The European Innovation Council (EIC) regularly hosts matchmaking initiatives under their EIC Corporate Partnership Programme. In the EIC Corporate Corner, we discover what makes these corporates tick, what is their approach to innovation and what they are looking for. After the online EIC Multicorporate Day on Chemical Recycling, we got together with Amcor and their representative Frank Lehmann, VP of Corporate Venturing and Open Innovation.
On 13 June, the EIC hosted an online Multicorporate Day on Chemical Recycling that brought together 10 EIC beneficiaries that pitched their innovations on the proposed challenges. Amcor was one of the corporates who co-hosted the event and to better understand Amcor’s approach to innovation we sat down with Frank Lehmann, VP of Corporate Venturing and Open Innovation at the corporate. Here’s what he had to say!
Can you briefly describe your role within Amcor?
I’m VP of Corporate Venturing at Amcor, which is our corporate venture fund to do direct investments in startups.
Can you tell us about your approach to (open) innovation and the potential challenges you face in that aspect?
Apart from doing direct investments in startups, we also look to establish collaboration agreements. Those can be startups, universities or even trying to secure innovations for Amcor’s core.
As for challenges, they are related to external relations, having a first idea for a small pilot and then moving from that initial phase to a larger industrial scale and that’s probably the biggest challenge of the entire process.
Recently you teamed up with the EIC to co-host an EIC Multicorporate Day. Can you explain the motivation behind joining forces with the EIC for this initiative?
It was an excellent initiative with interesting companies! The EIC is always a great network to access SMEs and startups that might have escaped our attention to helping us find solutions that can potentially transform the industry.
What are the benefits/advantages of working with the EIC?
The fact that it is the EIC who does the scouting and evaluates the first batch of beneficiaries is super helpful because it saves us time and internal resources. We like collaborating with the EIC because of the EIC’s marketing power and its strategic position on innovation.
Also, the EIC being the ‘face’ of the initiative gives us a more neutral setting. In the sense that if we are looking for SMEs or startups through the EIC, they possess a better general view of what will be the best options for what we need during the initial state of the process.
What mindset and skills do you look for in companies you bring to your ecosystem?
The classic thing to look for in the VC world is a mature team. Of course, we also look for a strong entrepreneurial background and knowledge and the company’s ability to simplify potential problems, but that requires having a strong team.
What type of partnerships are you looking for with startups?
From Amcor’s perspective, we look for a mature team (as I previously mentioned) but not exactly for mature technology. We are happy to become equity owners and participate in the fundraising process but, ultimately, we are not just looking to bring capital investment into the process. As strategic investors, we also wish to bring competence and collaboration skills.
Have you found any interesting opportunities in the companies that pitched at the event?
There were interesting companies at the event. We made some follow-up calls to further engage, and now it will be interesting to see what comes out of that initial stage. So, I will say that we probably have 5 companies which are worthwhile investigating.
Any advice/tips for companies that want to work with you?
My key advice is to be meticulous in how you make your pitch. Depending on your style and end goal, of course, it’s important to be clear about what you are presenting to large corporates and how you can provide them with your technology.
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DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.