Corporate Venture Partnerships
From a business need to a useful commercial pilot
A commercial partnership needs a specific brief. A useful pilot connects the company’s question with the external team’s work and a clear decision about what comes next.
A company meets an emerging team with an interesting solution. Both see a possible collaboration. A useful pilot needs to give that interest a concrete form: What problem will be examined, who takes responsibility inside the company and what work will the partner undertake? Preparation determines whether the trial can support a commercial decision at its conclusion. It also includes considering the conditions for a continuing relationship early on.
Anchor the need in the business
The starting point is a situation the company wants to improve. It might be a demanding process, a missing capability or a new offering for a particular group of customers. The brief should explain who is affected, how the work is currently done and what an improvement would look like.
An accountable client lead keeps that question in focus throughout the collaboration. This person provides access to the people involved and clarifies the resources available. The business team, budget owner and any other relevant functions should understand which decision the pilot is intended to support.
Choose a partner for the specific task
Partner selection depends on the external team’s ability to contribute to the agreed task. Relevant capabilities, available capacity and a shared understanding of the working relationship all matter. The limits of the offering also need to be discussed.
An emerging provider may, for example, need support to fit its solution into existing processes. The established company must allow for its own contribution to that work. When both sides identify these contributions in advance, the pilot can be designed around a collaboration that is feasible in daily operations.
Agree the work, compensation and outcome
The pilot needs a bounded scope. A short work plan can specify the steps, the people responsible, the resources available and the point at which the findings will be reviewed together. Compensation for the external contribution is expressly agreed. Arrangements for confidential information, required data and the work produced are also addressed according to the needs of the project.
Assessment criteria should be established before the pilot begins. They might concern the usefulness of an offering, the practicality of a process or the response of potential customers. For each criterion, the participants need to know how they will reach a reasoned assessment.
Prepare the next step early
A successful result can lead to further work when someone has the authority to make the next decision. Preparation should therefore establish who can approve a follow-on engagement and which further conditions would need to be met.
The commercial perspective belongs in this discussion. What service might be commissioned on an ongoing basis? How would it fit into operations? What additional work would it create for each party? The pilot can examine these questions and make the remaining issues visible.
Use the review to make a shared decision
At the end of the pilot, the findings are compared with the original brief. The participants record what has been established, what remains unresolved and what would need to change for the work to continue. The outcome might be a customer agreement, another bounded trial or the end of the collaboration.
KØDE approaches commercial partnerships through this connection between people, the brief and the business opportunity. A clearly defined pilot gives the participants a manageable first assignment and a sound basis for deciding whether to keep working together.