Pilot purgatory
Free proofs of concept with no sponsor, budget or success criteria never become purchase orders.
A sponsor and budget agreed before the pilot starts.
Corporate innovation · Incubator as a service
Innovation. Pilots that become purchase orders.
Internal hurdles slow innovation down. Set the themes; we source startups or run a hackathon, prototype and pilot outside your org chart, and convert what works into contracts, products and ventures.
X · internal hurdles → ΔV · innovation teams on the fly → Y · contracts, products, ventures
Products · Business models · Customers
Pilot more than products: test new business models and new customer segments in market, without risking the core brand or pulling employees off their day jobs.
Why programmes stall
Most programmes die between the pilot and the contract.
Procurement built for large vendors
Turnover rules, guarantees, damages clauses and 120-day terms stop the best startups from bidding.
A pre-agreed fast-track from pilot to PO.
Value nobody can verify
Without baselines and finance sign-off, innovation is claimed, not proven — and the budget is cut in year two.
Six KPIs reported every quarter.
The model
Innovation teams on the fly.
You
Set 3–6 themes and name a sponsor for each.
Route A
We source 30+ vetted startups per theme.
Route B
Or run a hackathon for startups, students and developers.
Prototype or test
2–4 weeks on sandbox data or with real customers.
Pilot → contract
8–12 week pilot, then a purchase order — or a clean stop.
Innovation engine pages
Open the full innovation tools.
Corporate Innovation OS
72-point maturity audit. Every pilot tracked.
Maturity across 12 domains, themes and challenges, a scored startup pipeline, pilots and market tests against baselines, programme economics, build-vs-on-the-fly, incubator as a service, guardrails, a 12-month Gantt, the KPI scorecard and a board memorandum — saved in your browser, with Excel and PDF downloads.
Maturity audit
0%
Maturity score (assessed)—
Maturity levelNot assessed
Critical gaps0
GateASSESSMENT INCOMPLETE
Programme funnel
Screened
120
Shortlisted
36
Pilots
12
Contracts
4
Contract value ₹600L on a total investment of ₹126L — 4.8× — from the assumptions in Programme economics.
Theme mix
Product2 · ₹75L
Business model1 · ₹30L
Customer (ICP)1 · ₹20L
Startups by gate
G0 Problem approved1
G1 Shortlist1
G2 Pilot contracted0
G3 Pilot proven0
G4 Contract signed0
G5 Scaled0
KPI scorecard
Time to first pilotNot measured
Pilot-to-contract rateNot measured
Contract valueNot measured
Value realisedNot measured
Startup NPSNot measured
Ventures launchedNot measured
Priority gaps
No failed controls recorded yet. Run the maturity audit to find them.
Readiness diagnostic
Are you ready to pilot?
Record where you stand across six areas. The working brief shows what to fix before pilots can scale.
01
Thesis & motive
An approved innovation thesis, 4–6 strategic themes and a named P&L owner for each — product, business-model or customer themes.
02
Sponsorship & budget
A CXO sponsor, a business-unit sponsor per theme, a ring-fenced pilot budget and a scale-up budget line for pilots that work.
03
Procurement & legal fast-track
Startup vendor onboarding, pilot SOW, NDA, IP and data templates, and a pilot-to-purchase-order path without re-tendering.
04
Data, IT & security
A sandbox with test data, one security review reusable across pilots, API access and data-protection consent terms.
05
Pilot & test governance
Stage-gates with kill rules, success criteria fixed before kick-off, and guardrails for business-model and customer tests.
06
Value measurement
Baselines captured before pilots, value verified by finance, and a quarterly scorecard reported to the board.
What we offer
Strategy to scale. Eight offers.
Innovation Thesis Sprint
Decide why you engage startups, where, how and what success is worth — themes, sponsors, model, governance and scorecard.
4–6 weeks · fixed fee · board-ready charter and 12-month roadmap.
PilotXY venture client
Frame problems with a sponsor and budget, scout 30+ startups per theme, contract the pilot and convert it — or stop cleanly.
6–12 month retainer · success fee only when a pilot becomes a contract.
HackXY build challenges
Themed hackathons for startups, student teams and developers, with IP terms agreed at entry and pilot slots for winners.
48 hours to 2 weeks · 3–6 product, business-model or customer themes.
Corporate accelerator as a service
Your brand, our operating team: themed cohorts with 140+ hours of applied programming that end in pilots, not demo days.
12–16 week cohorts of 8–12 startups.
Incubator as a service
We design and run incubators for corporates, CSR programmes and universities — cohorts, mentors, lab-to-market and outcomes reporting.
Annual programme · outcome metrics published.
Corporate venture studio
Co-build new businesses with an operator that has built them, starting from ready platforms where they fit.
12–24 month build · fee plus equity.
CVC as a service
Thesis, deal flow, diligence and portfolio support for mid-caps and family offices without an investment team.
Retainer · advisory only; pooled vehicles need their own registration.
Innovation OS
One system of record for themes, startups, pilots, gates and verified value — on Salesforce and Databricks where you run them.
Annual licence · Essentials included with PilotXY.
Board-ready outputs
Contracts with owners. Not just cohorts.
- Innovation charter, themes and sponsor map
- Engagement model per theme: venture client, hackathon, accelerator, studio or CVC
- Procurement and legal fast-track with pilot SOW, NDA, IP and data templates
- Scored startup pipeline and pilot contracts
- Guardrails for business-model and customer tests
- 12-month programme plan with gates and dependencies
- Quarterly KPI scorecard and board memorandum
- Incubator design, funding mix and outcomes report
What we track
Time to first pilot
Days from problem sign-off to pilot kick-off.
Pilot-to-contract rate
Completed pilots and tests that become contracts or scale decisions.
Contract value
Value of contracts signed with startups, as a multiple of programme fees.
Value realised
Savings or revenue verified by finance within 18 months.
Startup NPS and ventures launched
How founders rate working with you, and new businesses built.
Targets and economics shown on this page are planning assumptions. Results depend on sponsors, data access, procurement and the startups selected.
Clear about what we do — and don’t.
StartupXY designs and runs innovation programmes, scouting, pilots and incubators, and coordinates the work with your teams. We do not guarantee pilot outcomes, contract values or returns. Startups never pay us for access to corporates. CVC-as-a-service is advisory; pooled investment vehicles, regulated financial products and BFSI or health market tests need the appropriate registrations and your compliance sign-off. CSR-funded incubators must meet Schedule VII and your CSR policy.
Frequently asked
Why not build it internally?
You can — but internal teams compete with day jobs, budgets and approvals. External teams prototype in weeks against a fixed theme, and you pay for what works. You still provide a sponsor, data access and one security review.
Can we test business models and new customer segments, not just products?
Yes. A startup or a separate test brand can run pricing, channel, subscription or new-segment tests in market, with guardrails for brand, regulation, customer data and cannibalisation agreed first.
How do pilots become contracts?
Budget and a business-unit sponsor are agreed before the pilot starts, success criteria are fixed at kick-off, and a procurement fast-track takes a successful pilot to a purchase order without re-tendering.
What is incubator as a service?
We design and run an incubator for you — a corporate, a CSR programme or a university — including cohorts, mentors, lab-to-market support and published outcomes, with a pipeline into your own pilots.
How do you get paid?
Fixed fees for the sprint and cohorts, retainers for programmes, and success fees tied to contracts signed. Founders never pay for access.
Start with 90 minutes. Keep your options open.
Bring your strategic themes, current startup engagements and procurement rules. We’ll show where pilots stall and scope an Innovation Thesis Sprint.