How Corporations Can Better Work With Startups

One way that corporations spur innovation is by working with startups - through mechanisms such as corporate accelerators, venture builders and venture clients. Since 2013 the number of corporate investments in startups has nearly tripled from 980 in 2013 to 2,795 in 2018, and their value has risen from $19 to $180 billion, according to GCV Analytics, a company that tracks corporate venturing deals.

Yet the success rate of these initiatives is low. Research we conducted with chief innovation officers (CINOs) and others in similar roles in the United States, Asia and Europe, shows that around three quarters of corporate innovation initiatives fail to deliver the desired results. Failed projects don’t help a company fend off hungry, agile competitors.

To discover the challenges that arise in these initiatives, we talked to more than 120 CINOs in 22 sectors. They shared the challenges that derailed (or threatened to derail) their projects and described the approaches they deployed to surmount them. We found that three strategies are proving effective against 80% of the major issues.

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