I stumbled on an interesting article on TNW and I’ve decided to share with you.
In the article, the author encourages entrepreneurs, to partner with a,more established company in order to have a greater sense of stability as their new startups grow.
In this post, I will highlight the five steps he recommends in the article for an entreprenuer to successfully partner with a larger company:
1. Define what you want out of a partnership
You need to have a good sense of what you want the end results of any partnership to be before you consider it. Once you’ve decided on the type of help your startup needs, you can start looking for the right partner.
2. Know what you bring to the table
A great relationship is a balance of give and take. Know what you have to offer the company you want to partner with. If your startup is a solution provider, you need to find a way your solution helps them, too.
Have brainstorming sessions with your team to look at potential partners’ needs with a wide-angle lens. Coming up with the right insight can be the key to unlocking the partnership opportunity you want.
3. Find a personal contact at the larger company
Things are infinitely easier if you already have a connection in the bigger company.
Turn to your professional network and see if you and the company you’d like to partner with have any mutual friends. Having a warm introduction will lead to a substantive conversation faster.
4. Make sure goals align
As you embark on any undertaking with a new partner, it’s important to be upfront and honest about each other’s expectations for the project. Get on the same page about everything from each company‘s roles and responsibilities to how you’ll evaluate success.
5. Be patient
It’s unfortunate, but the bigger a company is, the longer it takes for decisions to be made. Given the extra layers of management and the number of people that must be included in each step of the process, it’s important to be ready for a much, much slower pace than what a startup company is used to.
As an entrepreneur, it can be frustrating to constantly be waiting for your partner to get back to you with their decision. But realize that, from their perspective, it can be equally annoying to feel rushed.
Establish deadlines and modes of communication that both sides are comfortable with and be understanding when red tape occasionally slows things down.
Partnering with a larger company isn’t right for every startup. It takes a hard work and collaboration, as well as a lot of patience! However, teaming up with a more established company can be a huge win if you get it right.
You can check out the full article here to read how the author relates the steps highlighted above to how his startup (PathSource) partnered with a larger one (GED Testing Service).