There are a lot of incubator and accelerator programs available for startups. Many big organisations are eager to align themselves with the start-up community by either investing or providing resources to support the industry. But is that really the best approach to help these businesses grow? One start-up doesn’t think so.
Fly me to the moon image from Shutterstock
Mentorloop is a startup that makes a cloud application for professional mentor programs. In a recent blog post, the business’ co-founder Lucy Lloyd criticised the current approach that bigger companies have towards startups, providing superficial support just so they can appear innovative. Because nothing screams innovation like aligning yourself with a cool start-up.
“The Australian market is becoming saturated with initiatives to foster early-stage start-ups, with corporates, universities and governments setting up their own versions almost weekly. It’s no secret that investment appetite isn’t keeping pace with the start-up scene, but neither is the appetite of companies and executives to try something new.”
She argues that the best way for organisations to support start-ups is to become a customer; put their money where their mouth is and use the products created by local startups.
“We need a culture change beyond just the recognition of the local tech scene through press-friendly start-up programs, we need CIOs and CTOs willing to take on a little more risk for more innovative results.”
Do you agree with Lloyd’s sentiment? What is the best way to support startups? Let us know in the comments.
[Via Mentorloop Blog]
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