Working with people from other backgrounds creates distinctive value. Therefore, when seeking solutions to major business challenges, large corporations tend to partner with startups.
To succeed, startups need to know how to work with ‘big fish.’ Photo: Jim Nelson
According to Barbara Guerpillon, who heads innovation for Unilever Foundry (a project allowing brands to test new technologies and ideas faster than the old model) in Southeast Asia and Australia: “On one side you have very large brands with highly professional marketing models, and on the other you have startups with flexibility, the latest technologies, and the ability to grow very quickly. Those are very interesting qualities. Moreover, if you bring all of them together, something magical happens.”
However, while diversity can support innovation, it also brings challenges. To ensure smooth collaboration, Oliver Gilbert, director of Next Billion, a startup partnering with Unilever since 2013 and continuing on many projects, believes discussions must be clear and everyone needs adaptability and openness.
And below are effective ways for the “small fish” to overcome challenges in their relationships with the “big fish,” according to Mr. Gilbert.
Effective Communication
Because corporations and startups may differ in their goals or plans for expanding the business, clear communication is truly essential. Ms. Guerpillon shared: “We very often find that startup entrepreneurs may not understand what is needed to scale a project so it can be useful to Unilever.
We are the world's 2nd-largest advertiser, with 2 billion customers using our products every day, so when we talk about scaling, the scale is truly enormous. And sometimes entrepreneurs struggle to imagine that scale.”
Mr. Gilbert also said they had to learn to adjust their KPIs (Key Performance Index) to align as closely as possible with Unilever's KPIs, and had to figure out how to adapt their goals. He shared that the two companies had a common vision of “creating commercially sustainable social impact,” while their typical differences lay in business tactics, such as timelines or each party's areas of interest…
Clearly define the possibilities
The novelty of a solution also means that no clear outcome lies ahead. Gilbert said, ‘In any circumstances, building new things with partners always means you cannot have a standard roadmap, and this is particularly true of our service, which uses technology and data in emerging rural markets.’
Thus, clear definitions of possible outcomes are important so the company can execute, develop and progress. “When we begin a new project, clearly defining what growth means and establishing a process to achieve it has always helped us plan complex details,” Gilbert shared.
Responsive, adaptable, and open-minded
Mr. Gilbert also emphasized the importance of listening and keeping an open mind when working with different brands. He said: “No two brands or companies have identical interests in the same market, which is why being flexible, open-minded and responsive is so important.”
Ms. Guerpillon also commented: “Yes, there will be risks when working with startups and new technologies, but those risks can be managed.”
Collected.
>> Great Articles on Entrepreneurship
Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: X-Startup – khóa học khởi nghiệp «Khởi Chánh Nghiệp» · The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân
