Start-ups - Contact the corporate

Best Practice Example – Use start-up programs to get in touch

Once you know who you want to talk to and have your documents ready, it is time to get out and meet as many people as possible, build up a network and meet interesting people from your industry or other start-ups. Therefore, we are going to introduce you to a promising example, the corporate start-up program!

Established companies have increasingly started to set up dedicated programs for start-up collaboration. For example, corporate accelerators, venture clients or corporate venture capital units.

These programs provide great ways to enter the corporate ecosystem, as they offer a very structured approach to setting up collaborations. Additionally, they often come with extra training or mentoring opportunities.

Multiple forms of such programs have popped up in recent years, but the lines are increasingly blurry. Therefore, make sure to understand what the program offers and whether that fits with your goals.

Furthermore, not all programs are set up by corporates independently – there are many platform providers like TechFounders by UnternehmerTUM, Plug and Play or Techstars, who set up programs – often with multiple corporate partners. So keep an eye out for these, too!

When selecting programs to participate in, the following aspects should be considered:

  • What exactly are the program partners as well as their components?

  • What does the interaction with the corporate look like? Is it guaranteed? (e.g. a certain number of introductions, guaranteed pilot projects)

  • What are the expected outcomes?

  • How much time do we have to invest?

  • Do we have to give up equity?

  • Does this fit with our goals?

  • Do we get financing?

  • What are our goals and do they support us to reach them?

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TECHFOUNDERS offer a unique 20-week program to start-ups from all over the world, providing intensive training and coaching on all kinds of business topics.

Each start-up conducts a pilot project with at least one of the corporate partners of the program, using a € 25,000 project budget.

Find out more