3 Ways your Startup can work with Brands

by Startacus Admin
The holy grail - well for some startups anyway… Startup and Brand Collaboration.
Back in May we attended the CONNECT day at Digital Shoreditch. A core message of the day was an overriding theme that collaboration between Startups and Brands is a potentially great combination, and a great combination for both parties too, not just the Startups themselves.
Pioneering collaborations between Startups and big business, can, if done right, support the learning, growth and power of both parties and with this in mind, we thought it wise to highlight (in this first of a series of Brand and Startup related posts) three ways, places and spaces that that Collaboration can potentially happen.
Accelerator programmes
Of course in a way, all Accelerator programmes will welcome collaboration between you as a Startup and an established big business or brand. After all, for you as a Startup to scale and scale to the size they want you to, you may need to not only sell to Brands / big businesses, but work / partner alongside them too in order to get there.
However, in terms of Accelerator programmes that specialise in Startup and Brand collaboration, many Accelerator programmes themselves are actually now managed by Brands - be it the BBC, The Disney Accelerator, Microsoft Ventures, Coca-Cola, Agency Giant Ogilvy & Mather, Unilever, John Lewis (JLAB), William Hill Lab and so on. There are also several Business Accelerators such as London based Collider who are dedicated to marketing and advertising startups and who help brands and agencies identify, understand, engage with and sell to their consumers. Then of course there are other key players in the Brand / Startup space such as The Bakery - again based in London.
Ultimately it seems that they all (all brands that is) want to get a piece of the Startup pie, as this is a space where innovation comes easy and early integration and hand-holding, can do no harm as those Startups evolve and grow into the next big things. And it’s not just MADTECH (the intersection between Marketing, Advertising, and Technology) Startups, but every sector of the ‘established’ business world - Finance, Food, Education and so on that seemingly wants a piece of the action. Business Accelerators seem like a fab place to make that connection early.
Hackathons
A hackathon (as a general rule) is an event where lots of folk; programmers, developers, managers, entrepreneurs, and startups themselves collaborate (over a weekend or similarly short time period) on solving a challenge by building a tech solution, with the intention that by close of play the innovation / solution is as close to a useable product as they possibly can get.
Brands / Corporates like Startups and Startup type folk, because unlike traditional big businesses (as a rule) with tall management structures, Startups have flat management structures (as a rule!) and are used to working out and making big and bold decisions quickly. The more often that as a business you make decisions quickly, the bolder and bigger your solutions are likely to become, so a Hackathon where quick decision making, implementation and design is key, is a fab chance to find a solution / solutions to a big problem and at a low cost too. Check out recent feature on the London Cyber Hackathon as a good example of just that.
Partnerships
We are going to start with an analogy. Perhaps a poor one, but one that we think makes sense! As a Startup you are ‘the New Kid on the Block’, the one with the new ideas, solutions, with your finger on the pulse and an audience that respects your vision and the tune that you sing.
Brands, well they've been there, done it, the’ve got the history, they've walked the walk, lasted the test of time, and we all sing to their tune.
So imagine you are Rihanna. You reach out to Paul McCartney to collaborate on a song. Paul is delighted - he’s got history on his side, but recently his street cred and relevance has waned. Of course Paul is delighted and so is Rihanna because both win. Rihanna becomes more associated with the populist consumer, Paul (Brand) with the new big Star (Startup).
Therefore as a Startup don’t be put off just making connections with big businesses if you can offer them a Return on Investment that adds value to them and their brand as an organisation. This might not be always monetary, but may be more about a connection or brand association that money can’t buy. If you can offer that Brand / big business a way into your own sales channel and community, you may be surprised at how much they are willing to help and potentially offer.
We work with brands, business accelerators, hackathons, enterprise themed events, programmes and services here at Startacus. If that's potentially you, and you want to find out about working with us - find out more here!
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Planning to launch a fashion brand this year? Here are a few basic tips that will help you do just that and get your business off to the right start

Bippit is an online platform and app that helps companies to support the financial needs of their employees - not just via their salary

2021 may be a challenging time to start a business, but these tips should help you get it right...

Startacus and Hatch Enterprise celebrate International Women’s Day by partnering with NetMinds to bring together female founders for a virtual speed networking event

Keeping customers engaged is vital for any small business - these basic tips will help you do just that

Alchemy Technology Services, the Derry-based centre of excellence for insurance software implementation receives recognition for its commitment to diversity

For the first time ever, the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge has both a British winner and runner up in the form of innovative startups SoluBlue and Jiva Materials

The innovative Italian company that has created Handshield, a hand protection wrap to protect users from bacteria and viruses

If you’re thinking about starting an ecommerce business, these tips will help you do just that...

The lowdown on Pentaform, the London-based startup that has created an easy-to-use and eco-friendly personal computer that is globally accessible
Published on: 20th August 2015
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.







- Startacus and Hatch Enterprise offer speed networking IWD-inspired event 24th Feb 2021 Startacus and Hatch Enterprise celebrate International Women’s Day by partnering with NetMinds to bring together female founders for a virtual speed networking event
- Alchemy Technology Services receives Bronze Diversity Mark NI Award 23rd Feb 2021 Alchemy Technology Services, the Derry-based centre of excellence for insurance software implementation receives recognition for its commitment to diversity
- Groundbreaking British inventions win global sustainability prize 23rd Feb 2021 For the first time ever, the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge has both a British winner and runner up in the form of innovative startups SoluBlue and Jiva Materials
- Wombat lands £2m investment as appetite for thematic, fractional trading grows 9th Feb 2021 The innovative investment platform Wombat secures major funding to help with further development and to expand the shares and investments on offer