Why Corporates Don’t Understand Your Hustle

Startups live in survival mode. Every hour, every FTE, every euro spent has to justify itself. Large corporations? Not so much.

I remember a meeting with a corporate partner where we had spent weeks preparing a customized demo and proposal. When I gently nudged for feedback, they replied: “Oh, we haven’t gotten around to looking at it yet. We’ve been swamped with internal planning.”

I was stunned. From our side, this was a major investment — in time, tech, and team capacity. From theirs, it was just… a file sitting in their inbox.

👉 Corporates rarely think in terms of opportunity cost.They don’t see that their delays or indecision are costing you. Because for them, there’s no FTE impact. No personal burn rate.

💡 Here’s how you can reframe the conversation:

✅ Quantify your ask — "We’ve allocated 2 FTEs for this over the next 3 weeks..."

✅ Highlight your timeline — "To deliver by Q3, we’d need feedback by [date]..."

✅ Show commitment — "We’ve turned down two other pilot requests to prioritize this..."

✅ Make delays visible — "We can hold this slot until [date] — after that, we’ll need to reassign the team."

You’re not whining. You’re managing expectations.And showing that your time is valuable too.

💡 If you want help getting your value across on a corporate timeline — before you run out of yours — reach out.