How Established Brands Win with Startup Partnerships — Vileda & FacilityApps

Digital transformation demands fresh partnerships and an out‑of‑the‑box mindset. The collaboration between Vileda Professional, the home‑cleaning arm of Freudenberg, and FacilityApps illustrates a win‑win model that blends corporate strength with startup agility.

When we met with Vileda in December 2018 to advise on a digital transformation initiative, we saw the Vileda‑FacilityApps partnership as a benchmark for how large companies can co‑innovate with startups.

Recognize the limits and choose the right partner

Open innovation

Unlike the siloed, secrecy‑driven processes that have long dominated corporate R&D, open innovation embraces external knowledge from customers, suppliers, academia, and startups. It enables companies to accelerate problem‑solving and market relevance.

In 2014, Vileda realized that boosting the profitability of its core customer group—professional contract cleaners—required more than superior materials or improved cleaning methods. Managing remote workforces had become the critical lever for raising both efficiency and quality. The company’s strategy shifted toward digitizing paper‑based tasks, implementing digital cleaning plans, and embedding quality‑management processes.

FacilityApps offered a cloud‑based software platform that directly addressed these pain points. “They were the missing piece for us,” said Manfred Zielbauer, Director of Business Development at Vileda. “Their technical competence and agile development resources were exactly what we lacked.”

Unlock full potential through outside‑in innovation

Manfred Zielbauer

As the point person for the partnership, Zielbauer noted that Vileda’s initial culture was dominated by a “not‑invented‑here” syndrome. The clash between corporate stability and startup speed created uncertainty.

To overcome this, Vileda acknowledged its lack of in‑house IoT expertise and committed to viewing digitalisation as a new business opportunity. The result? A smart IoT solution that fuses sensor data, human input, and machine analytics to transform routine maintenance into a cleaning‑on‑demand service.

“Entering the software market opens up fresh revenue streams and requires new processes and insights,” Zielbauer added. “While partnership with an independent firm introduces some uncertainty, it also preserves the speed and agility we need.”

Best practice for corporate‑startup collaborations

Key takeaways from Vileda’s experience:

1. Start with a small, well‑defined pilot that poses low risk but offers clear benefits.
   • Limit the number of decision‑makers.
   • Allocate a dedicated budget for the pilot.
   • Agree on success metrics up front.
2. Assign key contacts on both sides to act as translators and mediators.
3. Secure top‑management commitment and set long‑term performance indicators.
4. Embrace the courage to experiment together; the payoff can be transformative.

Veronika Brandt

Head of Co‑Innovation at Bosch and leader of the Startup Harbour, Brandt co‑developed the IoT Business Model Builder—a framework that guides enterprises in crafting viable IoT offerings.

Open innovation at Bosch is taking shape

Bosch’s Berlin‑based Startup Harbour program illustrates how corporate units can co‑create with early‑stage startups. Business units define their collaboration needs, enabling the program to match the most relevant startups for each batch. Feedback from participants—both Bosch teams and external founders—has been overwhelmingly positive.

This text was co‑authored by Anna Hünemohr.

Learn more about the Startup Harbour