[PreMoney SF 2016] "Smart Dinosaurs: How Corps & Startups Work Together"

TL;DR

Industry leaders from IBM, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Salesforce discuss their various programs to engage with startups and provide support, including accelerators, incubators, venture investments, and access to customers and technical resources.

Transcript

today we have like a group of like four professional person engaging with startups so we got like three tech company and one and one company's not retag Johnson & Johnson so it's quite quite interesting to don't only having like tech companies so before maybe to go like it'd be more on the details I will just ask if each of you can just introduce y... Read More

Key Insights

• ❓ Corporate venturing in startups involves various programs such as accelerators, incubators, venture investments, and strategic partnerships.
• ♿ Differentiation from traditional venture capital firms is achieved through providing strategic advantages beyond financial support, such as access to technology, customers, and market opportunities.
• 👨‍💼 Synergy between different programs is achieved by linking startups to relevant business units, assessing their needs, and providing specific support and resources.
• 💍 Success of programs is measured through metrics like the number of startups engaged, customer satisfaction, and potential impact on the company's portfolio.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do corporates differentiate their venture investments from traditional VC firms?

Corporates like IBM, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Salesforce differentiate their investments by offering strategic advantages beyond just financial support. For example, Salesforce Ventures invests in companies building on their platform, providing access to executives, customers, and brand affiliation. IBM's venture investments emphasize leveraging the power of their Watson technology and providing support, mentoring, and go-to-market assistance. Johnson & Johnson looks for startups that align with their strategic interests and can potentially be brought into their pipeline. Amazon's venture investments are specific to startups building skill sets and tools around the Alexa platform, with access to the roadmap and distribution.

Q: What are the synergy and linking strategies between the different programs and business units?

IBM links startups to their business units by assessing their needs and connecting them to the appropriate technical resources or sales teams. They also feature startups in their advertisements and sales conferences for additional exposure. Amazon's programs are organized based on specific customer demands, and startups are connected to relevant teams within Amazon based on their needs. Johnson & Johnson has an incubator-to-acquisition pipeline, with startups progressing through different programs based on their stage and strategic fit. Salesforce aligns all their programs with their customer success platform, focusing on providing startups with access to customers and markets that can help their growth.

Q: What metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) do you use to measure the success of your programs?

The panelists use various metrics to measure the success of their programs. IBM looks at reach, the number of startups participating in their programs, and their impact, such as featuring startups in ads and customer adoption. Amazon focuses on the number of startups joining their platform and the satisfaction of those startups in terms of services and scalability. Johnson & Johnson assesses the number of startups incubated, deals made through their innovation centers, and the potential for startups to become future products in their portfolio. Salesforce looks at the number of startups involved in their programs and the satisfaction of their customers, as well as how many startups ultimately become long-term partners or customers.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The panel consists of representatives from IBM, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Salesforce, who discuss their different programs for engaging with startups.

• IBM offers an accelerator, incubators, and a global entrepreneur program that provides startups with access to technology, mentoring, go-to-market assistance, and exposure to major corporations.

• Amazon focuses on startups that use their Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform and provides support through programs like Activate, the Partner Network, and the Alexa Fund.

• Johnson & Johnson runs incubators, innovation centers, and venture investments focused on strategic interests in health, wellness, medical devices, and consumer products.

• Salesforce offers an incubator, venture investments, and access to customers and technical resources through their customer success platform.