(Image: BI Norwegian Business School and EdTech Foundry kicking off their cooperation.)
In Norway there have been some discussions small-big about cooperation between large corporations and startups, but there are few success stories. That is a shame. There are so many great reasons to join forces. Before we sum up the reasons reasons for big corporations to work with startups, please let us briefly share our story.
Building the learning feed – the most engaging learning platform in the world
How we teach and learn in higher education has not changed for over 100 years. We still push knowledge and treat the students as passive recipients. Student engagement in available IT-systems are low. We believe students should be active learners, learn skills and use IT solutions to be involved in discussions.
BI Norwegian Business School, the biggest business school in Norway with about 25.000 students, wants to be in forefront of these changes. In the study BI2020, BI analyzed the need for technological solutions to be a leading provider of education in 2020. The main problem turned out not to be the need itself, it’s rather that there is no software available that can meet it. And believe us, most solutions available have been checked.
To solve the upcoming challenges for higher education, BI Norwegian Business School decided to team up and work closely with the Norwegian startup EdTech Foundry. The deal was simple, co-locate, give the startup some initial capital, access to all needs, students and lecturers and dedicate internal resources to the project. EdTech Foundry is responsible for building and scaling and have the product rights. An important factor is that the product must have a global focus. It is by no means a consultancy project.
Today, just a few months into the project, we are live with a closed pilot and will invite in some selected universities for the next round of pilots starting January 2016. We plan to expand and become the world’s preferred learning platform for higher education.
Why small-big cooperation?
There are plenty of reasons why startups and big corporations should work together. These are the six most important factors for us.
1. Big corporations can experiment outside their core business
The big company (BI) has an existing business model, brand and reputation that should not be experimented with. The risk is simply too big to do the testing, failing and learning needed. But the next big source of revenue is most likely outside the current core business. Working with a startup, the big company is able to test new concepts and business models, related to their core activity, with minimum risk.
2. Startups can act fast
When testing a new concept, quick decision time is a key factor. Large organisation are not, and should not be, structured to act in the same way as a startup. Having a startup literally in-house gives access to all learning from fast iterations without having to challenge or change any of the internal structures.
3. Startups can challenge status quo
If you want to be in front, you need to challenge the status quo. Large organisation have to balance risk and safety, innovation and optimizing daily operations. A startup on the other hand can fully focus on challenging the status quo. Working with a startup gives invaluable insight on the possible future, working with a large corporation gives invaluable understanding of the market.
4. But you must do it for real
Both parties have to dedicate themselves to the small-big cooperation. Startups must work full-time on the project and the large corporation should have dedicated resources with passion for the project. A small-big cooperation should not be about having bragging rights for their innovation initiatives. It must be about creating real impact.
5. Team up with talents with a shared vision
The most likely innovators are seldom attracted by working for large corporations. The best chance to get top innovation talent to a large cooperation is to join forces with an exciting startup. That gives access to fully motivated entrepreneurs, but is still low risk and a steep learning curve. But whatever you do, make sure you share the same vision. You will most likely disagree quite a lot along the way. Having a shared vision keeps the discussion on the right track.
6 ..and never compromise
On the other hand, startups looking for large partners to develop products with; make sure to pick the right partner. Startups do not want bureaucracy and should never compromise on the right to move fast and freely. Never. This right the startup must have – never to compromise – is also a reason to work with one. They are true to what they believe in.
We both want to provide a world leading education experience. The best chance we have is through work together. Small and big. EdTech Foundry and BI Norwegian Business School. Together we will change how we teach and learn in higher education and maximise the learning outcome for students all over the world.
We encourage all large corporations to look to the startup scene for your next partner..
