www.business-review.eu Business Review | August 2020
16 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Startup mindset gaining clout in local corporate culture Being agile and innovative are two key principles for startups, but a growing number of large companies are also harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s motto “move fast and break things” becoming increasingly popular among big corporations. By Ovidiu Posirca ship so that talented employees can deliver new products and services,” says Ionut Sas, partner at professional services firm PwC Romania. Innovation is of major interest for heads of financial departments in large companies, who can allocate funding for such endeavors. This effort is becoming critical as firms of all sizes are looking to recover after the lockdown and the COVID-19 crisis. Some 63 percent of Chief Financial Officers (CFO) surveyed by PwC cite offering new or enhanced products or services as the most important factor for business recovery. CFOs are also not very likely to cut their planned R&D investments (14 percent) or digital transformation investment (11 percent), which corresponds with findings about their plans to accelerate automation, adds Sas of PwC. Companies across the local economy are starting to internalise some of the processes championed by startups
LOCAL BIG FIRMS’ APPROACH TO THE STARTUP MINDSET
risk management policies, but this
U
about agile teams and mindsets within their
championed by startups, while some firms are
doesn’t mean that their corporate
organisations, which are attributes that are
working with startups directly or promoting
culture can’t promote entrepreneurship.
fundamental to startups. They are aware of
entrepreneurship inside their own industries.
These firms can have mentorship pro-
the benefits of such a vision, but the bigger
grammes and encourage entrepreneurship
the company, the more complex it is to stir,”
with many startups, aiming to support their
among their employees. A growing number
Mihaescu told BR.
development and the creation of a technology
sually, corporations have tighter
of big companies are taking part in local pro-
Companies across the local economy are “More and more companies are talking
Some large companies have their own
starting to internalise some of the processes
Professional services firm Deloitte works
ecosystem.
grammes designed to accelerate or incubate
research & development (R&D) operations
new businesses, while corporates can also
as well as strategy departments. Taking over
objectives for startups and, during these col-
source products or services from startups.
a startup that has a fresh approach in an in-
laborations, we learned and adopted a more
dustry is also a serious option for established
entrepreneurial mindset, contributing to re-
players.
inforcing Deloitte’s mission, which is to make
Innovation is not something that only startups can generate, and just as a startup can learn from a big company, the reverse
“For companies that need a new technol-
“Scalability and disruption are core
an impact that matters,” Andrei Ionescu,
is also true, says Dan Mihaescu, founding
ogy or product, the fastest way to achieve
partner-in-charge, management consulting
partner of GapMinder VC, which has ongoing
that is to acquire a startup, but large compa-
and risk advisory at Deloitte Romania and
investments in dozens of local startups.
nies need to develop internal entrepreneur-
TMT industry leader, told BR.
