1. CORPORATE INNOVATION
5 QUESTIONS TO
ANSWER BEFORE
PARTNERING WITH
GROWTH COMPANIES
innopipe.ai | catapult.fi

2. THE GLOBAL
BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
IS TRANSFORMING AT
A SPEED OF LIGHT.
- Why?
- Rapid digitalization.

3. 80% of corporates
believe
that startups can have a positive
impact on a large company’s
approach to innovation.
89% of startups
believe
they are able to deliver business
solutions which can scale.
study by the Unilever Foundation

4. Whether seeking for growth companies
and innovations to partner with, invest
in or acquire, here are some
fundamental questions to ask before
starting the collaboration that can have
the potential to disrupt your business.
QUESTIONS TO ASK

5. IS YOUR TEAM/
ORGANIZATION
ALIGNED WITH THE
MAIN GOALS?
Often companies embrace startup-corporate
collaboration for the wrong reasons, that are
often not aligned with company’s short-term
and long-term strategy, across departments or
among corporate’s leaders.
#1

6. IT IS ALSO ABOUT SYNCING
ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY AND
GOALS WITH AVAILABLE RESOURCES
BUDGET PEOPLE TIME KNOW-HOW

7. WHAT TYPE OF
COLLABORATION IS
THE BEST FIT FOR
YOUR BUSINESS?
Drawing a clear path for partnership is not only
one of the main criteria for successful startup
scouting and validation, but a fundamental
internal strategy to be agreed upon in advance
with staff involved in venture collaboration.
#2

8. Partner with
Are you seeking for
new technologies,
innovations and
solution providers to
collaborate with?
Invest in
Is your main goal to
find an investable
company?
Acquire
Are you serious
about acquiring a
promising startup?
Smth else?
Establishing an in-
house acceleration
program, an
investment fund, or
smth else?
SOME TYPES OF THE COLLABORATION
BETWEEN A CORPORATE AND A
GROWTH COMPANY

9. One way to minimize risks and assure
successful partnership with startups is to
recruit/assign a dedicated person, or a team, or
even an entire department to oversee venture-
collaboration activities.
DO YOU HAVE A
DEDICATED PERSON
OR A CVC TEAM?
#3

10. INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL
Do we have internal resources to
efficiently and effectively find and
validate the best tech companies
and innovations for our business?
Or do we seek for the external
expertise with in-depth knowledge
about tech & innovation ecosystem?
EVALUATING THE RESOURCES NEEDED
FOR A SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Are we going to scout relevant
technologies through digital tools,
consulting firms, events, networks
or elsewhere, and what human
resources do we need in accordance
to the chosen path?

11. Take a look at your industry, its fastest growing
trends and emerging tech verticals. With more
Ubers and AirBnBs challenging big traditional
players, corporate giants need to stay agile and
innovate fast to stay ahead of other industry
players.
HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT THE FUTURE OF
YOUR INDUSTRY, AND
YOUR COMPANY’S
PLACE IN IT?
#4

12. MAKE SMART DECISIONS AND ELIMINATE UNCERTAINTY
WITH DATA-DRIVEN TECH & INNOVATION RESEARCH
✓ Discover the most relevant tech &
innovations in your interest area.
✓ Find and meet tech companies for
partnerships, investments or acquisitions.
✓ Find out what is going on in your industry
with the fastest growing industry verticals.
✓ Stay ahead of other industry players
through competitor analysis.
catapult.fi

13. Great tech companies and innovations are like good
programmers. You don't choose them, they choose
you. Finding the right case for your most urgent
business needs is not enough. It would take an
internal change within your organization to match
the speed and agile mindset of a growth company.
IS YOUR ORGANIZATION
READY TO ADAPT THE
INNOVATION AND
EXPERIMENTATION
CULTURE?
#5

14. TOP-DOWN
Growth companies
cannot be approached
top-down way, but
rather at eye level.
AUDITING ORGANIZATION'S READINESS
TO PARTNER WITH A GROWTH COMPANY
ATTITUDE
TO FAILURE
Failure is a natural milestone
for a young company, wherein
in many corporates even the
slightest sign of failure has a
heavy cost for those involved.
MATCHING
THE SPEED
Few months can mean a leap
forward or a death valley for
the growth company, wherein
corporates may take months to
get everyone up to speed on
CVC plans.

15. Senior management has
to be ready to adapt, make
fast decisions, and throw
overboard conventional
and tested ways of
thinking, i.e. be curious
and open-minded. Discover, manage and take
action on the most
promising and relevant tech
companies and innovations
for your business.
innopipe.ai