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Collaborations between established firms and startups are increasingly considered an ingredient of corporate strategy. This article describes a startup collaboration model that has emerged in practice, a model that complements today's predominantly used engagement vehicles of corporate accelerators and corporate venture capital. Startup supplier programs are outside-in programs that enable firms to get access to innovations that increase competitiveness of products or productivity of processes by engaging with startups based upon supplier relationships. This article presents empirical data from companies that have run successful startup supplier programs, and it explores the firms' reasons for implementing these programs, identifies key elements of startup supplier programs, and determines how firms can run them effectively.

Corporate accelerator programs-accelerators managed by or directly sponsored by one or multiple established firms-are becoming an integral part of startup ecosystems and an important startup engagement vehicle for established firms. Previous research focused either on independent accelerators or on corporate accelerator programs that one established firm operates internally. However, new accelerator models emerged recently, making the corporate accelerator phenomenon more diverse. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the different types of corporate accelerators, along with their objectives and characteristics in order for managers to better understand which type best fits their organization. Our insights on corporate accelerators emerged from secondary data and interviewees from companies and accelerator programs. We used these insights to categorize the programs into four corporate accelerator models that vary according to number of participants and the accelerator's management structure and explain how companies can select the right model for their objectives.