Firm’s can leverage what they have accomplished by building partnerships that will allow them to increase their reach. Partnerships can come in many forms including:

• Product development and Joint R&D
• Investment capital
• Distribution
• Co-branding
• Strategic alliances for increasing competitiveness

Yet many companies have attempted to enter into partnerships without any tangible success. There must be mutual benefit for both parties. Too often firms enter into partnerships where much of their time is spent trying to determine where they and their partner are actually competitors. Effective partnerships and alliances have certain characteristics. These include shared goals but different resources, shared values but different implementation. Partnerships rarely survive based on reciprocity. Instead, they are forged when each party needs the other and does not have what the other offers.

This is true of funding opportunities as well. Too often firms look to the funder as Daddy Warbucks. They fail to work to understand what the funding agency is trying to achieve from the engagement. Funding entities are clearly interested in extrinsic benefits such as ROI or advancing research. But they are also motivated by secondary objectives, such as assisting firms beyond money such as providing the right kinds of inputs to management or leveraging their contacts. NewEdge has worked with various funding groups to screen companies to help identify the appropriate pool of projects to support. In addition, NewEdge has worked with companies seeking funding. This combination of experience facilitates the development of partnerships that will be beneficial to both parties.