In a business environment disturbed by the current circumstances, innovation has become an obligation, and risk an alternative appreciated by companies of all kinds. In this context is the European consortium ScaleUp Champions beginning to develop, in which La Salle-URL and La Salle Technova are participating together with four science parks and university centers in Estonia, Denmark, Lithuania and Poland. International experts aim to support companies from all over the continent to expand in order to consolidate their journey as startups and thus become successful scale-ups.
La Salle-URL and La Salle Technova are encouraging consolidated companies to join the program and lead the transformation in their sector. The companies get and opportunity to redefine in the “New Normal” their operating models and stimulate their development through external innovation, provided by deep tech startups from all over Europe. In this way, consolidated companies that want to collaborate with startups will be able to stand out in their market, applying innovative strategies and new technologies typical of emerging companies.
Recent studies and insights by the entrepreneurship experts confirm that in the post-pandemic era companies will have to make an effort to break with the classic models, exploring solutions that startups already have integrated. La Salle-URL and La Salle Technova facilitate corporates access to the entrepreneurial talent in the continent and collaborate with validated startups to integrate innovation in their processes and better face on the future coming.
The Scale-up Champions initiative aims to generate advantageous dynamics for the startups participating in the program, but also for the consolidated companies. Among other benefits, corporations will be able to explore the latest trends in technology and their potential, promote a more modern and innovative business culture, approach diverse ecosystems with new approaches and, thanks to the solutions proposed by the startups, focus their relationship with the client in a more accurate way.
Corporations that want to participate in the program are should contact the coordinators and send them their needs and challenges, or directly in the website (www.scaleupchampions.com). Scale-up Champions international experts will identify and select a group of emerging companies that demonstrate their ability to solve the challenges in different sectors, and together with the company will select those that best respond to the approaches outlined. Subsequently, after a virtual workshop, each one of the corporations will choose those startups that are considered more suitable to continue working with them.
La Salle and La Salle Technova Barcelona have been supporting the creation and growth of technology-based companies for almost twenty years, and in the last five have focused on accelerating their growth, connecting them especially with leading companies in sectors such as Logistics, Delivery, eCommerce, Real Estate, or Industry 4.0.
“Today, without a doubt, the opportunities are linked to startups and new talent, to help us cover new needs that exist in the market and in society. And that is why the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium (ZF Consortium) has promoted two acceleration programs together with La Salle Technova Barcelona” says Pere Navarro, Delegate of the Government ZF Consortium at the Closure Ceremony of the eDelivery Accelerator.
In the last three years, programs such as Industry 4.0, financed by ACCIO, or the BMP and eDelivery Accelerators organized together with ZF Barcelona, have already connected 82 startups with 48 large companies and generated more than 34 business opportunities.
"Participating in the acceleration programs of La Salle Technova has allowed us to know real cases of very large companies, be in first-hand contact with the people who run those companies and see that they have many problems that we (as a startup) can solve" Miquel Subirats, CEO & Cofounder Stockagile. Startups value and idenfy the benefits coming from collaboration with corporates.
"The main value was to connect with the right people and the right companies, and we consider that connection was excellent," says Diego Soliño, Business development Wearhealth, of his participation in the Industry 4.0 program.
ScaleUp Champions is a European initiative, funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Horizon 2020 program, which aims to connect different European ecosystems of deep tech startups and generate cross-border work dynamics to standardize Europe's growth routes.