Prehype is a venture development firm. Prehype has offices in New York City, London, Copenhagen, and Rio de Janeiro, and was founded by Henrik Werdelin in September 2010.[citation needed] In addition to venture management services, the firm provides angel investments and access to a network of talent including entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, and developers.[4][5][6][7]

Prehype
IndustryVenture Innovation
FoundedNew York City (September 1, 2010 (2010-09-01))
FounderHenrik Werdelin[1][2][3]
ProductsBusiness incubation
Websiteprehype.com

Incubation services

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The firm's primary line of services involves incubating new startup companies from within large corporations.[4][5][7][8] With an infrastructure of entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, and developers, Prehype facilitates the incubation process by allowing executives, referred to as intrapreneurs, to build new products and ventures with a handpicked external team.[4][7] Prehype pulls these entrepreneurs out of the company for a period of 1–4 weeks and coaches them in bringing a business idea to life.[4] Following this period a new venture is created with a timeline of three months for most projects. Prehype follows up by helping companies receive customer feedback within 100 days of the new product's launch.[4] Prehype charges a fixed management fee, but makes its profits via a shared upside if the project is successful.[5][9]

The incubation process serves several purposes, the first of which is to retain talent within an organization while allowing employees to function like entrepreneurs, potentially leading to a successful new business.[4][5] The second goal is to foster a mutually beneficial environment in which the cultures of big companies and startups can learn from one another.[4][7][10]

After launch

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Upon the completion of a Prehype project, the company that has contracted the firm's services is given the choice to internalize or spin out the new product as a stand-alone startup.[5]

Noteworthy projects

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BarkBox

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Prehype partnered with Matt Meeker and Carly Strife in September 2011 to develop a new business called BarkBox.[8][11] The Prehype incubated business is a subscription service that delivers monthly boxes of dog products to pet owners.[8] With a model similar to Birchbox, BarkBox collaborates with local vendors to provide products like treats, accessories, and gadgets.[8][12]

References

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  1. ^ "Bringing David and Goliath together: Inside Unilever's startup incubator". Digiday. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  2. ^ Myers, Courtney Boyd (2011-05-21). "Prehype helps corporations innovate like startups - TNW Entrepreneur". The Next Web. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  3. ^ Werdelin, Henrik. "Henrik Werdelin". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Christa Avampato (August 16, 2012), Prehype Uses Collaboration to Bring Startup Culture to Big Companies, PBS.org, retrieved November 19, 2013
  5. ^ a b c d e Courtney Boyd Myers (May 21, 2011), Prehype: an incubator that helps corporations innovate like startups, The Next Web, retrieved November 19, 2013
  6. ^ Ron Finberg (August 15, 2012), World's First Forex Hackathon, Forex Magnates, retrieved November 19, 2013
  7. ^ a b c d Ben Popper (April 22, 2011), Prehype Spins Start-ups Out of Big Companies, Then Sells it Back to Them, BetaBeat, retrieved November 19, 2013
  8. ^ a b c d BarkBox launches a monthly subscription service for dog lovers, The Next Web, December 2, 2011, retrieved November 19, 2013
  9. ^ Courtney Boyd Myers (May 29, 2011), Why New York City's tech scene is thriving, The Next Web, retrieved November 19, 2013
  10. ^ Courtney Boyd Myers (November 5, 2011), Lessons from 12 New York entrepreneurs after a year in the business, The Next Web, retrieved November 19, 2013
  11. ^ Saya Weissman (August 13, 2012), Building the Brand: BarkBox, Digiday, retrieved November 19, 2013
  12. ^ Stacy Jones (November 11, 2013), ARE YOU A DOG OWNER OR A DOG PARENT? THIS CEO WANTS TO KNOW, Fast Company, retrieved November 19, 2013