Interview with the Collision Lab: Meet Olivier Thomas, our Manager, Open Innovation at the Collision Lab!
Coffee Time introduces you to the Collision Lab, Centech’s open innovation hub, where startups and large companies join forces.
Working directly out of the Centech site, our advisors support large companies from different sectors in their open innovation initiatives, in collaboration with technology startups.
” At the Collision Lab, we work with startups on several levels. It’s important for us is to have some knowledge about the startups so that we can present them to the corporations. We also need to be aware of the corporations’ needs so that we can present the right startups.
The connection goes both ways. Sometimes large organizations share their problems with us so that we can present startups that could help address them. In other cases, we are very familiar with the issues of our corporate partners and are therefore able to present startups more spontaneously.
There are a number of ways to learn about startups: Demo Days, articles, workshops or the various Centech or ecosystem events. In every instance we take the time to meet with the teams and learn about their projects. We also do a lot of scouting in the various databases, hence the importance for startups of ensuring they have a strong presence there.
When the time comes to make a connection, we always hold a preliminary meeting with the startup to fully understand what it does. This gives us a chance to find out how mature the company is and to learn about its products and services. We want to understand why the startup wants to meet with the large company. Our conversation helps us determine whether the team is ready, whether it’s a good match and whether it’s a good time for the startup.
The screening we do is very important for the corporations, as it saves them time by allowing them to meet with startups that are truly relevant to their needs. This means that the large corporation does not have to waste time meeting with unsolicited startups. ”
