From KD (TiE Pune President) - Partnership with NTT Data for Startups

Partnership between a Startup and an established business can be a Win Win situation as startups brings focus, speed and innovation to the table while an established business brings access to the market and a ready customer base to the relationship. However this is easier said then done because these partnerships entail serious work from both sides. Critical piece here is the desire and the commitment from the bigger partner to create and build this relationship. Large businesses often tend to stamp their way on partners. One has to have the DNA that we will look for innovations from outside if not available inside. Startups also need to align and fit into the working of a large corporation.

Discovering areas for collaboration is relatively easy. However, finding most suitable startups in that space with the right chemistry is harder and fraught with uncertainty. Often, an established business sets up an in-house ‘intrapreneurship’ program or even an incubator or an accelerator. However, one is often limited to only those companies that are part such a set up. Collaboration with the startups in the larger ecosystem by way of a joint ‘go to market’ and possible investments is a better option. 

NTT Data (www.nttdata.com) stand out for their organized approach and deep commitment to creating partnerships with startups globally.

I wrote a blog on Nov 3, 2018 when NTT Data partnered with TiE Pune for their Open Innovation Contest (OIC) 9.0 program for sourcing startups. We had over 90 startups applying to the program, shortlisted ten to select the India winner who went to Tokyo for the Grand Championship finale in March 2019. And, Nitin Gupta – Founder & CEO FlytBase from Pune won the grand championship! Selected winners from 20 cities around the world competed for this. OIC 9.0 set the stage for a closer TiE Pune NTT Data partnership. TiE Pune is now working on startups from India and overseas both. I reckon TiE ecosystem will be a great source for NTT Data program and will be a Win Win Win situation as I wrote in my Nov 3 blog. First Win is for the customers of NTT Data as they get access to the state of the art products and services that a startup offers. Second Win is for NTT Data as they extend their offering, leveraging innovation to fuel growth. And, the third Win is for the startup itself. No better way to create customers, create a Go To Market than partnering with a global corporation. And TiE Pune is happy stitching these ‘Wins” being an organization for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs.