Markus Bohl, Managing Director at Intel Ignite Europe, joined Fred Schonenberg on the The VentureFuel Visionaries podcast to talk about the Intel Ignite accelerator program and how it fosters genuine innovation. They discussed the value of corporate-startup collaboration, Intel Ignite’s equity-free program, and the transformative potential of deep tech.
Markus’ own personal experiences as a founder emerged many times throughout the conversation, as did the program’s innovation-centric model that prioritizes innovation and collaboration.
Intel Ignite’s Mission: Accelerating Breakthrough Startups
Intel Ignite’s overarching vision is to support early-stage startups in a range of deep tech sectors. Markus emphasized that the program is “by practitioners, for practitioners”, led by experienced mentors, offering expert guidance on commercialization and connecting startups with professional investors. This approach provides a mechanism to break great ideas out of academia.
Why Non-Dilutive Partnerships are Preferred
Fred was particularly interested in learning more about Intel’s equity-free model and what it means from Intel Corporation’s point of view. Markus explained that this model is crucial to the integrity of Intel Ignite’s deal flow, as well as its ability to have a real and lasting impact on the startups in the program.
Advice to Other Accelerators
In the episode, focus is placed on the importance of the founder mindset. As Markus put it, respecting founders’ time makes all the difference between “innovation theater” and genuine innovation. To be effective, any corporate innovation project should be super relevant, tailored to the specific needs of the startups involved.
Listen to the full conversation on the VentureFuel Visionaries podcast.
