How to collaborate with startups

The purpose of this study is for it to become a discussion paper on how to improve the relationship between technology startups and companies in the book world (publishers, bookstores, libraries, etc.) in order to establish a mutual strategic cooperation.

Thanks to the worldwide participation in this study of over 170 publishers and startups (from Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, the US, Sweden and France, among other countries), the results of the survey we conducted revealed that both groups are destined to get along. The higher participation by publishers was expected due to the greater number of publishing firms than startups specializing in the cultural sector. We have, nonetheless, segmented all the answers with a view to obtaining a detailed analysis of both samples.

Due to current budget constraints, potential collaborations between publishers and startups go beyond possible financial investments: both groups could reach content marketing agreements during a limited space of time in order to test a given technology or marketing agreements with a view to offering readers new ways of discovering and reading books in the 21^st century. They may also work together towards the joint definition of new business models or the development of specific functions. There are many possibilities for cooperation, both groups just need to be willing to reach potential agreements.

Having analyzed and interpreted the results of the survey, we are fully convinced that “traditional” companies in the book world, in the good sense of the word, (i.e. publishers, bookstores, libraries, etc.), will need to work more closely with new “native, digital” companies in order to benefit from the business opportunities offered by the Internet. A closer relationship with future entrepreneurs of the 21^st century will allow long-established companies to gain access to new and innovative products and services and provide them with a fuller knowledge of the advantages of business models in the digital economy.

Digital entrepreneurs usually confront business challenges with another outlook. These young entrepreneurs always try to find a new way of solving a business problem or attending a specific consumer need in a different way. Collaborating with them will allow traditional companies to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic digital economy and of the business opportunities which arise daily in this new world.

The results of this study have revealed that publishers and startups are destined to get along in order to benefit from the business opportunities offered by the Internet. In the era of participation, every company should establish strategic alliances to face the challenges of the digital age. However large, small or specialized they may be, every publisher, bookstore or library needs an alliance with one or various technology partners to survive in the 21^st century. Just as companies reached high positions individually in the analog age, leadership by sectors in the new era of social participation will be consolidated via company collaboration. The future success of any digital venture in the cultural sector will depend on the ability to create a strategic alliance between various companies working together for the development of a common project.

Dosdoce.com was launched in March 2004 for the purpose of analyzing the use of new technologies in the cultural sector and publishes annual studies related to trends in the creative industries.

This study has been published under a Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivative license”; the work may be copied and distributed by any other means provided that its authorship (Dosdoce.com) is credited, it is not used for commercial purposes and is not amended in any way. The full license may be viewed at: http://es.creativecommons.org/

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Review of the study in Tools of Change blog

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• How to collaborate with startup