Phase 5: Internal startups
Holding company and satellites
Goals
What are we trying to achieve?
Cross-business product teams own their P&L
Teams are formed that represent "internal startups". They are solely responsible for their profit and loss, but have to be equipped to do so.
Responsible for identifying and pursuing new business opportunities
Form product teams that live or die on their ability to assess, pick and execute on new business opportunities. They combine their customers problems, the industry direction and your company strategy to identify a new, underserved opportunity.
Method
How do we achieve these goals?
Form autonomous teams with all needed capabilities
A startup with the backing of a large company
Fully autonomous teams are formed with everything needed to maximise the chances of success. The company provides all centralised services.
Solve profitable problems in an industry or sector
Here's a bag of money, go solve customer problems profitably
The teams assess the market and go after a profitable problem. Using Lean Startup principles, such as Customer Development, they develop a product pivoting until they achieve Product-Market fit.
Set clear company vision, guardrails and feedback mechanism
Ensure alignment with a lightweight mechanism
A clearly communicated company vision, and a light-touch feedback mechanism should be all that is needed to keep the separate satellites in successful orbit.
Get out of their way
Utilise the power of a nimble startup - don't hold them back
Provide non-business differentiating capabilities as a series of centralised services, but otherwise get out of their way. If this goes well they will be going so fast that the company will only hold them back.
