Open Innovation Models

From my new Harvard Business Review article, here’s how to create the second of four pillars that innovative organizations need – capability to forge strategic partnerships: You don’t have to contain yourself to your team or the organization when it comes to innovation. Great innovations can come from collaborations with suppliers, customers, universities, startups, or companies using relevant technology in a totally different way. For example, the jeans company Levi Strauss has been collaborating with Google to figure out what “smart” clothing might accomplish for users like truckers. But doing so needs focused and dedicated work. That means you need to find people within the team to do the long-term work of building those relationships, having speculative conversations, and hunting for partner capabilities which may not be immediately apparent. You don’t want to be Yahoo, which declined to engage with an ambitious early-stage company boasting a different business model: Google. What to do instead? Put specialists in strategic technology partnerships on the lookout. Have them work in collaboration with core business teams who can use these partnerships to make innovation happen. For example, many pharma companies have these types of partnership offices near MIT, and it’s an approach that can be replicated by a broad range of industries. Johnson & Johnson’s university collaborations not only facilitate investments and research partnerships, but through JLabs they also provide lab space and support services for promising start-ups without requiring an equity stake. This can give Johnson & Johnson an inside track with the start-up when the timing is ripe. The fruits of the program have been substantial — as of 2023, 840 incubations of companies in this network had yielded more than 290 deals or partnerships with J&J. (Have you used other methods to forge strategic partnerships? Please add them in the comments!)

Nonprofits, if I had to build corporate partnerships from scratch today, here’s the upgraded playbook: 1. Stop Begging. Start Co-Building. Instead of: “We’re looking for sponsors.” Try: “We’re designing the first zero-waste pilot for the city. Want your R&D team on the blueprint?” Why it works: You’re offering frontline innovation hours, not asking for a hand-out. 2. Scrap the Medal Tiers, Design Micro-Experiments. Offer partners bite-sized proofs of concept that grow: • Idea Auction: Their employees vote which of three micro-projects to fund, instant internal buzz. • Reverse Shark Tank: Your beneficiaries pitch company execs for skills-based support hours. • Impact API: Grant the partner early access to your data set (carbon metrics, food-waste stats, etc.) so they can build case studies that matter to their marketing team. Give them a storyline, not a plaque. 3. Run a LinkedIn Play That Feels Like Product-Led Growth. • Build a “Partner Wishlist” public Trello board, tag each dream company in a post when their card moves to “Conversation Started.” • Launch a 90-second Loom series (“What If We Solved ___ Together?”) and DM it to the exact decision-maker, not their generic inbox. • Leverage comment stacking: Recruit five allies to add thoughtful comments under every mission post, signaling social proof before the partner ever replies. Visibility → Familiarity → Pipeline. 4. Assemble a Failure-Lab Advisory Circle. Invite 8 execs to a quarterly dinner where you unpack both wins and flops, under Chatham House Rule. What they contribute: • Hard-won lessons that shortcut your learning curve • Candid connections (“Talk to our supply-chain VP next week”) • Personal stake in turning “near-misses” into success stories People back the messes they helped mop up. 5. Make the Yes Easier Than Scrolling TikTok. • Interactive one-pager: Three clickable funding tiers that auto-populate a DocuSign. • 90-second decision timer: “Pick an option before this video ends, your brand’s social clip is pre-queued.” • Real-time Slack channel invite: They join, drop questions, get instant answers, no calendar ping-pong. Friction kills deals; speed revives them. 6. Follow Up Like a Storyteller, Not an Auto-Responder. • Send a mobile-shot React video when a child opens a textbook you supplied, no polished edit, just authenticity. • Drop a voice memo celebrating their core value in action (“Saw your DE&I lead speak on stage, here’s how we echoed that message yesterday”). • Ship a desk-size artifact: a 3-D-printed model of the water filter prototype they helped fund, land on the desk, live in the memory. Stay relevant without spamming the inbox. Connect with me, comment “Partnership,” and I’ll send a free resource our paying clients use to find thousands of opprutnties for corporate partners on LinkedIn. With purpose and impact, Mario

Digital Health Pharma Playbook: Navigating Partnerships and Innovation in Healthcare! I. Digital Health, Outcomes and Pharma Digital health can enhance patient outcomes, improve access to care, reduce costs, and accelerate pharmaceutical innovation II. Opportunity Realizing this potential requires new collaborations between pharma giants and health-tech startups III. Partnerships Effective partnerships combine pharma's scale, data, and clinical expertise with startups' nimble innovation. IV. Complementary Expertise Pharma and health startups have complementary expertise at different innovation cycle points. Strategic partnerships can reinforce both strengths V. Making it Happen A. Key Suggestions for Startups 1. Visualize Big Picture: Understand triggers for Pharma & Tech giants 2. Articulation: Focus your brand idea on an essential concept 3. Prepare, Pitch & Proactiveness: Prepare for meetings and follow up proactively 4. Timing & Fit: Align solutions with Pharma's strategy 5. Risk Aversion: Lower the risk for Pharma to gain interest 6. Never Too Early: Engage with corporate venture or innovation teams early 7. Balance: Know your stage to present effectively 8. Entry: Work with gatekeepers to open door 9. Backup Strategy: Have multiple champions B. Key Suggestions for Pharma 1. Pilotitis Syndrome: Move beyond pilots to long-term strategies 2. Experience: Gain real-time experience in startups. 3. Predictability: Ensure clear expectations, approvals, and processes 4. Openness: Be open to breakthrough innovations 5. Processes & Structure: Clarify approval processes at each stage 6. Digital Component: Launch products with digital components 7. Risk: Reevaluate risk with positive user feedback 8. Timeline: Understand the varied contract timelines Check out the DayOne - Healthcare Innovation report by Cécile Tardy-Srinivasan and Jubin Shah, PhD here: https://lnkd.in/d7guWGw7 #innovation #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech #pharma #startups #strategy Basel Area Business & Innovation

We were in the middle of listening to a founder’s fundraising pitch and someone asked, "When did you do this market research?" "About six months ago." The room went quiet. Six months is an eternity right now. Technologies shift and supply chains reconfigure. Customer priorities evolve. The competitive landscape that looked solid in spring looks quite different by fall. This is why we think about Partnerships as Infrastructure at Gigascale Capital. Direct engagement with industry players is how you stay current. Not because you're constantly selling, but because you're constantly learning. The buyers, suppliers, and ecosystem partners who operate in these sectors every day see dynamics you won't catch from just reading research reports or even the best AI prompts. Early-stage founders face a dilemma: they need to understand their target market deeply, but the market is moving too quickly to keep pace. Static research creates static assumptions. By the time you've built your product and set your business direction based on those assumptions, the market has moved again. Build relationships with corporate partners before you need something specific from them. Engage with industry players while you're still figuring out your approach. Frame conversations as collaborative discovery. Establish a partner engagement model early that yields reciprocal value for both sides — and one that drives meaningful learning. The value of this will compound over time. The network you build early becomes your real-time signal about market dynamics, technology shifts, and emerging opportunities. It's the difference between guessing what an industry will need in several years versus co-creating it with the people who'll ultimately deploy your solution. As the old saying goes, “Skate to where the puck is going.” But first you need to understand, or even better, help define where that will be. Partnerships aren't a GTM tactic. They're core infrastructure that makes everything else possible.

A 'quick' customer call on Friday revealed something fascinating about their Value Added Reseller (VAR) business. Less than 18 hours later, I drove 4 hours to Dallas through the rain. Because when you sense a partnership that could reshape both businesses, you don't wait for Monday! As I reflected during the drive, I couldn't help but think about how tech partnerships have evolved. While running partner programs at Zoho I saw firsthand how partnerships weren't just a channel – they were the foundation of growth. The tech giants understood this decades ago: Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle, SAP, Cisco, Citrix , IBM, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Atlassian, AppDynamics, HubSpot – they all built partner-first empires. But 2024 showed us something revolutionary happening in the partnership space. Through customer (agencies/partners) conversations at Layerpath, I'm seeing three massive shifts: 1. The Rise of Partner-Led Innovation ↳ Service providers aren't just implementing anymore – they're becoming product innovators ↳ Small agencies are building sophisticated, AI-powered platforms ↳ Traditional consulting firms are transforming into software companies ↳ Solo practitioners are scaling to enterprise-level operations 2. The Democratization of Partnerships ↳ AI is lowering the barrier to software development ↳ Partners are building proprietary solutions on top of platforms ↳ White-labeled, automated workflows are replacing manual services ↳ The line between service provider and software vendor is disappearing 3. The Power Dynamic Shift ↳ Partners are closer to customer problems than big-tech ↳ They understand industry-specific workflows deeply ↳ They can move faster and adapt quicker ↳ They're building moats through specialized knowledge + technology Most founders miss this: While everyone's debating AI agents and the "death of SaaS," they overlook a fundamental truth—partnerships are being reimagined. Your biggest threat isn't the incumbents or the next AI startup. The thousands of partners could build competing solutions if you don't enable them first. The next wave of successful startups won't just build better software – they'll build better partnership ecosystems. They'll understand that in 2025: - Partners can be product innovators, not just implementers - Small companies can build powerful partnership programs - Technology + domain expertise + distribution is the winning formula After today's meeting, I'm more convinced than ever: the future belongs to companies that understand this partnership transformation. For founders building in 2025: How are you thinking about partnerships? Are they just a distribution channel, or could they be the core of your strategy? Let's discuss. P.S. Sometimes, the best strategies come from real conversations, not board rooms.

Apple and Google just reminded us that 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲. Rather, it's finding a partner whose goals overlap just enough to move you both forward 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. *** 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁... Apple is reportedly venturing into its second major partnership with Google — bringing Google’s Gemini AI model into the iPhone ecosystem to power new on-device experiences. Do they compete? Absolutely. But right now, both see more upside in collaboration than in isolation. 𝗪𝗵𝘆? • 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 wants to give users the best possible AI experience 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 — without waiting years to build it all in-house. • 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 needs scale and credibility to maintain momentum against OpenAI and Anthropic (who are actually bigger threats to its business than the iPhone). • 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, they accelerate the next phase of their growth in complementary areas. That’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a masterclass in strategic self-awareness and growth acceleration. And it’s a pattern we’re seeing more often — like Bloomberg Media and YouTube recently linking up to blend credibility with scale. Different industries, same principle: 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. *** 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: For leaders sitting on opportunities that feel too big, too slow, or too expensive to build alone: 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚. You don’t have to own every capability to benefit from it. You just have to know what you bring, what you need, and who can help you get there faster. If Apple and Google can find common ground, anyone can. Because progress doesn’t always come from independence — sometimes it comes from the right 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹. They compound it. #Partnerships #Strategy #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #Innovation

In an era of rapid transformation, health systems are embracing partnerships to spark innovation, expand services, and boost efficiency. But the line between a partnership that drives growth and one that drains resources often comes down to a single factor: embedding health policy expertise from the very beginning. Why Policy Matters Strong partnerships weave innovation into clinical, operational, and regulatory frameworks. Policy experts help align initiatives with value-based care, ensure HIPAA compliance, secure CMS reimbursement, and anticipate state and federal shifts. Data shows these partnerships achieve 60% higher success rates and face 45% fewer regulatory hurdles; delivering sustainable growth, stronger outcomes, and organizational resilience. The Cost of Getting It Wrong Ignoring the policy landscape can be disastrous. A $30M telehealth investment failed when it didn’t meet CMS billing rules. An AI diagnostics venture collapsed over licensing gaps. Nearly 40% of health-tech collaborations fail within two years due to regulatory misalignment, with average losses topping $15M. These failures mean not just wasted capital but disruption and lost trust. The Role of the Health Policy Expert Policy professionals translate complex regulation into strategy, guiding procurement, compliance, and scalability. Their involvement ensures partnerships are grounded in foresight, not assumption. At Rickshaw Health, we help leaders turn collaborations into lasting impact; ensuring partnerships drive sustainable outcomes for both organizations and patients. #HealthPolicy #DigitalHealth #StrategicPartnerships #HealthInnovation #HealthLeadership #HealthSystems #RegulatoryCompliance #ValueBasedCare

Most sales reps walk into retail meetings with their standard "let me sell you" pitch deck. Top performers walk in with market insights and thought leadership the buyer hasn’t seen. Last week, I watched a founder flip the script during a meeting with their category manager at Sprouts. Instead of leading with their standard roadmap, they kicked-off with consumer data showing how shoppers were migrating between products and categories in ways nobody had shared before. The tenor of the meeting shifted. Suddenly, the conversation wasn’t about shelf space—it was about strategy. It was electric. That moment crystallized what I’ve seen across hundreds of brand-retailer interactions: the most successful partnerships begin when brands stop selling and start solving. At Vdriven, we’ve identified what separates consultative partners from transactional brands. It comes down to five shifts in how you show up: Shift 1: From product features to market intelligence Effective partners arrive with category insights beyond their own brand—competitive moves, consumer trend data, and shopping pattern analysis. I’ve seen brands win expanded distribution simply by presenting research on how that retailer’s customers shop adjacent categories. Shift 2: From quarterly check-ins to continuous value creation Partnership-minded brands don’t disappear between reviews. They share RELEVENT articles, conference learnings, and emerging opportunities. One client sends a monthly “category pulse” email—no ask, just insights. Their buyer now calls them first when new opportunities arise. Shift 3: From defending margins to investing in relationships When tariff chaos hit this year, transformational brands found creative ways to protect their retail partners. Transactional brands just passed on costs. Shift 4: From pitching solutions to diagnosing problems The best partners ask better questions than they answer. They dig into broader challenges—labor, customer acquisition, competitive pressure—and become trusted advisors who happen to sell products. Shift 5: From celebrating your wins to amplifying theirs Observe how great brands discuss their partners publicly. Consultative partners highlight retailer innovations, store openings, and sustainability moves. They know their success is intertwined. The paradox? When you stop trying to extract value from every interaction and start investing in genuine partnership, results often exceed what any transaction could deliver. The brands we work with who’ve made this shift don’t just get better placement—they’re invited into strategic planning. They don’t just launch products—they co-create category solutions. They don’t just drive sales—they build businesses together. The retail landscape rewards partners over vendors. The question isn’t whether you can afford to make this shift—it’s whether you can afford not to. I'm curious, what insights are you bringing to your next retail meeting?

Too many organizations are treating collaboration and innovation as separate efforts. But real breakthroughs come when the two work hand in hand. Take Procter & Gamble. When A.G. Lafley took over as CEO, he made a bold bet. Half of their new products wouldn’t come from internal R&D but through collaboration with outside partners. That decision led to game-changing innovations like the Swiffer Duster, a product P&G didn’t invent but improved through a partnership with Japan’s UniCharm. It was a win for both companies and a $100 million success in just four months. P&G didn’t stop there. They flipped traditional outsourcing on its head by creating an outcome-based partnership with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) for real estate and facilities management. Instead of squeezing suppliers for the lowest price, they worked together to drive innovation, efficiency, and sustainability. The results? Award-winning collaboration, smarter buildings, and a competitive advantage built on trust. The future of business won’t be won by lone geniuses waiting for lightbulb moments. It will be won by companies that build highly collaborative relationships to unlock the full potential of their partners, suppliers, and employees. If innovation feels stuck in your organization, maybe it’s time to rethink how you collaborate. #Collaboration #Innovation #Leadership #Trust #FutureOfWork