Why large corporations need to support their intrapreneurial employees

According to Tech City UK’s Tech Nation Report published on Wednesday, startups are forming twice as fast as last year. We can’t help but ask, why are these startups all doing so well? Why aren’t larger corporations dominating anymore?

One answer we may find could be innovation. As a company grows and expands, it may start to become comfortable and more conservative (like many of us do in our personal life too). This is often without the companies even seeing it happen.

Larger companies also have more corporate issues to deal with and fight through to bring out a new idea or innovation. So although the funding is there, it’s often the startups who get the opportunity to run with the new innovation.

Entrepreneurs are another stand out that brings the startup to the top. A startup comes from an entrepreneur, and with the recent boom in the number of entrepreneurs coming through. A new generation of ideas and opportunity is flowing out all around us; fresh ideas with no corporation or rules to hold them back.

When a startup launches, they can be as experimental as they like and there are no preconceived ideas surrounding their company and therefore they have free reign.

We are starting to see a rise in the way that bigger companies are implementing innovation. They have seen the entrepreneurs come through and join in the startup world and now realise there is something that needs to be done to make sure that their company won’t be left behind.

Enter the intrapreneurs

If you’re not too familiar with the term, an intrapreneur is someone who has the entrepreneur mindset, however, stays employed within a corporation.

The intrapreneur is a term that has been recently adopted by some larger companies now becoming widespread and eagerly embraced by others seeing the benefit.

Larger corporations have figured that this group of people (the intrapreneurs) may just be the key to ever-growing success. Having an intrapreneur within an already established business has been shown to bring out the innovative mentality that has fallen to sleep within some corporations throughout the years. An intrapreneur can bring new adventures and excitement within an organisation and they may just be the edge to being number one.

There are many entrepreneurs within our world, but sometimes they just don’t want to create a startup of their own. They want to help another company grow and expand within the safety net and security of employment. This is the gap that companies are starting to dig into and see the opportunity within.

As a large corporation, it is essential to support the intrapreneurs within your business, giving them an opportunity to express new ideas and break the rules is often the one thing that intrapreneurs are seeking from their employer to enable full intrapreneur mode to kick in.

Enabling an intrapreneur time within their working hours to focus on new ideas and innovation they have can help to keep the entrepreneur spirit burning.

There are so many talented people within a large corporation and it’s key to catch them before they move on. In today’s world intrapreneurs are quick to adapt and are looking for a place to be able to express their innovations – if the company doesn’t fit this they may just take their ideas and move on.

Time to innovate 

It can often be a challenge for an established company to bring out a new and fresh approach, but this will be key to the future development of a company. Often companies that have been around a little while can find it difficult to embrace new things so it may take some time to adapt the idea, but as long as the eye to spot the right people and the right approach is there it will be sure to boost a company to the top of its game.

If you find yourself wanting to bring a fresh new innovation through your business, then take it from the likes of Microsoft, Apple, and more and start to encourage the intrapreneurs within your business to feel comfortable enough to express their ideas. You will be surprised to see what the people around you have up their sleeve! Give it a go, and be excited by the opportunity this will open up for your company.