CC: globalhighered.wordpress.com
(This is the second part of our comparison of two SeedStart BD speakers. See Part One here.)
What is business development?
That depends on who you talk to.
Meet Ben Luban, Director of BD at AOL and Florent Peyre, VP of Strategy and BD at GiltCity. They have similar titles, but Ben works at a big company, Florent at a fast growing startup. They definitely have similarities and differences in attitude. As an entrepreneur, you should know both perspectives of the deal.
WHO DO YOU TALK TO?
Big Company says: Go to the BD guy.
Startup says: Go to the top.
BEN: Start with the big company’s BD person instead of the CEO (the decision-making process will trickle down to BD person anyway). A lot of BD people have MBA/JD/Finance backgrounds, so they can do a lot of the negotiation and paperwork with you.
FLORENT: Think really big! Never feel like you should only talk to the BD guy – go straight to the top, because if you have a mandate from the top, it’s best. Once you finally get to the BD guy, he might not be that happy because it’s a forced relationship, so make him feel smart and loved; be super flexible. Remember, if you pitch the CEO, make sure you are pitching something substantial (don't pitch becoming a link on their site).
What is business development?
That depends on who you talk to.
Meet Ben Luban, Director of BD at AOL and Florent Peyre, VP of Strategy and BD at GiltCity. They have similar titles, but Ben works at a big company, Florent at a fast growing startup. They definitely have similarities and differences in attitude. As an entrepreneur, you should know both perspectives of the deal.
WHO DO YOU TALK TO?
Big Company says: Go to the BD guy.
Startup says: Go to the top.
BEN: Start with the big company’s BD person instead of the CEO (the decision-making process will trickle down to BD person anyway). A lot of BD people have MBA/JD/Finance backgrounds, so they can do a lot of the negotiation and paperwork with you.
FLORENT: Think really big! Never feel like you should only talk to the BD guy – go straight to the top, because if you have a mandate from the top, it’s best. Once you finally get to the BD guy, he might not be that happy because it’s a forced relationship, so make him feel smart and loved; be super flexible. Remember, if you pitch the CEO, make sure you are pitching something substantial (don't pitch becoming a link on their site).
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