{"id":32015,"date":"2023-10-20T14:26:42","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/why-corporate-australia-and-startups-need-each-other-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:26:42","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:26:42","slug":"why-corporate-australia-and-startups-need-each-other-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/why-corporate-australia-and-startups-need-each-other-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Why corporate Australia and startups need each other – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Big businesses urgently need to collaborate with startups in order to turn Australia into an \u201cinnovation hub\u201d and stem the brain drain of entrepreneurs leaving the country, StartupAUS CEO Peter Bradd says.<\/p>\n

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The peak body for Australian startups released a new report on Tuesday morning examining the need for corporates to build relationships and partnerships with the startup sector, and the mutual benefits involved with this.<\/p>\n

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Big businesses have an important role to play in ensuring Australia\u2019s best entrepreneurs stay in the country, Bradd tells StartupSmart.<\/i><\/p>\n


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\u201cStartups and entrepreneurs can and will move to international hubs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut big businesses are stuck here in Australia \u2013 they can\u2019t just pick up their operations and move overseas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019ve got a lot of power so they need to be using their influence to get the government to continue to support innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Turning Australia into an innovation hub<\/b><\/p>\n

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The report identifies a need for Australia to become a hub for all things startup in order for local companies of all sizes to compete against the big international players.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere is no perfect substitute for innovating in an innovation hub,\u201d Bradd says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAustralia is not an innovation hub, and if we are not an innovation hub then how will our biggest companies continue to innovate and compete with the more nimble international players?\u201d<\/p>\n

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He says large businesses show a keen interest in partnering with startups but this often doesn\u2019t translate to their actions.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey come to an event, they talk and they get quite excited but then they go away and get back to business as usual,\u201d Bradd says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to make this a priority \u2013 the longer term work just isn\u2019t being done.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBusiness is too busy talking about their business models today rather than talking about the kind of environment they need to create the business models for tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are so far behind and we need big business to be championing the message that they need Australia to be an innovation hub as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The need to work together<\/b><\/p>\n

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The StartupAUS report, Scaling up our growth opportunities \u2013 Why Australia\u2019s big business economy is working to create a thriving startup environment<\/i> emerged from a roundtable discussion held in August by StartupAUS and KPMG with senior executives from the ASX 20.<\/p>\n

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The main conclusion from the discussion was that without this \u201cvibrant startup environment\u201d then the larger organisations \u201cface increased risk of disruption from startups overseas\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTech startups are actually vital to the existing companies servicing existing markets \u2013 especially in the digital world that we are currently living in,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is essential they work with external entrepreneurs and innovators. In doing so they can bypass internal barriers, outsource a lot of the initial risk and allow for much more speed and agility.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There are also many benefits on offer for startups that are willing to collaborate and partner with the corporates \u2013 most importantly with getting access to large markets and customer bases, Bradd says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cToday you\u2019ve got innovation leads in most of Australia\u2019s biggest companies with a mandate to work with companies and co-develop,\u201d Bradd says.<\/p>\n

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Three key requirements for big businesses interacting with startups emerged from the report:<\/p>\n

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– Acquire startups to improve current businesses and explore new revenue streams <\/p>\n

– Partner with, become customers of, license from and co-develop ways to reduce costs and increase       efficiencies<\/p>\n

– Cultivate the talent these startups have through exposure to them or more permanently through acqui-hire or headhunting<\/p>\n