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Ericsson & Citrix: How can Startups and Corporates Work Together in Telecoms, Networks, and Cybersecurity

  • Posted by Metavallon VC Team
  • On April 3, 2018
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What is missing from startups in Greece and Europe today to develop solutions relevant to corporates? What are key factors for startups to developing innovative products around networks and cybersecurity?

What are the steps for an early-stage startup to develop a product relevant to established corporate clients in the market? What are some tips on presenting technologies and solutions to larger companies? Answers to these questions and thoughtful insights were shared during the Twitter Chat session we organized as part of our first Industry Challenge #1: Networks, Intelligence and Infrastructure, this past Thursday, March 29, 2018. With us we had two of our Industry Partners, Ericsson and Citrix, who joined through the voices of Maria Boura and George Tsolis, respectively.

 

3 Key Benefits for Startups through our Industry Challenges

To start off our discussion, we shared the 3 exclusive benefits startups enjoy through our Industry Challenges. Beyond a set of benefits, these in fact comprise a course of action that anyone developing a new tech venture may strive towards:

  • Gain the insider’s story on market needs, relevant to your tech and business, to make them more relevant to such high-value potential clients.
  • Increase your chance of securing funding from Metavallon VC, by aligning with and presenting an attractive value proposition to the market.
  • After we invest in you, you have an open channel to industry leaders for pilots and sales!

The value to startups is crystal. Now, why do corporates engage?

 

Startups, Corporates, and the Space Between

As one of the leaders in the mobile communication field, with powerful activities in networks and 5G technology, Ericsson is very optimistic about novelties, innovations and opportunities that could be rise. The company has long prioritized working with startups and shared with us these motivations, also driving their involvement in this Industry Challenge.

So what technologies have the potential to transform digitally every business, human or social activity in our world? According to Ericsson, these are 5G, IoT, cloud, AI, ML and big data.

Citrix added to the above with their own reasons for sharing with startups the opportunities of tomorrow and named the 3 technologies they are looking into.

 

The Critical Path to Innovation

Technology itself is not innovation; successful application of technology in the market is. To this, both Partners had their share of experience and insights to discuss.

From the Citrix side, customer needs clearly guide the development of innovative products for cloud and cybersecurity.

Along the same lines, Ericsson highlighted 3 elements that startups should mostly embrace and yet significantly under-develop:

  • addressing a real customer need
  • aiming and operating internationally
  • demonstrating reliable business operations to their corporate clients.

After all, a “good idea” is no more than the initial spark. To build a business,  startups should show perseverance and commitment. And despite popularized belief, work is the magic key.

 

From Innovation to Business Success

So how do you go from building a product to growing a valuable business? Citrix shared 5 steps that can take you from technology to market domination:

Along this path, working with corporates can bring in more than market insights and the much needed liquidity. It can truly accelerate your growth for a very simple reason: you cannot build everything, instantly, from scratch.

For startups to present their solution to established corporations, four elements can truly make a difference:

  • Demonstrate the solution’s competitive advantages as opposed to building the technology in-house
  • Make the product relevant particularly to that corporation, based on the latter’s own constraints
  • Showcase the solutions to the specific customer’s problem, rather than your technology or everything you may be offering and solving
  • Translate your features into cost savings and increased revenues, to focus directly on the opportunities and benefits that your solution offers.

Focused and benefit-driven communication of your solution is key to open the door. Still, at the end of the day, the product itself will do the talking and the selling.

Apply yourselves to building a great product and delivering exceptional service to your customers!

 

From Our Community

With 10 minutes remaining with our incredible Partners, it was time for the audience to take the stage and get questions answered on Industry Challenges and beyond. We decided to lean towards the second and take the discussion a step further.

Two questions were thus picked to share with Ericsson and Citrix, starting with the intriguing world of the blockchain.

On a more technical note, we tackled cloud infrastructure and intelligence through machine learning.

 

Enjoyed our very first Twitter Chat?  View the entire discussion on our Industry Challenge using the dedicated hashtag #MetavallonvcIC on Twitter – and stay tuned, this was only the beginning.

For the startup founders among you working on pioneering tech solutions, our first call for Pre-seed Investment is still open. Check out the phenomenal financial and growth offering and submit your company until the fast approaching deadline on April 15, 2018.

On all other fronts, keep on coding!