Atul Kamra

On Corporate-Startup Collaboration: Atul Kamra of SixThirty

Atul Kamra
Atul Kamra photo courtesy of SixThirty

It’s no secret that St. Louis’ size allows for unique collaborations.

Startups are able to gain access to corporate leadership and big businesses can feed off of the growing energy in the innovation space.

We asked leaders in the startup space, corporate space and community to speak on what each sector can learn from one another and about what’s happening right now in our region.

Atul KamraΒ is managing partnerΒ of SixThirty.

What are some things that startups need support on that larger enterprises can provide? What are challenges that larger enterprises have that startups can help solve?

Startups need trusted brands, customers, data, regulatory experience and relationships. Corporate enterprises need an experimentation mindset, agility, data management and focus.

What are three ways corporate-startup collaborations benefit the region?

Attract and retainΒ talent, drive innovation and competitiveness of industry and drive consumption and investment in the region.

How has your organization or company created or facilitated corporate-startup partnerships?

We invest in startups, and in turn, enterprises invest in us to gain startup access. We also connect startups to corporations and run a mentorship program.

What’s one challenge in creating these partnerships?

Time and speed: Expectations of how fast startups WANT to move versus how fast corporates can move.

In the future, what are some levels of engagement you’d like to see happen at your organization, in terms of startup-corporate relationships?

Create a sandbox for regulators, startups, corporates and VCs to collaborate and a global competition for solving the toughest problems in financial services.

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