L Marks, a niche consulting firm that helps corporations foster closer ties with tech startups, has acquired fellow consultancy Inovo Group.

Much of L Marks’ work with its corporate clients focuses on setting up startup programs. A startup program is an initiative through which an established company provides assistance to emerging tech firms in the form of funding and technical support.

Often, such programs also offer other incentives to entrepreneurs. One particularly important incentive is the opportunity to make connections with fellow startup founders and other industry executives.

The rationale 

There are several reasons why a large corporation might hire a consultancy like L Marks to launch an in-house startup program. 

If implemented well, a startup program can help a firm build closer ties with emerging companies that have technologies complementary to its business plan. A smartphone manufacturer, for instance, might seek to loop more mobile camera startups into its ecosystem.  

In 2018, L Marks helped a division of BMW set up a startup program focused on U.S. tech companies. The U.K.-based consultancy has also worked with British Airways, financial giant Lloyd’s and other major corporations.

Complementary skillsets

Inovo Group, the consultancy that L Marks is buying, focuses on a different part of the market. It helps large corporations refine their product development processes and launch new offerings. 

Inovo Group’s clients include Fortune 500 companies like Nestle and Honeywell. 

Following the acquisition, L Marks plans to make Inovo Group’s know-how available to its clients. The Inovo Group team will work with the companies in L Marks’ customer base to develop new products and improve their internal business processes.

Besides broadening its consulting capabilities, the deal will also enable L Marks to grow its presence in the U.S. 

The U.K-based firm first expanded into the U.S. 4 years ago when it opened a branch in Columbus, Ohio. The acquisition of Inovo Group, which operates out of an office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will enable L Marks to ramp up its stateside business expansion efforts.

“Combining Inovo’s scientific expertise and twenty years of experience with our proven innovation capabilities will increase the value we can deliver to our corporate partners and cement our footprint in North America,” commented L Marks CEO Daniel Saunders. 

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