Sponsor: Thanks to Sprint for supporting Silicon Prairie News. The Kansas City company will be providing posts through August 2013.
About the author: Kevin McGinnis is the vice president of product platforms at Sprint.
As a large corporation participating in the startup space, one of Sprint’s core objectives is to help cultivate an entrepreneurial community in Kansas City. If you are like me, you are still learning exactly what that means. Clearly there are benefits to engaging in this space, but what are those benefits? Why should corporations care and ultimately help startups and entrepreneurs?
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When Sprint first engaged in the startup and entrepreneurial community in Kansas City, we got this question a lot. And my answer really hasn’t changed much since our first interaction at Hack the Midwest in the summer of 2012—the first community event where Sprint sponsored and actively participated. In order for corporations like Sprint to remain relevant, we must grow and attract talent and encourage the cultivation of ideas. Startups and entrepreneurs feed the corporate ecosystem with new ideas and talent, plain and simple. They are often able to solve business problems by applying a focus a large corporation cannot match. Many of Sprint’s innovation product solutions have come from business partnerships with smaller startups and their inventions and applications.
Since Hack the Midwest, Sprint has had the opportunity to observe and participate in the growing startup and entrepreneurial community in Kansas City. We are rolling up our sleeves and getting engaged in events like Kauffman Foundation‘s 1 Million Cups, Global Entrepreneurship Week and Startup Weekend. Sprint played a strong role in helping secure the i6 Grant that is funding the newly launched Digital Sandbox KC. Sprint is exploring ways to promote innovation outside the walls of our company. Providing the tools and business support to enable others to invent is an important element in that process. We believe the end results will not only drive greater utility and personalization of the mobile experience, but also help spur significant growth in the region.
Last fall Sprint hosted a Reverse Pitch event during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Sprint, along with Cerner, DST, Garmin, H&R Block, and Hallmark came together to share how we can help startups and entrepreneurs. Instead of startups pitching to big corporations, the local KC companies presented to startups, developers and entrepreneurs and fielded questions about the insights, resources and tools the companies have to offer. Oddly enough, we learned more from each other than we probably contributed to the audience that day. It was the genesis for the newly formed “Big Six” initiative where these large companies are working together to be effective contributors to this growing ecosystem.
That said, some key feedback from the Reverse Pitch event spells out how corporations can most effectively help the startup and entrepreneurial community:
- Be curious – Learn about startups, entrepreneurs and their products and services. Actually try their products. We can keep a fresh eye on our own business problems by continuously listening to how startups are dealing with their issues.
- Spread the word – Trying a startup product is only the beginning. Tell your circle about the product. Use social media to get the word out about the startup and the product.
- Provide feedback back to the startup – Good or bad, feedback is critical to the startup to make changes to the product. I think we take for granted how much business knowledge and experience we have and our mentorship can often help someone struggling to solve issues outside of their core competency.
- Make introductions – Provide startups and entrepreneurs with a connection and accessibility to regional and national partners.
Corporations can play an extremely important role in the startup ecosystem. And why should corporations care about startups and entrepreneurs? Because it’s good for all of us. Working together, we can drive our city’s economic landscape forward.
This blog post has been authored by our sponsor, Sprint.
About the author: Kevin McGinnis is vice president of Product Platforms & Services at Sprint. He is responsible for developing platforms and product lines, ranging from core services like voice and messaging to emerging products like mobile security, entertainment, mobile advertising and mobile commerce. During his 17 years at Sprint, Kevin has worked in a multitude of functions and various stages of new and emerging businesses. This range of experience has established Kevin as a thought leader in the wireless industry. Drawing upon his product work with startups and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and across the country and his leadership of Sprint’s Application Developer Program, Kevin leads initiatives in Kansas City to help spur growth in the startup and entrepreneurial community. Under Kevin’s leadership, Sprint helped to secure the i6 Grant to launch Digital Sandbox KC, a proof-of-concept and mentoring center for high-tech start-ups. Sprint is an ongoing supporter of the Kauffman Foundation’s One Million Cups, Silicon Prairie News, Global Entrepreneurship Week and other initiatives.
