Startups Must Learn How to Develop Relationships with Corporations, Says Axel Springer Exec

Startups that want to work with corporations must learn how to initiate these relationships and not wait for the connection to happen, according to Uli Schmitz, managing director of Axel Springer Digital Ventures GmbH. On Thursday, Schmitz spoke to serial entrepreneur Marcel 'Otto' Yon, former CEO of the Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub, the digital innovation unit of the German Armed Forces, at Calcalist's WeTech Berlin 2020 conference, held in collaboration with Israel's Bank Leumi and German real estate company Aroundtown Property Holdings PLC.

What should startups do to increase their chances for collaboration with German corporations? According to Schmitz, startups approaching corporations must be very clear in what they want to achieve, whether it is an investment or long term business support. At Axel Springer, he said, there is no mechanism for success. You have to find the right people who are willing to promote you and build a relationship with them.