LEADERSHIP
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“ We want to bring together the expertise of our company with the spirit and passion of these early-stage companies ”
— Daniel Grubbs , Managing Director at PepsiCo Ventures Group
startups ? As well as having a real passion for what they do , Grubbs underlines the value of creating a network of employees and mentors who foster creativity and ingenuity . “ I think it ’ s really important that startups surround themselves with people , inside and outside of the company , who bring a lot of different perspectives ; people can provide different counsel and advice . A lot of times , this isn ’ t something that you can do on your own . It ’ s a joint effort and there ’ s a lot of experience and guidance to be found .”
PepsiCo has a clear idea of what makes a successful brand and it ’ s got the figures to back it up : it ’ s now the third largest food and beverage company in the world and last year 22 of its brands generated more than US $ 1bn in estimated annual retail sales . Now a month into its North American Greenhouse Accelerator , Grubbs asserts that the startups involved will really benefit from working with people who ’ ve been in their shoes . “ Through the accelerator , we ’ re trying to understand where startups are at on their journey :
DECEMBER 2018