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Education

Instead of going it alone, fintech
startups are showing up with their
ideas, and banks are giving them
the platform, and the capital, to
leapfrog over their competition.

players whose combined efforts move the industry
forward in billions of tiny increments."

There's a long history of successful collaboration in the
payments industry, and it's for a good reason. It's faster
to grow a business when you tap into pre-existing
networks.

Second, choose a partner that complements your
core competency. You might choose to offer a certain
technology, or serve a certain industry. Connecting
with peers in forums or at networking events will help
you identify those connections that can work with you.

Finally, decide how to unwind the partnership should
either of you want to end it. For our partners, it's a no-
risk situation; they can end the partnership at any time.
But for partnerships with considerable assets involved,
starting with the end in mind will solve potential
issues.

Harvard Business Review contributors Adam
Brandenburger and Barry Nalebuff suggested in "The
Rules of Co-opetition," published in January 2021, that
settling on the scope and control of the partnership
from the beginning will harden up boundaries and
set up the partnership for success. "It's important to
structure any agreement in such a way that one side
doesn't become dependent on the other," the authors
wrote. "Otherwise, the dependent party may be backed
into a corner when it comes time to renegotiate the
deal—or distressed when the deal ends."

Whether you're ready to grow your network this year,
or just your net worth, lean into coopetition. If you're
ready to stand on the edge of innovation, coopetition
is like putting rocket fuel on your company's positive
ROI.

Tyler Kem is co-founder and president of Strike Tax Advisory, which
helps businesses discover and claim government-provided tax cred-
its and incentives available to them. Strike Tax helps SMBs compete
more efficiently while keeping jobs in the United States. For more
information, visit www.striketax.com.

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