Week in Review: The slumbering dragon is awakening

By Karamjit Singh September 25, 2015

500 Startups to share how largest PLCs are engaging startups
Valuable take-aways for What’s Next participants to use

Week in Review: The slumbering dragon is awakening WITH a superb mix of traditional company CEOs (chief executive officers), tech CEOs, startup founders and a leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist, it is not like Digital News Asia’s inaugural conference, What’s Next on Sept 29, needed more excitement.

But we are giving it to you anyway! Courtesy of 500 Startups, which is going to publicly share the results of its pioneering study of 500 of the world’s biggest public companies (according to the Global 2000 ranking).

According to Arnaud Bonzom, director of Special Projects South-East Asia, 500 Startups, “We have done this study to learn more about how the world's biggest companies are engaging with startups.”

Bonzom is also the man behind the Singapore Startup Ecosystem and Entrepreneurial Toolbox.

While it is generally perceived that large companies are slow to embrace the impact of digitisation on their business and customers, and that they are vulnerable to losing market share to nimble, hungry, smart and increasingly well-funded startups, the 500 Startups study shows that the slumbering dragon is awakening.

The ‘dragon,’ in this case, are the companies in 37 countries and 69 industries. The information collected has allowed 500 Startups to build a comprehensive database that forms the basis of its report.

Bonzom, who will be sharing the stage with 500 Startups managing partner Khailee Ng to present the highlights of the study, shares that one of the most interesting insights from the report was the massive engagement that the world’s biggest public companies – especially the top 100 – have with startups.

The report covers not just why corporations are engaging with startups, but also how and who is doing what. “Last but not least, the report includes case studies to showcase how large MNCs (multinational corporations) are engaging with startups,” he says.

This is exciting for me as this data will be very useful for What’s Next participants to take back and adapt to the needs of their companies, as they strive to get a handle on the digital disruption that is happening and try to figure how they can capture the opportunities from this.

And it lives up to our internal mission of ensuring that What’s Next offer participants real ideas and solutions that they can take back and use as the catalyst for any new products and services they may want to introduce for their customers.

Because, at the end of the day, as Ganesh Kumar Bangah of MOL Global Inc, says, “It is all about the customer.”

Hurry and get your tickets if you have not yet for What’s Next. It is going to be fresh. It is going to be fun, and it will be useful for your company.

The What’s Next: The Business Impact of Disruptive Technology conference (#WhatsNextDNA) will take place on Tuesday, Sept 29, from 9am-5:30pm at the Cyberview Resort & Spa. Tickets will cost RM980, with a group rate of RM730 (for three or more). To book your tickets, go here.

Have a restful weekend and a good week ahead.

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