{"id":46949,"date":"2023-10-20T15:51:52","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/awards-a-friendly-way-to-get-corporates-engaging-with-startups-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:51:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:51:52","slug":"awards-a-friendly-way-to-get-corporates-engaging-with-startups-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/awards-a-friendly-way-to-get-corporates-engaging-with-startups-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Awards a friendly way to get corporates engaging with startups – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Patrick Crooks was trying to pitch his mobile payments startup to a big bank three years ago he was \u201chorrified\u201d by the barriers in place and the unwillingness of corporates to collaborate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI really, really battled,\u201d Crooks tells StartupSmart.<\/i><\/p>\n
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\u201cI realised there was a massive cultural problem here with how to deal with startups.”<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was quite a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Three years on, he says things have \u201cchanged massively\u201d, but there\u2019s still work to be done.<\/p>\n
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Awarding best practice<\/b><\/p>\n
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That\u2019s why Crooks, who is now CEO of Fusion Labs and a director at Fishburners, has launched the Startup Friendly Awards to showcase the corporates that are doing it right.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s chalk and cheese from three years ago,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s a massive willingness to engage with startups and successfully attract the talent.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBut people are still making a lot of mistakes along the way and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to solve. We want to make it more streamlined and more robust, and take out a lot of the friction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Focusing on openness, transparency, delivering on promises and mutual respect, the awards aim to be beneficial for both the corporates and startups \u2013 with a register also being establishing to help out the early-stage companies.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt will be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs to know who they can target in a corporate,\u201d Crooks says.<\/p>\n
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Driving this sort of collaboration was a \u201ckey aim\u201d of the $1 billion innovation statement, assistant minister for innovation Wyatt Roy says, and the awards are a \u201cfantastic initiative\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am thrilled to see industry taking up the challenge through its involvement in the Startup Friendly Awards,\u201d Roy says.<\/p>\n
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The eight award categories will include \u2018most startup friendly corporate\u2019, \u2018most open and transparent\u2019 and \u2018most respect for entrepreneurs\u2019.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s an issue that StartupAUS has also signalled it will be turning its attention to next year<\/a>, with efforts to bring corporates further into the innovation debate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n