Intrapeneurship: a start-up approach in a large company

Who's cheering for Goliath? It's a feeling stronger than us. It's often the little guys who inspire us, especially when they have to fight on unequal terms against well-equipped behemoths. The world of entrepreneurship was turned upside down by the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009. In the midst of this upheaval, small, growing companies (start-ups) were able to expand and gain influence. Their flexibility and different administrative approaches are of greater interest to business school graduates.

As a result, large corporations are beginning to envy, or at least strongly consider, the start-up model and integrate it into their huge structures. But how to achieve this entrepreneurial spirit without shrinking or starting afresh? Intrapeneurship seems to be the answer.

A small company within a company

The concept of intrapreneurship is to design and incubate an innovative project within a large group. It can start with an employee with a brilliant idea, or with teams working on an innovative project. Because that's what it's all about: something new and fresh to develop in-house, while thinking like a small, growing company. The advantage in this context is that this innovation won't have to seek outside resources, it can benefit from those of the larger group. For example, Axa and Swisscom set in motion a mobility project by putting different members of the two teams together. After less than two months, a prototype service was already in test mode.

The idea was not only to develop innovative projects, but also to improve the involvement, autonomy and motivation of employees, so that they felt in control of a project for the company. Except that this kind of spirit is not necessarily easy to set up. Fortunately, in France, a start-up headed by Nicolas Antonini can help companies adopt this approach. " En Mode Up! " offers one- or 2-day workshops where employees of large companies and start-up managers meet and participate in the creation of a fake start-up. The concept is a complete immersion in the daily life of this type of company.

Gazelle managers benefit from the experience of employees from major groups. As this international study on the relationship between the two types of company points out, small companies can learn from the big ones in terms of their methods and growth strategies. Conversely, employees emerge with skills and strategies for reflection and flexibility that can energize their professional environment. This type of exercise is also offered to students, to help them develop an entrepreneurial sense and understand the challenges facing these young companies.

Employer resistance

However, intrapreneurship is not easy to implement. Firstly, because the concept appeals more to employees than to employers, who are reluctant to let this type of project go ahead. Perhaps it's because this approach gives employees too much autonomy. Or it could be the fear of losing people who will go off and start their own businesses.

Which isn't entirely untrue, since 40% of the intrapreneurs questioned in one study went on to run their own companies, and many of them continue to do so. Despite understandable resistance, large groups will not always be able to turn a deaf ear. The economic world is changing, and employees are interested. Particularly as, while it's true that there is a risk of losing employees, those who stay will have acquired solid skills and knowledge that will make them good assets for the future.

The explosion of start-ups has had the advantage not only of offering innovative products and services, but above all of forcing large corporations to question their own practices. If the big can learn from the small, can we expect new business approaches in the near future?

Illustration : Sebastiaan ter Burg Book launch Design A Better Business via photopin (license)

References

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