When SEP began, corporate collaboration with startups was the preserve of a relatively small number of highly innovative corporates. Six years’ on, the majority of large firms now say that startup collaboration forms part of their innovation strategy. (This is supported by external research finding that, between 2013 and 2018, the number of deals between corporates and startups almost doubled and the value of these deals more than quadrupled.) Of course, that does not mean that all are approaching it with the same seriousness, resources or competence, nor employing the same mechanisms: much variation remains, and it is important for entrepreneurs to recognise this when approaching a corporate relationship.

Our experience over the past several years has underscored the conclusions of our early research about different modes of collaboration and the different purposes that these serve. Some corporates have, for example, since abandoned attempts at using their accelerator programme to drive deep internal change, in favour of other mechanisms.

As with all forms of open innovation, startup collaboration offers an alternative to internal R&D, but it does not mean devolving all responsibility to others, nor that it is necessarily an easier option. Effective collaboration is hard, and the ability to collaborate across differences in size and culture can be a source of competitive advantage. Those firms which have made it work successfully have committed to it properly, and thought deeply about their processes, culture, strategy, metrics and incentives.

This sounds like a truism. However, we have hard data to show, for example, that startups receiving investment from corporates are more likely to expand internationally, and typically attain a higher valuation at IPO, than those which receive investment from traditional VCs. On the corporate side, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests collaboration is beneficial as well. Our research with Europe’s leading corporates for example revealed a range of benefits, including increased brand awareness and access to new technologies and markets. However, to verify these trends, there is space for more robust evaluations of corporate’s collaborative programmes with startups to better understand their long-term effects on strategic and innovation outcomes.

Entrepreneurs’ perceptions, ambitions and mindsets matter when it comes to scaling their business. Mental hurdles – such as risk aversion, a lack of a scaling mindset, or a lack of confidence – can prevent entrepreneurs from seeking growth and external finance. We’ve come to believe that fostering these mental aspects, for example through early enterprise education, is as important as addressing the external factors such as access to finance, talent and markets.

Whilst all of us at Nesta hope that our work has real-world impact, this is sometimes difficult to identify. However, SEP can boast numerous concrete examples, including several deals done as a result of match-making events, and at least one corporate which credited our work as providing the template for their new innovation programme. We have also received many compliments about the programme - ranging from an unexpected encounter with a taxi driver in Bratislava (he had a startup on the side!) to the European Commissioner for Innovation, Mariya Gabriel, writing: "I would like to stress the importance of the work done by Mind the Bridge and Nesta to turn open innovation into practice at European level."