Why Startups Need To Collaborate With Each Other

Startups have for several years, ignored an important community that could help them accelerate their reach and sales and possibly everything an entrepreneur could ask for  -  a community that’s easily accessible and hassle free..

That community is the startups themselves.

Despite the unprecedented growth of the Indian startup ecosystem – thousands of startups cropping up across Indian cities each year – the scope of growth through collaboration has, for the most part, remained unexplored. That is extremely surprising when you consider the benefits involved.

Startups in initial stages need as much help and support as they can get and the best support system is the community itself. Who’s most likely to collaborate with a startup – a government ágency, a multinational corporation and another startup? It’s a no-brainer. Of course,  another startup.

Whether it is larger startup collaborating with a small one or a deal between two similar level players, the benefits are a – plenty for all parties involved. Think of the free sample that makes you buy another product. Although it is indeed theoldest trick in Collaboration 101, but it does help company A add more value to its product offering while simultaneously letting company B target and acquire new customers. As simple as it might  sound, such opportunities are ample  in India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and startups should look to work out  arrangements to stimulate mutual growth.

Let’s look at some obvious advantages this holds for startups in literally all possible verticals.

Better than conventional advertising

It is no secret that conventional advertising isn’t accessible to small and early stage startups. And even if accessible, it will lead to a painful cashburn more than anything else. While the big players continue to let Newspaper and TV ads milk their VC funds, there is a need for startups, especially the smaller ones to innovate in their marketing strategies. Startups with great products and services have more value to offer each other than anyone else.

Build Relationships

Talking to other startups does not just open doors for entrepreneurs in terms of exposure, but also helps in building organization credibility and goodwill. Whether it is incentivization, content marketing or event partnerships, collaborations help make everything slightly better.

With little to no cashburn at all, organizations can double up their creative resources to bounce ideas off each other and build better products, super-effective marketing campaigns and of course, lasting close relationships.

It’s customer friendly!

Customers seem to be very welcoming when it comes to  multi-company collaboration. They do end up getting a little more value, but that ain’t the only reason customers like such arrangements. Collaboration among startups brings a human connection to both parties involved. It is also part of the reason why customers get as excited as they do when brands interact on social media. That’s some great PR practically free of charge!

So, considering the above, the opportunity costs involved in not trying out a collaboration strategy are clearly too high to not consider.