Fear of missing out?
The Silicon Valley is the world leader in patents issued and early stage companies funded. It has a unique combination of:
Knowledge: world class universities including Stanford and Berkeley
Concentration of Skill: deep bench of engineering talent at Google, Apple, Facebook, etc
Access to capital: experienced investors at all stages: Angel, Venture, Corporate
Within the past decade, Silicon Valley has become a global destination:
Startups relocate or set up subsidiaries in order to gain mind share, raise capital, and/or access the North American market.
Fortune 500 companies establish innovation outposts to watch for disruptive trends and partner with early stage startups.
On the corporate front, innovation centers have had mixed success. They are expensive to run and usually too remote from headquarters to have any real business impact. In the end, most practice “innovation theater” - acquiring open-plan office space, hosting executive tours, running the occasional “hackathon” - and complaining to their local industry peers that their bosses at home “just don’t get it”.
The innovation challenge is best solved at home - but outside ideas are critical.
Hill88 provides a steady flow of outside ideas and potential startup engagements - at a fraction of the cost of an innovation center outpost.
How We work
Exclusive Hill88 works on long term (>6 month) engagements with only 2-3 customers at one time in non-overlapping industries. Your company gets personalized scouting services that result in a highly curated list of opportunities. Unlike an accelerator membership, these opportunities are exclusive to your company - they won’t be shopped to your competitor in parallel!
Connected The valley is full of “experts” that arrived here only three years ago. Put to work a 25 year veteran with real credentials as an active angel investor and startup mentor and an extensive network. We’ll make warm introductions to the startup you find interesting rather than point you to their website address…
Technical An R&D background is critical in order to properly match corporate technology needs and startup innovations as well as anticipate new market opportunities. Hill88’s principals have extensive experience running engineering teams both in consumer and enterprise sectors covering hardware and software products in a variety of industries, including Artificial Intelligence, consumer entertainment, media, wearables, and automotive.
Confident Feel confident that you are hiring an experienced executive that understands how to successfully navigate in both corporate and startup circles.
(Partial) List of current & past clients:
Bissell
Whirlpool
Amway
Steelcase
Faurecia
Cisco
IBM
Electronic Arts
Rovi
The Learning Company
Broderbund
"Hill88 has had a significant impact on our company's R&D strategy, resulting in new development programs and startup investments. HIll88's scouting is precisely focused on our needs."
- Rob Huber, VP Innovation, Faurecia