The Big Guns Getting corporate investors on your side can certainly boost your business. Learn how corporate VCs think-and how to set your sights on landing one.
By David Worrell •
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It's a classic dilemma: How can you develop a great companyif you spend all your time raising money? For a lucky few, likeJohn Glossner and David Routenburg, there's one way to do both:Raise money from a VC who is also an important business partner andpotential customer.
Co-founders of Sandbridge Technologies Inc.in White Plains, New York, Glossner, 39, and Routenburg, 57, neededboth money and industry contacts to develop and launch their newwireless handset technology. The perfect fit? Siemens AG, an $80billion multinational corporation and a leading manufacturer oftelephone handsets.
Siemens was potentially both a large customer and a strong-armedpartner. Glossner and Routenburg knew Siemens was also a greatsource of corporate venture capital. Through the SiemensVenture Capital fund, Sandbridge got not only amultimillion-dollar check, but also something even more valuable:industry credibility.
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