Hard truths about corporates
Can you find a path between lock-out by large corporate users and lock-in by large suppliers?
First of all, do not expect large companies to be concerned with your problems – they have their own targets to meet and processes to follow. You will need a different set of communication skills. It is not enough to communicate just at a technical level to the technical advisors in the corporate prospects, you have to understand the business aims and communicate the benefits effectively in business terms.
Be prepared to demonstrate that you will be solvent over the next couple of years, and that you meet the ‘hygiene factors’ required by corporate organisations. The fundamental “Catch-22” is that you could guarantee your solvency if you secured a contract but otherwise not.
Another vital step is to find a corporate business champion prepared to put their head on the block to support your innovation through the many due diligence hurdles the organisation will put up. An easier option altogether could be to sell your technology intellectual property to a systems integrator or developer.
Another “Catch-22” when turning your innovation into a business is that most innovations are horizontal capabilities rather than vertically focused point solutions. End users usually require vertically focused products. It is systems integrators who are more likely to adopt horizontal capabilities and be able to express your capabilities with more clarity.
However, when dealing with systems integrators there can be many pitfalls too; ensure you scrutinise your contracts carefully to identify any lock-in or potential lock-out clauses.
Early stage innovation often starts out as a general horizontal capability which does not readily align with a vertical sector pain point. Innovators cannot expect the implications to shine through. Even if they do, the corporate will want a product that is not only ripe for integration but also one that will scale globally, not only technically, but also by conforming, for example, to legal and regulatory requirements in various regions of the world.
The more business critical the innovation the harder and more expensive it can be to demonstrate that it works in a fully scaled global environment.
Above all, corporates may well ideally want a demonstrably working and scalable product that they can install globally the next Monday morning!
