14 COVER STORY 15 Helping European BIOGRAPHY Felix Staeritz co-author of Fightback: How To Win In The Digital Economy With Platforms, Ventures and Entrepreneurs , a new book being launched Corporates Punch in Davos, is a serial entrepreneur, investor and adviser. After building several successful companies from scratch, and ultimately, to IPO, he co-founded FoundersLane, the founders driven corporate venture builder, which helps corporate clients such as Sweden’s Vattenfall and Their Weight In The Germany’s Trumpf create new entities with the help of experienced entrepreneurs. Staeritz is a board member of the World Economic Forum’s Digital Leaders group and the initiator of Fightback a new movement which aims to bring together decision-makers to reshape Digital Era the world for a sustainable, digitally-enabled future. Q: In the Fightback book you and assets and Q:Europe seems Q: How can the Fightback movement make the investments that will be your co-author note that fewer than human to be further help? needed. broad experience in plat- 20% of the investments in digitization skills and behind than the forms and ventures. Examples include made by large companies in Europe expertise, and U.S. and China. FS: Fightback is a true call to action, Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest and in the U.S. have had any positive the networks, How can Euro- to fight back against inertia and the producers of electricity and heat. impact on financial performance platforms and pean companies old way of doing business. Instead, we FoundersLane connected them with once the cost of capital is taken into technologies fight back? want to enable business leaders to use entrepreneurs who helped them set account. Why do you think this is the that the digital the digital economy to their advantage up a decentralized, large-scale solar case? revolution FS: We have by leveraging three powerful strategic analytics business to generate expo- is making seen substantial tools – platform business models, digi- nential growth. We are also helping FS: On the whole, their initiatives available. The parts of tal ventures and the special skills of Trumpf, a German high tech company, have been limited to incremental problem, of the European tech entrepreneurs. Fightback is also transform into an integrated provider modernization of the core business, course, for the economy lag about sharing the best practices of of hardware, software and services. rather than radical transformation. incumbent behind because global entrepreneurs, academics and I am a very purpose- oriented guy The main problems include a rate of businesses is of an inability or corporate and digital leaders to actual- and I believe hybrid models that pair adjustment that is too slow, the false that they just unwillingness to ly get going. The movement brings entrepreneurs with big companies are assumption that adopting a range of can’t throw the see that yester- everyone together in order to identify very necessary. This approach – and digital tools and interfaces will be cards up n the day’s success the biggest topics and challenges our movement – is for companies enough to put things right and the air, walk offers no and then closely cooperate to take that don’t want to just think about failure to match digital initiatives with away from guarantees for joint action: which solutions, platforms the future but to act upon it and seize the necessary cultural and business their traditional sources of revenue tomorrow. The stage is set for a digital and ventures can be used to effec- opportunities offered by Digitization. model changes. and profit and bet the farm on their recession, home-grown and self-inflic- tively fight back. ability to pull it off and create an ted, caused by the hubris that has Q: How do interested companies join Q: The book talks a lot about the equally profitable and durable digital led our nations to ignore the radical Q: What is the relationship between the Fightback movement? platform business model and its platform business from scratch. And impact of digital transformation. But FoundersLane and Fightback? power to leverage new technologies, it’s not that easy to make the kind if the digital revolution poses threats FS: Our movement is just as dynamic economic and social trends and the of change that Apple, Amazon and it also offers solutions. Europe has FS: FoundersLane and Fightback are as digitization, so this is the right time hidden value of the abundant and Microsoft did and build the platform some 2000 world-leading specialist connected by a shared purpose. The to join Fightback, gaining valuable detailed data they generate. Why model into your strategy. Our research companies, with the advanced skills Fightback movement pursues the insights in order to benefit from digital haven’t more traditional companies shows that while there’s plenty of and knowledge to potentially lead the overall mission, and the book explains change. As a first step, on Fightback. adopted this model? awareness, interest and experimen- way once they have grasped digital. the reason why we have started Foun- com, you can learn about the latest tation, only 2% of established com- We are seeing some signs – especially dersLane: It provides the foundation developments and join online. Al- FS: The big opportunity for the incu- panies have effectively incorporated in recent months – of a new European for the daily operations and business though we are starting with Europe, mbent leaders in almost every sector a platform strategy into their overall determination to take the actions and there. the movement is open to established is the possibility of creating a hybrid plans for the future. So, there is a long make the investments that will be Established companies and govern- companies based elsewhere. Our goal business that successfully exploits way to go. needed. ments have amazing but untapped is to scale the movement in 2020. both existing strengths, physical assets and our entrepreneurs have