External Innovation
“Not Invented Here” can lead to “Not Invented, Ever”. When you strategically partner with another business, you expand your brand reach, accelerate your time to market, and mitigate the risk of building from scratch.
Startups move fast, have limited resources, and can suffer if subjected to long corporate legal processes. Operationally, your business needs to have a sound partnership process in place before engaging with early-stage companies. That requires rubrics for evaluating and prioritizing prospective partners, templates for articulating the business case, and a system for moving pilots efficiently through the pipeline, tracking KPI’s and operationalizing them if successful.
ID8 leverages its established global network of venture capital firms, accelerators, universities, and startup networks/events/databases to help source strategic partners. We’ll also participate in Landscape Research[link] to help you identify all the players addressing the challenges and opportunities in your target space. Finally, ID8 will help you diligence those opportunities and select the right partner for your innovation program.
ID8 helps you to navigate the complexities involved in designing pilots. In many cases this can include advising on contract structure, developing the project charter and deliverables, building the business case, determining success metrics, or building an initial go-to- market plan.
Ultimately, innovation is about getting new products or services introduced to help the company grow or operate more efficiently. Using the innovation process to make a case for commercialization and roadmap to market is a fundamental outcome of what we do at ID8.
ID8 works with CVC teams to evaluate, filter, and prioritize deals in the investment pipeline to identify the top opportunities for further due diligence. ID8 also conducts basic due diligence on startups positioned at the top of the deal funnel, and will provide an opinion on whether to invest or partner. Our team will review term sheets, assess valuations, and help pursue co-investors when requested.
ID8 will leverage its established global network of venture capital firms, accelerators, universities, and startup networks/events/databases to ensure diversity and volume. Startups will be sourced with the intent of partnership, vendor relationship, technology collaboration, investment and/or acquisition.
Where the investment involves a strategic partnership, we’ll help you to navigate the complexities involved in designing pilots, and work with the operational units responsible for launching the pilot. In many cases this can include advising on contract structure, identifying how the corporation can offer a startup a competitive edge and drive mutual value creation, or initial go-to- market plan.
ID8 can also help you formalize your own CVC investment thesis and fund operation strategy, implement a cadence to your committee review meetings, and assist you in the creation of a unique portfolio management process that is efficient and scalable as your CVC activity grows.
Consulting + Services
