Building Bridges Between Corporates And Startups

🧭 A Founder’s Playbook for Partnering with Corporate Ventures I’ve long wanted to write this—for all the climate (and other B2B) startup founders navigating the complicated world of corporate ventures. As a former corporate VC (and now friends with many others), I wanted to share a founder-focused playbook for how this ecosystem works behind the scenes. Because corporates can be opaque. Here's what I wish more founders knew: 🔑 Corporate ventures are your bridge to business units. Most Business units don’t prioritize unknown startups over established big vendors. But if you come through their venture team—especially as a portfolio company—the CVC becomes your internal ally to drive pilots and commercial discussions. 🏗 Understand their structure. Two common models: Balance sheet investors – need business unit approval first; strategic alignment is key. Single-LP funds – act more like VCs; give them the freedom to invest first, then build internal commercial partnerships later. 💰 Know the stage and check size. Most invest at Series A/B. Some go earlier at seed/pre-seed for new solution access. International CVCs often want to see local traction before engaging globally. Some times even sweet spot is Series B. 📋 Board seats? It depends. Most avoid full board roles (not interested in setting terms), but observer seats are common. If they lead a deal, that’s usually a signal they run like a VC fund. But there are exceptions. 🔐 Info sharing isn’t automatic. There’s usually a wall between the venture team and the business units. Ask what gets shared and how—it’s okay to be explicit. ⚖️ Will one corporate backer deter others? Usually not. If anything, backing from a competitor can validate your startup. Occasionally a corporate will request specific rights—but that happens in many BU situations, regardless of investment. 🧰 What CVCs offer beyond capital: Pilots, customer intros, internal advocates, sometimes even shared services like legal or finance. Some corporates really roll up their sleeves for early-stage startups. ⏳ But BD takes time. Even with CVC backing, it can take months—or longer—to go from intro to signed agreement. But now, you’ve got someone on the inside helping move things forward. 🧩 What if the partnership doesn’t happen? It’s OK. You may become an idle line item on their books—especially in balance sheet setups. But many CVCs, especially single-LP funds, still help you find customers, investors, or exit paths. Strategic alignment is ideal—but not a must. Financial return often ties with carry incentives. 👥 This is still about people. Get to know your CVC partners. Help them succeed. Many become long-term allies—and yes, sometimes they join your startup later! I hope this helps more founders navigate the CVC world. 🙏 To my friends in corporate venture—did I miss anything? I’d love for you to chime in and add to this. #climatetech #startups #corporateventure #venturecapital #B2B #founders #climateVC

Here are three ways that corporates can help speed up the availability of new climate solutions:   🚦 Collaborate with industry to send demand signals to de-risk new climate solutions. Developing new solutions involves a lot of R&D and risk - mostly, what's the market for this? Large companies can help de-risk that initial investment for startups and companies by creating a readied market of purchasers through Advanced Market Commitments and purchasing coalitions that say "we're committed to buying X when it's available." There are already nearly a dozen AMCs organized around different climate solution areas, including aluminum, concrete, steel, and more, organized by groups like First Movers Coalition and Climate Group.   🚀 Catalyze new and existing climate innovators by bringing them into value chain challenges. Instead of developing new solutions in-house, it can sometimes be better to bring in existing startups to work closely with business units. Support can include pilot funding, physical resources, networks, and access to expertise in addressing value chain challenges at scale. This could be done in collaboration, like 100+ Accelerator, through sponsored accelerators with groups like MIT Solve (e.g. Amazon's Devices Climate Tech Accelerator), or as an open innovation challenge with partners like IDEO. Not only does this bring early ideas to market quicker, it also sends a demand signal to VCs and other innovators that the need for solutions is real.   💸 Align venture capital investments and advocacy efforts with existing climate objectives. Many large companies have some kind of corporate venture capital arm that invests corporate funds into early-stage startups. That existing mechanism can be incredibly powerful when aligned with climate objectives. Often times the investment can help address the company's own climate-related solution gap, but also presents larger financial return opportunities for other companies in need of that solution now and in the future. That investment can also speed up the scale of early-stage ideas and get them to market quicker, in-part because of the growth capital invested.   The reality is that companies cannot achieve success in climate innovation alone. Climate innovation requires a robust ecosystem that shares risks and fosters collaboration, involving investors, governments, universities, startups, and more. Companies must actively engage in that ecosystem in order for us to bring new climate solutions to market at speed and scale.   Pages below are from the latest Unlocking Corporate Climate Innovation report, found here: https://lnkd.in/esVc8Ykr

Tonight we are hosting a celebration with our corporate innovation partners who are actively engaging with Bread and Butter Ventures and the startup ecosystem. After working at a large corporation for 15 yrs and now working each day with early stage startups who are looking to partner with corporates, I continue to learn and am eager to continue learning what makes for success partnerships between the two. A few thoughts/tips: 1) Understand your audience and potential partner. It can be challenging for corporations who have national and global scale to partner with an emerging startup, yes. But, there are a huge number of cases in which partnership does make sense. Examples include: selling tech solutions for internal use within their workforce, bringing forward cutting edge employee benefit solutions, bringing forth a new dataset that would make their products more robust, bundling for commercial partnerships, and M&A to drive faster innovation, to name a few. Work to understand where and how your startup might fit within the context of the corporation. 2) Figure out which team and leaders you want to connect with. Then craft a forwardable email which lays out clearly and succinctly: a) what your company does, how it is differentiated, and how you are driving ROI for similar businesses b) a note on your team and why you are equipped to build/lead this c) which function/owner you are looking to connect with internally. In a large corporation, assume that your email may get forwarded a number of times to reach the right owner, and ensure your email works as a standalone pitch to secure a meeting. If you can, use LinkedIn to research the exact person or team you're trying to get in front of. 3) Foster numerous touchpoints across the corporation and keep pursuing different inroads. Don't worry about stepping on toes - one great challenge corporations have is tracking who is working on what internally. You might not get traction with one team but great traction with another, so keep building strong relationships org wide. 4) Focus on articulating the value-add and clear ROI (for example, we help increase employee retention by X% by doing XYZ) and proving the case for how 1+1=3. What tips would you add? #innovation #partnerships #corporateinnovation #earlystage

𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥. Few startups tap into a bigger opportunity. After years of working with startups and corporates, I’ve seen one thing over and over - founders chasing VC funding while ignoring a massive growth opportunity: corporate partnerships. But many founders approach them the wrong way: ❌ Pitching with vague promises instead of clear ROI ❌ Treating corporates like investors instead of strategic partners ❌ Expecting quick deals when corporate timelines move slow ❌ Failing to align on goals, ownership, and execution Beyond capital, big companies offer distribution, credibility, and expertise—an underrated growth hack for founders. Here’s how to make corporate collaborations work: 1. Find the right corporate fit ↳ Not every big company is a good match. ↳ Look for aligned customers, distribution, or complementary tech, but not just deep pockets. 2. Craft a pitch that speaks their language ↳ Corporations don’t invest in “disruptors”, they invest in solutions. ↳ Show how you help them sell more, save money, or stay ahead. 3. Prove scalability ↳ Big companies need reliability. ↳ Show that your product can handle large-scale adoption. A strong pilot program builds confidence. 4. Negotiate for more than just money ↳ A check is great, but access to customers, supply chains, or tech stacks is often worth more. ↳ Structure deals for co-marketing or joint ventures. 5. Align on shared objectives early ↳ Misaligned goals kill partnerships. ↳ Define success metrics, timelines, and mutual benefits upfront. 6. Maintain agility ↳ Corporates move slowly. ↳ Your edge as a startup is speed, but don’t lose patience. Keep communication clear and momentum strong. 7. Have an exit plan ↳ Not all partnerships last forever. ↳ Plan for acquisition, renewal, or separation so both sides win. The right corporate partnership can be a game-changer for your startup. It’s about unlocking scale, credibility, and opportunities you can’t build alone. So, are you tapping into this unfair advantage or leaving money on the table? Drop your thoughts below! ⬇️ ----------------------------------------------------- 💯 Want to qualify for VC funding? Take your free Fundraising Gap Analysis Scorecard. The link is on my profile page - Leon Eisen, PhD.