Opportunity To Partner When You’re A Startup
The number of new startups is rapidly increasing. While that’s great news for the overall economy, for new entrepreneurs it means more competition for media attention, investors, and customers.
One option for startups is to partner with other companies and people with complimentary skills in order to have a greater sense of stability as the new company grows. But how do you get the attention and convince them to join forces with you?
These partnership can create a unique relationships that can allow both sides to achieve their goals. But know the process is not easy and should not be entered into blindly.
Here are five steps to take to successfully partner your startup with others:
1. Define what you want out of a partnership
Creating a partnership just for the sake of collaborating will be a waste of time. You need to have a good sense of what you want the end results of any partnership to be.It is absolutely necessary that any organization you choose to partner with shares the same goal.
Before you even begin looking for a company to partner with, think about what yourstartup could do better. Is distribution weak? Does the product design need tweaking? Are you having trouble reaching the demographic you’d like to target?
2. Know what you bring to the table
A great relationship is a balance of give and take. When you approach a potentialpartner, don’t bother contacting them unless you know why they would want to speak with you. Know what you have to offer them.
Chances are your startup was born from a problem. You saw an issue or something that was missing and developed a solution. If another organization is going to get involved, you need to find a way your solution helps them, too.
3. Find a personal contact at the larger company
Sometimes cold pitching works, begin by building a relationship, constantly be alert for signs that indicate what it will be like to work as a team. Consider the core values of your startup company and whether or not this relationship will allow you to stay true to them.
Be transparent about your intentions and listen to each other, until this new connection strengthened. When both sides were ready to do business together, there was already a solid foundation in place.
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
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.
We at Innovation Kitchen NG believe in these principles and it’s exactly what we are set up to encourage and provide help for at this time.
You need partners to help you serve the greater good by pivoting and adapting yourself business or organization, leveraging technology for our common good, growth and development not just to survive but thrive in this post Covid 19 world.
This is our invitation to you but we understand it’s not for everyone but if it’s you then please go through this write up to find where you fit.
Looking forward to working with you and making an impact through innovation. Then write your own story! Kindly reach out to us today if you are interested to be part of this unique opportunity and time
Details of on going projects here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kTHp4oxIdOiq4QtOkFTiqYxpCXrwSRhs/view?usp=drivesdk & pdf attached
Best regards
Francis Madojemu
Founder Innovation Kitchen NG
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Adapted from How to partner with a larger company when you’re a startup
Aaron Michel. https://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2016/02/14/how-to-partner-with-a-larger-company-when-youre-a-startup/