
Industrial Opportunities for Startups - late
https://combientfoundry.com
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late
Thanks for the comments and questions.

Our thinking follows, what we call a ‘venture client’ approach, through which
startups get a valuable asset, a globally operating reference customer,
without a hassle. For instance, we use an expedited procurement process and
leaner legal approach in POs. The industrial companies, on the other hand, get
to apply new technologies and talent quicker in building new services,
solutions and products that can add value to their customers or other
stakeholders.

Venture Client approach also means, that when announce a business opportunity,
we also make sure there’s significant need from the company, budget to make
purchase order (revenue for the startup) and team in place to act fast given
there’s a solid applicable solution. Venture Client also means that the
industrial company understands there’s associated risk in building something
new with startups - but also major upsides in time-to-value if done
succesfully.

So far our approach has been warmly welcomed by startups and investors. We aim
to keep it simple, fast and fair. We have plenty of references which we are
adding to our website, some you can already access on our site.

Needless to say, this might not be of interest to all entrepreneurs or
startups but there might be plenty of those who could benefit from the
approach.

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JoeAltmaier
I don't trust industrial companies to seriously engage in technology. Too many
times I've seen a big industrial company buy a startup, just to kill it for
big-company reasons. Like, it competes with a cash cow and somebody inside
doesn't like that. Or development costs more than another iron shim or
whatever they make normally and it looks marginally worse on the books. Or
they just don't know how to manage it. Or they don't adopt what they've bought
because their processes are ponderous and ossified.

I thought the best bet was to compete with them externally, so they'd have to
take notice and react either by buying your solution or hiring you or
something. But instead, anecdotally, a big company had a private meeting with
the owners of our innovative small company and made a deal to offer some of
our products in their showroom. After that all our development projects dried
up mysteriously (the next Friday everybody was let go).

So no, I'm not going to invest any (more) of my life's worktime on helping old
industrial companies figure it out.

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mettamage
This is the first time that I'm ever asking this: how is this interesting?

I don't see this article as educational. I fail to see how this is
interesting, because I can't understand through their business speak what they
mean. Is it a consortium of some sort? They are connecting startups to
industrial leaders, okay which ones, in which country? I presume the US (edit:
I just saw now that they're from Finland). What does it mean to be an
industrial leader? They list 5 companies that I have never heard of, which in
itself is fine but combined with the other things gives me even more questions
in my mind.

Can anyone tell me what's appealing about this article? I'm missing it.
Normally when I see an article, I may or may not like it but I succeed to see
how it's interesting to other HN'ers, with this article I have no clue.

I mean this in the most constructive way possible and would really appreciate
someone 'on the other side' to see how this is interesting.

