Gorillas Can Dance

CHAPTER FIVEPARTNERING WITH STARTUPS AROUND THE WORLD

Today the challenge is to innovate by learning from the world. And because innovation drives growth, those companies that fail to learn will be left behind.

– Professor Yves Doz (INSEAD)¹

LEARNING FROM THE WORLD

A global mindset – which involves characteristics such as curiosity, connections, and the competence to deal with different cultural contexts – helps managers recognize the value of partnering with startups across multiple settings. The Microsoft case illustrates that traversing a wide range of geographic locations and tapping startup ecosystems around the world can be highly rewarding – but also demanding in terms of the resources and effort involved. For companies exploring how to build or strengthen an international dimension to their startup partnering, it can be useful to consider three perspectives that can be progressively layered on.

First, consistent with the “think global, act local” mantra,² while corporations recognize that partnering with local startups could help them be more effective in foreign markets by responding better to local needs, they should also consider how their startup partnering practices may have to be modified to suit the local context. This is especially true for corporations from advanced markets operating in emerging markets.

Second, consistent with a “think local, act global” logic, corporations should recognize that new partnering practices can be learned from innovation ...