In the trend that's emerging, the founders of prominent startups are finding ways to sell their cake and have it, too. They can run their brands on their own terms inside larger corporations while at the same time providing spark and nimbleness to the parent company. "We needed some sort of outside catalyst to get our digital effort going at the speed I wanted it to," says John Schlifske, CEO of Northwestern Mutual, which bought fintech startup LearnVest. "I didn't feel we had the right speed and agility."
We're now at the point when entrepreneurship doesn't have to end with a purchase. Even better, entrepreneurs like Alexa von Tobel at LearnVest and Marla Malcolm Beck at Bluemercury get to operate with resources they couldn't imagine having as startups. Whether it's Northwestern Mutual jump-starting its online financial planning, or Under Armour building a connected fitness initiative with a startup such as MyFitnessPal, this is how the smart 21st-century acquisition gets done. "At some point, established companies have to adopt some startup thinking," says Alexander Chernev, a professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management. "It's not that startup thinking is the best thing ever. But it forces you to look at the world as a changing place."
Inc with several examples of impactful startups acquired by companies like Macy’s, Under Armour and Sprint
Comments