As you should know by now, in Visor.ai we’re like the masters of open acceleration programs. We participated in a lot of them. We’ve been to London, Santiago de Chile, Lisbon, Shanghai, Kraków, Madrid, and so on.
So now we can say that we have a lot of experience in accelerators, both corporate and independent ones.
As Tech in Asia refers, the corporate ones have the huge advantage that their parent companies have a lot more resources than the independent ones. So, we’ve gathered some tips you should think about if you want to make the most of accelerator programs powered by big corporates.
How to Get the Most Out of Innovation Programs?
1. Gain valuable contacts
Normally, the people participating in these programs from the corporate side are people at the top of the chain. So, you get to talk to the Head of Innovation, the Marketing Director, the Customer Support Director, or, if you’re lucky, the CEO of the company.
This should get you a lot of contacts and connections inside an important company, which is even more useful if that company could be a potential client for you. Instead of pursuing endlessly that company that you want to work with, you’ll be in touch with them and have it easier to make business.
2. Know the company inside and out
If your market is big companies, this is the best opportunity you’ll ever have to know these companies from the inside. Who’s best to tell you all about what they want and need than themselves? You’ll be surrounded by people that know exactly what their pains are, and maybe they’re ones you’ll have a solution for.
This is also a great opportunity to validate assumptions and identify if a product or service is suitable for these companies or not.
3. Close the deal – sell!
You’ve gone all the way through the accelerator and, either if you’ve won, that’s not what matters the most. Now that you gained the company’s trust, you usually have the chance to move to a pilot stage and implement your solution for that client.
If you’re successful, that can result in a whole range of new developments for them, which should ideally be scalable for other clients and projects. We have experienced that with various clients we worked with during corporate accelerators, such as Lisboa City Hall in Smart Open Lisboa, Fidelidade in Protechting, Credibom’s Start&Pulse, and Prio Jump Start. What started with a pilot has grown to be a client-provider relationship, with us providing them with different solutions with chatbots and Artificial Intelligence for their business.
4. Get valuable advice
Do you consider it a failure if you end the program without winning or having sold anything? Think again: even if that happens, you’ll have a ton of useful insights from the connections you’ve made. Maybe your product isn’t exactly what the company needs or you’re choosing the wrong targets to sell it to or the company may not yet be ready to receive your solution. There you can find out.
5. Get potential investors
Besides working with you, they may find your solution so good that they will want to invest. Can you imagine?
A huge, mature company injecting its money directly into your company!
Not only will it give you the boost you need to grow, but it will also attract other large companies to invest.
Have you ever heard that “the grass is always greener on the other side”?
The market works the same way: once you get a big name to work with you, others will know you exist and may want your offering as well. That said, what are you waiting for to apply for the corporate accelerator program you have your eye on?
While you’re there, keep our tips in mind and get as much out of it as you can.
And remember: there’s nothing to lose. Even when you don’t win, there’s always some conclusion to be drawn, even if it’s just good memories.
If you want a 1-on-1 call to know more about our journey, talk to us!
