso, a participação no ecossistema mais amplo de atividade pode ajudar a posicionar uma empresa patrocinadora como um participante ativo em uma tecnologia emergente e oferece acesso a outros participantes quando chegar a hora de abordar questões de construção de consenso, como o SUFTIMENT STORNCIONS APORTIVOS EM SUMPORTIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO A REAGENSA DE COMPRIMENTO DE COMPRIMENTO A REURTIMENTO. 373. 3733
Building or tapping into a connected ecosystem has advantages for sponsoring companies as well. These include balancing the risks in a portfolio that includes many startups, enabling startups to help and mentor each other, and gaining a broader understanding of the scope of technologies under development. In addition, participating in the wider ecosystem of activity can help position a sponsoring company as an active participant in an emerging technology and gives it access to other participants when it comes time to address consensus-building issues such as industry standards.
An Initial Checklist for Building a Collaboration Platform
Partnering with deep-tech startups means making a serious commitment: success is far from guaranteed and payback time frames can be long. Before they make the commitment, companies should be sure that they have addressed some basic concerns.
Capabilities. Does the company have the internal capabilities and market experience to support the collaboration platform, or should it seek external assistance? Developing a company’s own deep-tech management structure requires know-how and reputation. It also requires market experience. Many companies that lack these capabilities prefer to partner with existing incubators or accelerators or to enter into simple mentorship arrangements. When defining their goals, companies must take into account their internal capabilities and cultural mindsets and define their ambitions accordingly.
Oversight. Which corporate function should oversee collaboration with startups? The answer depends in part on the technology readiness level (TRL) of the startup’s solution and the solution’s proximity to the sponsoring company’s business. Collaborations with startups that have a low TRL and technologies that are far from the company’s core business are probably best placed with a dedicated function (such as R&D or an innovation lab). By contrast, collaboration with startups with a high TRL (almost market ready) and technologies close to the company’s core business should be in the business units.
Space. Whether and where companies dedicate a physical workspace for startups depends on how closely they want to work together. (It should be noted, however, that this subject does not rate high among most deep-tech startups’ needs from their corporate partners.) If the collaboration takes the form of a few meetings per month, there’s probably little need for close physical proximity, but if company and startup personnel plan to work closely together (on product codevelopment, for example), a dedicated, nearby physical place can facilitate cooperation.
Localização. Várias empresas seguiram a rota anterior e localizaram seus empreendimentos em pontos quentes tecnologicamente relevantes de inovação - como Vale do Silício, Londres, Nova York, Boston e Tel Aviv - permitindo a proximidade dos ecossistemas de inicialização vívida. Outras empresas preferem a proximidade física de suas próprias instalações e operações, concentrando suas atividades de colaboração e aceleração perto de suas unidades corporativas de P&D ou em determinados mercados -alvo. Dessa forma, eles facilitam relacionamentos íntimos e fácil interação com seus negócios principais. When deciding where to locate the physical collaboration space, companies should consider places where the venture has ready access to other high-quality startups or having the venture physically near the sponsoring company’s office. A number of companies have gone the former route and located their ventures in technologically relevant innovation hot spots—such as Silicon Valley, London, New York, Boston, and Tel Aviv—allowing for proximity to vivid startup ecosystems. Other companies prefer physical closeness to their own facilities and operations, concentrating their collaboration and acceleration activities near their corporate R&D units or in certain target markets. In this way, they facilitate close relationships and easy interaction with their core businesses.
As colaborações de tecnologia profunda residem no extremo mais distante do continuum de recompensa de risco: são, por definição, empreendimentos de alto risco, e seu retorno é incerto. Ainda assim, o impacto potencial de uma nova tecnologia pode ser enorme. Empresas inteligentes que desejam fazer parceria com as startups de tecnologia profunda podem inclinar as chances a seu favor, planejando cuidadosamente, comunicando-se claramente e reconhecendo que esses empreendimentos colaborativos são de fato casais estranhos de negócios: a disposição de ambas as partes de fornecer e tomar uma estrutura estabelecida para trabalhar em volta para trabalhar juntos é um pré-requisito essencial para 37588888, 3758
