Recently, there has been a fundamental shift in the way corporations and startups work together. While the majority of startup and corporate relationships used to begin during the acquisition phase, both sides have increasingly recognized the benefits and importance of earlier interactions. 

Companies have started working together in new ways, focusing on early-stage, flexible and open partnerships. In fact, recent findings indicate that 67 percent of corporations now prefer working with startups at an earlier stage, mostly “to explore new technologies and business models.” The same study found that 82 percent of corporations regard interactions with startups as “somewhat important” to “very important,” and 23 percent of corporations expressed that these interactions were “mission critical.”

This evolution toward early stage interactions is significant and is becoming the “new normal.” Most of today’s corporations are knowledgeable when it comes to acquiring startups, but times have changed. It is clear that a growing volume of corporations are now seeking informal upstream startup partnerships, where both parties take part in the accompanying risks and rewards.

So, what does this mean for startups? How should young companies align themselves with larger corporations? Who should they be talking to? What does this process look like? For what reasons are corporations seeking to interact with startups? We will dive into these questions and more at our next B2B IT Forum on October 25, 2017 at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge, MA. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served.