Paris, March 15, 2024 - RaiseLab and RAISE Sherpas, today reveal the results of their exclusive study entitled “Startups conquering the SBF 120 strategic plans”, which highlights the increasing integration of startups into the strategies of large companies, revealing a dynamic of innovation and collaboration essential for sustainable growth and competitiveness.
This report, which aims to demonstrate how startups have become key players in the strategy and sustainability of large groups, is a guide to understand the future prospects of innovation in large organizations and the evolution of the French entrepreneurial ecosystem. It offers an informed and positive perspective on how these strategic collaborations are transforming industries, driving innovation, and creating new market opportunities for all parties involved.
Its methodology is based on the careful analysis of the plans, annual reports, public statements and strategic documentation of SBF 120 companies, the synthesis of common strategic axes, the promotion of innovative and value-creating collaborations, as well as the conduct of around twenty interviews conducted with directors of large companies, founders and former managers, founders and former managers, ecosystem experts, as well as public figures such as Marina Ferrari, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, and Clara Chappappen Az, Director of the French Tech Mission, and Benoît Roblin, Director of Bpifrance Le Hub.
The study thus confirms that 100% of SBF 120 companies are now engaging in strategic alliances with startups to meet major challenges such as competitiveness, decarbonization and asset protection.
”In recent years, there has been a real change in the propensity of large organizations to seek out startups in order to address strategic challenges. This phenomenon testifies to a real realization that, even while enjoying a global leadership position in their field, these entities can increase their performance by partnering with appropriate startups. Access to new technologies, the opportunity to explore new markets, and improved operational efficiency are benefits sought through these partnerships..” comments Paul Jeannest, Co-founder & CEO of RaiseLab.
“To achieve their ambitious transformation and decarbonization goals, large SBF 120 companies rely more on startups than before. At RAISE Sherpas, we are indeed witnessing a profound paradigm shift in the startup-large group relationship. Alliances are multiplying and rebalancing. For large companies, collaborations are crucial to quickly access emerging and/or decarbonized technologies and to easily implement them, which makes it possible to gain in performance and sustainability. For startups, these mergers guarantee more frequent product and commercial iterations thanks to greater proximity to the field and a better understanding of corporate issues.” comments Anne-Sophie Gervais, Co-Head of RAISE Sherpas.
This analysis of the SBF 120 strategic plans makes it possible to identify market trends, including emerging trends and sectors conducive to startups, while anticipating the requirements of large companies in terms of solving technological challenges. By intersecting all the strategic plans, 6 key areas, in a context that is both macro-economic and sustainable development, were selected for these companies:
- Refocus on your model: outsource tasks with lower added value and improve business processes
The majority of businesses (66%) are focusing on their existing business model, while 14% are clearly reformulating their core business to adopt a proactive strategy that promotes long-term growth and innovation. This orientation towards the historical business model aims to optimize operational performance and strengthen the resilience and profitability of businesses. By outsourcing non-core tasks to startups, businesses can focus on their core expertise, while automating repetitive tasks allows for better resource allocation and promotes innovation. The democratization of large language models (LLM) has also transformed the way in which administrative tasks are handled, speeding up processes and improving the quality of results. These initiatives aim to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation of businesses, while maintaining a commitment to customer satisfaction and quality.
- Remaining competitive: improving the customer experience and increasing the conversion rate
56% of companies highlight a major competitive challenge in their market. This need arises from the dynamics of contemporary and globalized markets, where technologies are evolving rapidly, consumer expectations are constantly changing, and competition is becoming global. In this constantly changing environment, the status quo represents a risk of decline for businesses that are stagnating. To maintain their leadership position, they need to anticipate future trends, adapt quickly to changes, and have cutting-edge technologies ready to be deployed. Understanding and customer service are key aspects of competitiveness, making it possible to unify and personalize offers and interactions to provide a smooth and consistent experience across all channels. Open innovation plays a critical role in maintaining this head start, allowing businesses to collaborate more openly to introduce new products, improve internal processes, and adopt new business strategies. In addition, omnichannel integration is crucial for a customer experience that boosts conversion rates, while disruptive technological advances offer new opportunities to create truly new and transformative customer experiences.
- Decarbonize production: ecological, biobased materials, packaging, reuse/recycling/waste reduction, green energy facilitators
98% of global businesses are making progress towards their declared decarbonization goals. Among SBF 120 companies, 28% have explicitly integrated decarbonization into their strategic plans, thus underlining an awareness of environmental, economic and geopolitical conditions. Decarbonization stimulates innovation and prepares businesses for future CO2 regulations. The adoption of ecological and bio-based materials, derived from renewable resources such as plants and microorganisms, has a carbon footprint that is significantly lower than that of conventional materials, thus promoting the principles of the circular economy. Likewise, reuse, recycling and waste reduction have become fundamental pillars for these companies, contributing to environmental protection, cost optimization and innovation in product design. At the same time, SBF 120 companies are turning to the diversification of their energy mix, favoring a greater variety of renewable energy sources, generally produced locally to secure their supply and reduce their dependence on international price fluctuations. Finally, the adoption of sustainable packaging aims to reduce the carbon footprint associated with the production and distribution of products, marking a growing commitment to environmental sustainability.
- Reducing the indirect footprint: carbon-free mobility, energy efficiency of buildings, reduction of the IT footprint and carbon offsetting
85% of the strategic plans of SBF 120 companies highlight an explicit challenge for reducing their indirect carbon footprint. Beyond the decarbonization of production, these companies recognize the importance of reducing indirect emissions from the supply chain, the transport of products and their end use by consumers. By addressing these indirect emissions, they are taking on an expanded responsibility in the fight against climate change. To achieve this objective, several areas of action are envisaged: the decarbonization of mobility, energy efficiency in buildings, the reduction of the IT footprint and carbon offsetting. Encouraging the adoption of more sustainable transport solutions, improving the energy performance of buildings, reducing the digital footprint and offsetting carbon emissions are among the measures envisaged to effectively reduce the indirect carbon footprint of businesses. By adopting these practices, businesses demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and the fight against climate change, while strengthening their brand image and environmental legitimacy.
- Creating growth drivers: joining forces to accelerate R&D
78% of SBF 120 companies included in their strategic plan the need to implement new growth drivers to face economic challenges and increased competition. In a rapidly changing environment, marked by the emergence of disruptive technologies and changes in consumer behavior, companies that have historically established stable business models must now accelerate their R&D to remain competitive. To achieve this, more and more companies are turning to technological innovation and collaboration with deeptech and biotech startups. By combining their resources and expertise, these alliances allow large companies to explore new markets and iterate on their business models without profoundly changing their structure. These partnerships offer startups the opportunity to accelerate their time-to-market and reduce the risks associated with the launch of their projects, while benefiting from access to the material and intangible resources of large companies. Beyond commercial benefits, these collaborations also contribute to the reduction of investments and risks for startups, thus strengthening the landscape for innovation and economic growth in the medium to long term.
- Protect your assets: safer systems, optimize the Supply Chain, protect your intangible assets
66% of the strategic plans of SBF 120 companies include the protection of their assets as a major focus. Faced with growing regulatory requirements and consumer demand for transparency and traceability, large companies are looking for innovative solutions to collect and make supplier data reliable. Moreover, in an unstable geopolitical and economic context, securing the supply chain is becoming an absolute priority to ensure operational efficiency and minimize the risks of disruption. Businesses are adopting advanced and strategic approaches, integrating risk management, information security, and the protection of intangible assets, in order to ensure their resilience in the face of emerging threats.
In a rapidly changing economic landscape, SBF 120 companies face crucial challenges. To remain competitive, they reaffirm their commitment to growth and innovation. By refocusing on their business model, adopting decarbonization practices, and securing their assets, they are charting the path to a sustainable and prosperous future. These initiatives reflect their determination to meet environmental and economic challenges with agility and resilience, while maintaining a sustained growth dynamic.
Download the report.
About RaiseLab
RaiseLab is the first player dedicated to supporting large organizations in creating value, alliances and collaborations with technological players such as start-ups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs.
The mission of RaiseLab is to meet their strategic challenges by imagining, building and executing these alliances, whether in formats of co-development, joint venture creation, integration, integration, minority or majority investment.
RaiseLab has clients from all sectors, including: L'Oréal, LVMH, LVMH, CITEO, Veolia, Michelin, CNP, BNP, BNP, E. Leclerc, etc.
This consulting activity for large organizations is associated with a unique place of shared innovation, the Maison RaiseLab, located at 18 rue de la Fontaine au Roi in Paris. This third place embodies the mission of RaiseLab and brings together the leaders of today and the builders of tomorrow to work for the growth and transformation of all organizations.
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About RAISE Sherpas
The RAISE Sherpas Endowment Fund is a philanthropic structure developed within the RAISE Group, founded by Clara Gaymard and Gonzague de Blignières.
With a budget of €60M, this endowment fund, which has become the first philanthropic accelerator dedicated to startups, now supports more than 500 young French companies in post-seed stages.
Through funding, mentoring and networking within a powerful and diversified ecosystem, it allows them to build lasting adventures. ManoMano, Cheerz, Selency, Selency, Phénix, Phénix, Welcome to the Jungle and Tediber thus benefitted from personalized support.
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