Invest, Acquire, Partner: Can’t We All Just Get Along?!?!?

While working with the rocket ship data and AI startup SingleStore , I had the immense privilege of working with companies like Dell Technologies , 惠普企业服务 and IBM .? With each of these companies we had a mix of relationships; VC Investor, Potential Acquirer, Technology Partner, Strategic Alliance, Sales Channel.? What was confounding for us as a small company was how disparate the functions and roles supporting each of the partnerships were.? Of course, I could bemoan the difficulty this represented for a small, resource constrained startup, but what I’ve been exploring with some colleagues from those companies is how a shared vision and integrated execution plan would drive value for large companies investing in all five of these partnerships.

In this next series we’ll explore:

1) Why large companies engage in each of these operations and why they end up becoming wholly separate entities within a large corporation.??

2) Propose a model for integrating these activities and the potential value that integration would generate.

3) Suggest a governance model for driving deeper cross organizational collaboration.

Before we get into those next blogs let’s just review quickly what purpose these partner types serve in a large technology corporation.

VC Investment

Target companies like SingleStore Embedded Database (OEM) are entities that attract investment from external sources, such as venture capital firms, private equity investors, or corporate investors. These companies typically have high growth potential, innovative technology, or valuable intellectual property that investors believe will generate significant returns in the future. Larger tech companies like 苹果 or Alphabet Inc. have unique and privileged insights into which sectors of the industry are growing and what technologies their customers are adopting.? With this ability to “see around corners” they are in an ideal position to develop an over performing portfolio of series A-C investments.

Potential Acquisition

Companies select acquisition targets to expand their business, enter new markets, or gain access to key capabilities or assets. In some cases, notably 思科 during its hyper acquisition phase of the early 2000’s, acquisition is considered an HR activity as the integration and retention of key talent was the most attractive aspect of buying a company. Acquisitions can provide faster growth, diversification, or synergies that would be challenging to achieve through organic means. However, they also carry risks primarily in the form of integration challenges and cultural differences.

Technology Partnerships

Technology partnerships involve collaboration between companies to leverage each other's technological expertise, resources, or products. These partnerships typically focus on integrating technologies to enhance product offerings, streamline operations, or access new markets. Technology partners often work closely together to develop joint solutions or interoperable products that benefit both parties and their customers.

Sales Channel

The sales channel “simply” requires collaboration between companies to distribute or sell products or services through various channels, such as resellers, distributors, or value-added partners. Channel partners play a vital role in expanding market reach, accessing new customer segments, and driving sales growth.? While simple in concept, they are far from easy, requiring effective communication, training, and support to ensure alignment between the partners' goals and objectives.?

Strategic Alliances

Strategic alliances are broader partnerships that go beyond technology or distribution agreements. These partnerships involve collaboration between companies to achieve strategic objectives, such as entering new markets, sharing resources, or pursuing joint research and development initiatives. Strategic alliances often require significant investments of time, money, and effort from both parties and may involve complex legal agreements to define roles, responsibilities, and governance structures.

In next week’s post I’ll dive deep into how and where the functions supporting these different partner types develop in a large organization.? We’ll look at some of the problems specialization and separation of functions creates and why most organizations are not reaping the full benefit from their partner organizations.