It Is No Longer a Case of Startup vs. Corporate, but Instead “How Do We Both Succeed?”

There is often an “us versus them” attitude when it comes to startups and the corporate world in today's fast-paced business environment.?

On one side, established corporations appear rigid and cautious of taking risks to keep up with ever-changing trends; on the other side, tech startups operate with a risk-taking and fast-moving culture of innovation.

However, established companies face a unique challenge: how to remain relevant and competitive in an ever-shifting landscape. Many of these established companies have the resources and financial stability to stay in the game but lack the agility needed to quickly capitalize on new opportunities or technologies.

As established companies innovate, their fledgling divisions often become the sole engines that drive growth. Most established companies typically have innovation speeds comparable to planes, whereas startups typically have innovation speeds comparable to rocket ships. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if established companies could innovate just as successfully as startups?

Does the thought of a plane being able to travel as fast as a rocket sound far-fetched? No, it's actually very possible - this is where embracing a startup culture and establishing a startup division comes into play. By creating an exploratory and innovative arm of their business, established companies can keep up with the fast-paced nature of the technology landscape, remain competitive and their teams become powerful engines of growth.

A startup division can provide access to a diverse talent pool with a fresh perspective on potential business opportunities and strategies. With a new team focused solely on discovering new and innovative concepts, ideas that other business units might have overlooked can be explored. This can lead to the development of new products, services, processes, and initiatives quickly and efficiently.

It can also bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the existing organization, which can help to discover and develop new technologies. Additionally, by introducing such a division, organizations would benefit immensely from the powerful fusion of knowledge and entrepreneurship, which can help facilitate the discovery of new ideas and insights.

The advantages of a startup division do not end there. By investing in a startup division, established companies can benefit from increased brand visibility, increased customer engagement, and the potential to earn new revenue streams.

Many companies like to think of themselves as innovative and disruptive. But the truth is they really aren't.?Most companies don't want to take risks, or form startup teams, they want to build upon what they already have. Here are some strategies that can help established companies innovate like startups:

1. Set up an innovation team - Avoid bureaucracy by forming smaller, more agile teams. To drive new ideas, form a dedicated team of innovators. Work in small cross-functional teams to solve a specific problem and don't get caught up in bureaucracy.
2. An innovation strategy must align with an organization’s DNA - Use a lean startup methodology and build a minimum viable product.
3. Get customer feedback early and often - Use design thinking to approach problems differently.
4. Embrace rapid prototyping and getting ideas out into the world as soon as possible - Use a lean startup methodology and build a minimum viable product.
5. Create innovation zones - Provide lots of places for employees to learn from startup workshops and get involved and get great ideas in front of the right people.
6. Hire the right people - Find people who have the right skills and experience to help drive innovation.
7. Embrace failure - Startups often learn from their failures and use them to drive innovation. Established companies should adopt this mindset and embrace failure as part of their innovation process.
8. Invest in new ideas - Established companies should look for innovative ideas and invest in them to help them take off.
9. Empower Employees: All employees should be empowered and supported to make decisions, think creatively, look for opportunities, and take ownership of their work and ideas. This will help foster an environment of creativity and innovation.
10. Create incentives - Set up both financial and non-financial incentives to reward employees who come up with innovative solutions.

Creating a startup division arm is not without risk, of course, and requires some careful planning and execution. However, the rewards can be well worth the effort. Startups can disrupt the existing market through competitive offerings, novel products, disruptive technologies, and new business models.?

With an established track record of success, established companies can develop and test strategies to create innovative startup spinoffs, for example, eBay and PayPal! With their separation into two distinct and publicly-traded companies, eBay's board of directors has provided the perfect opportunity for potential investors to capitalize on the growth that this spinoff has enabled.

By leveraging a unique combination of freedom and flexibility with structure and organization, corporations can capitalize on a startup-style “entrepreneurial spirit” while enjoying a corporate DNA. Learning how to implement such a paradigm shift will help organizations bridge the gap between their established management style and the new way of embracing change that will increase profitability and improve customer satisfaction alike. It's no longer "us vs. them," but instead "how do we both succeed?"

So there you have it! Please share your thoughts on the matter. Feel free to +Follow me, connect with me on LinkedIn, or?email me.

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