As the promotion for the latest Star Wars movie went into hyperdrive in the run-up to Christmas, the role of the corporate accelerator – programs run by corporates to help startups become mature companies – was suddenly in the spotlight at press time.
BB-8, the droid in The Force Awakens, has catapulted venture-backed robot ball company Sphero to the top of the media agenda, and it all dates back to the time the startup spent on the Disney Accelerator powered by Techstars.
The hottest toy this Christmas came out after a meeting Sphero secured with Disney chief executive and chairman Bob Iger as part of the Techstars program. During the conversation it became evident that one of the planned Star Wars robots was a robot ball, and Sphero became its obvious maker.
The moment BB-8 went on sale, priced at $150, Sphero told Bloomberg it had begun selling 2,000 robots an hour, and in one month the company has nearly matched its entire 2014 revenues. The Financial Times pegged 2014 revenues at $20m, and before BB-8 came out the business had sold 500,000 robots over four years. It was already a mature business to be going through an accelerator – but its success since has been stellar.
The overnight transformation of the robot ball company is likely to fuel greater interest in the potential of the Disney accelerator and other corporate accelerators. Accelerators typically work by providing training and mentoring for entrepreneurs over an intensive period of time. Corporate accelerators have the potential added benefit of providing entrepreneurs with an understanding of the corporation supporting the accelerator, and the possibility of securing some form of strategic partnership.
Wins like Sphero’s are hugely important for a part of the corporate venturing market where success stories are limited, and many believe the area is high on hype. It is common for corporate accelerators to be started amid heady optimism, but for the projects to fall out of favour and be closed relatively quickly, as the mixing of large corporate executives with early-stage entrepreneurs is hard to achieve effectively for both sides.
Yet clearly the story of Sphero indicates the right circumstances can help startups form a corporate relationship of significant importance. Star Wars is expected to make $9.6bn, according to Bloomberg, of which $5bn is set to be made by merchandise. The literal poster child for this merchandise is BB-8, and Sphero is telling media it is “printing money”.
Those in the corporate accelerator world should be cheering on the little robot ball when they go to see The Force Awakens – it has brought harmony to the corporate accelerator galaxy.
GCV’s editorial handover
It is almost two years since I became editor of Global Corporate Venturing, and it has been a great experience. During this time corporate venturing has continued to boom, and we have looked to provide insights and best practices on how this change has been progressing.
Editorial highlights over the period included the first interview with Wendell Brooks on taking over Intel Capital from Arvind Sodhani, the publication of our flagship best practices guide, the World of Corporate Venturing, our publication of an early-stage report, the great roundups from our and other key industry events, a move to daily newsletters for subscribers, and, perhaps most importantly, our growth into a sophisticated data analytics provider.
Due to this growth in data, I am now becoming chief analytics officer of our business. The use of data analytics is fundamental to providing the kind of insights our readers demand from modern business journalism. Yet growing our data tool GCV Analytics into the industry-leading platform it can become will need a dedicated focus.
Fortunately there will be significant continuity in the editing of Global Corporate Venturing (GCV), as James Mawson, pictured left, our founder and editor-in-chief, will become caretaker editor of the magazine. James is the visionary who started the magazine, and his return means it will be in great hands. He will continue to be ably supported by GCV’s news editor Robert Lavine, reporter Thierry Heles, and head of production Keith Baldock, whose collective hard work over the years has helped GCV become a must-read for all those interested in corporate venturing. Complementing this essential news resource with GCV Analytics should hopefully make the insights we can provide even more useful.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure editing the magazine, and undoubtedly it will continue to flourish for many years alongside the corporate venturing industry.