The need for corporate entrepreneurship has become more and more important in order to stay in the game. In reality, corporate organizations are dealing with problems that arise from controlling processes, corporate culture and in-the-box-thinking. How can they overcome these hurdles? How to find a different approach, what’s the secret ingredient of startups? Corporate Startup Summit tries to find these answers. Therefore we are introducing particular speakers to give you deep insights about what they do and what they will teach.
Sunnie J. Groeneveld is the Managing Director of DigitalZurich2025, a cross-industry association that aims to make The Greater Zurich Area a leading digital innovation hub of Europe. Sunnie is also the founder of Inspire 925, a consultancy specialized in employee engagement, as well as of the LunchLottery app, a joint-venture by Inspire 925 and Nexys. In 2015 she was selected by Women in Business for their Top 40 under 40 List and has also been recognized as a member of the Future Work Forum and the Global Shapers Community established by the World Economic Forum (WEF). She wrote the book ”Inspired at Work” (October 2014, Versus) and holds an Economics degree from Yale University.
Hello Sunnie, thanks for having you! What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about corporate entrepreneurship?
The first thing that comes into my mind is: Making things happen!
If you had to give one single advice to people being new to corporate entrepreneurship, what would it be?
I think the one piece of advice I would give is that the surest way to fail is not to try!
Regarding the Corporate Startup Summit you are at now, what was the best moment for you so far?
There were a lot of good and inspiring moments during the Corporate Startup Summit. For example, one key message that I was reminded of is the importance of properly connecting the why with the what. When you have the purpose, engagement and impact aligned for yourself and your team, then you can really go through any brick wall and push your ideas forward. If you don’t have that sense of purpose, impact and engagement, it’s tough and chances are you may end up failing or quitting prematurely not because your idea’s bad per se, but because you don’t push hard enough for it.