3 Ways Partnerships can Improve Startups
2022-03-21
Founders might have their own reasons for deciding to forego any partnerships or investments, but this will often mean the startups will have closed access to additional funds, mentorship, and other valuable resources. Whether this is a good idea will be up to a case-by-case basis; but when the answer is given it might be too late to pivot. For many startups, finding partners (including investors) can be the difference between being part of the 90% and the 10%.
While investors such as VCs and CVCs are often considered the main goal for startups, startups should remember to not follow the masses but focus on what they need. Finding a compatible partner should be the higher priority and this edition of the InnoVEX editorial will discuss how effective partnerships can improve startups.
Cross Sector Cooperation for Mutual Benefits
Regardless of the form, partnerships of all types should maintain the tenets of reciprocity and mutual benefits. In an editorial a few months ago, we discussed the startup-university-corporate partnership and how each party has an expertise or resource to provide to the group. Cross industry and cross segment cooperation projects can open up new opportunities for one or more parties, that can help them reach their full potential or provide much needed resources & insights. For example; universities can provide data sources or testing grounds for collecting data which are vital to guide startups' creativity. Corporations can bring their own specific expertise as well providing resources or funds for the partnership. They can also become the investor as a CVC or as B2B customer/ vendor. In this situation, the startup can find breakthroughs that the other parties are hesitant to try or even thought about.
Industrial Cooperation Amplifies Expertise
Industrial cooperation often provides startups with a direction for their innovation. Corporations are more likely to be exposed to real world problems that need innovative solutions that startups can provide. One example is an InnoVEX Exhibitor, Doctor How that started as a spinoff from a university research team before it evolved into a research service company (RSC) that focuses on AI modeling of biomedical data and predictive analysis. Their core technology is an innovative evolutionary learning platform for smart health care; providing fast and accurate services for establishing biomedical diagnosis and treatment models as well as co-creative AI prediction system. They have also partnered with Taiwanese hospitals and their corporate client included large companies such as Delta Electronics and more.
Cross Function Partnership Grows the Market
At the same time, startups can also apply innovations from university research in their products and services. Government bodies might also join this partnership to not only develop local economies, but also help local startups grow. For example, Droxo Technology who focuses on providing drones for agriculture purposes have partnered with and implemented the research results from 2 different universities for their smart agriculture AI. In addition, Droxo Technology also assisted a local government body to help collect agriculture data and develop aquaculture automation projects.
Conclusion
While many startups started as passion projects, they are all equally capable of great achievements. Founders should also consider looking into potential partnerships not only to complete a project, but to develop innovations and grow their expertise. The journey of a founder might be difficult, but it does not need to be a lonely one. Find your partner and you might be the next headliner. Good luck out there.
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