Your ideal champion inside a large company is often someone who secretly wishes they'd founded a startup but is too risk-averse. They are drawn to the founders' ambition and will advocate for you because they want to feel part of the startup journey vicariously.
Many engineers at large companies are cynical about AI's hype, hindering internal product development. This forces enterprises to seek external startups that can deliver functional AI solutions, creating an unprecedented opportunity for new ventures to win large customers.
When selling to large companies, young founders often mistakenly adopt a formal, corporate persona. This is a mistake. Enterprises are often buying the startup's unique energy and expertise, so being authentic and passionate is more effective than mimicking corporate culture.
Founders whose startups were acquired by large enterprises can become your most powerful internal champions. They understand the startup mentality, know how to navigate internal politics and procurement, and are often motivated to bring in better technology. Actively seek them out.
Enterprises often default to internal IT teams or large consulting firms for AI projects. These groups typically lack specialized skills and are mired in politics, resulting in failure. This contrasts with the much higher success rate observed when enterprises buy from focused AI startups.
An enterprise CIO confirms that once a company invests time training a generative AI solution, the cost to switch vendors becomes prohibitive. This means early-stage AI startups can build a powerful moat simply by being the first vendor to get implemented and trained.