The term innovation has become synonymous with a sort of vague, milk and honey version of corporate goodness. However, real innovation involves changing processes, technologies, and even the culture of an organization. For many companies, this creates a sharp divide between innovation idealism and reality.
I recently presented opening remarks at an event on corporate innovation sponsored by Cintrifuse, a startup accelerator and “fund of funds” – meaning they aggregate investment from large organizations to place with venture capital firms. Cintrifuse describes itself as "connecting high-potential, venture-backable startups to advice, talent, funding, and customers."
This event explored how established companies can use startups as an extension of their own innovation efforts and bridge the gap between idealism and reality.
During the talk, I presented lessons learned from conversations with top innovators as part of the CXO-Talk series.
The love affair that large companies have toward startups is well known, with hundreds of big companies having set up venture funds, incubators, and accelerators.
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