One of the biggest challenges associated with scaling a highly technical or innovative product is developing relationships with large and often difficult-to-navigate corporate clients. A new strategic option for our portfolio companies works where companies like Deloitte, one of Dealflow’s three consortium partners, has been working with a selection of Dealflow portfolio companies to develop Joint Offerings to introduce them to the corporate world.
For young companies, especially those that originate from a research background, it can be difficult to establish a connection, close a deal, and run a project with a large enterprise. For start-ups, this process is difficult for more procedural reasons, like the fact enterprises often involve more parties in the sales process. Sometimes though, the problem stems from higher-order challenges, if for example, the enterprise has not outlined a clear strategy regarding how to approach a use case the start-up could solve.
Naturally, the challenge is not one-sided. For enterprises, working with start-ups can be seen as risky business. If they have not worked together before, and the start up’s market standing is yet to be firmly established, deciding to work with a start-up can be a leap of faith and deeper due diligence than for usual vendors may be required. This also prolongs the already long http://armodexperiment.com/armodafinil/ sales cycle. Additionally, a start-up that provides a technical solution might not solve the enterprises entire problem – which may extend to determining how to integrate the technology within its own systems and data, defining how to generate revenue from the solution, and calculating where the new product or services strategically fits within the enterprise’s market positioning.
The team from Deloitte then, which typically builds ventures for corporate clients, has been working with a selection of portfolio companies to reduce the friction on both sides of the fence through the creation of Joint Offerings. While providing the typical support offered through the Dealflow.eu program (such as investor & sales material improvements, personal introductions, and business development consulting), Deloitte is working with some start-ups to define ways in which a joint Deloitte-start-up approach would enable better collaborations at enterprises.
For example, a start-up that offers technology to dramatically improve the speed with which employees are trained around ERP systems, might want to run a pilot with one of Germany’s largest automotive companies. A joint-offering between the start-up and Deloitte here, could involve any of the following: back-end technical implementation, transformation consulting around new ERP processes, strategic roll-out planning. In any of these situations, the partnership between start-up and Deloitte should deliver the client more value than a standard pilot.
No two Joint-Offerings developed between Deloitte and the start-up are the same. For start-ups that see value for Deloitte’s involvement in their enterprise sale and process, a tailored package will be created and defined to suit all capabilities and the clients’ needs. For more information, reach out to [email protected].