1. The Elephant and the Mosquito

A view of Coca-Cola 's headquarters in Atlanta.
Despite these differences in proportion, a surprisingly elegant medium was revealed: Startups are striving to scale -- something
2. When Agility Meets Scale
On the first day of our visit, Guy Wollaert, Coca Cola’s CTO, explained that “Gold is in the grey” and that real win-win situations can be achieved when companies transcend institutional boundaries and leverage their capabilities in new ways.The trip gave us an opportunity to explore this concept and have an open conversation with Coke about how small companies can work effectively with multinationals -- something that is highly relevant to our business. BaseStone is a tablet and Web-based collaboration tool for architects and engineers, and our customers are primarily large construction companies. We solve a very real problem for the industry, yet the (relatively) slow pace at which some of these large companies move can be a big challenge for a startup.
While speaking with one of Coke’s global innovation directors, we were given real insights into how large corporations assess software like ours in terms of security and risk, and the necessity of these measures. It is precisely these kinds of observations that help startups understand both how and, perhaps more importantly, why their large enterprise customers are slow-moving. So we were pleasantly surprised when Coke’s leaders and employees were interested in our perspective as a startup and how we achieve and maintain agility. These kinds of engaging, two-way conversations continued throughout the week and, as a result, have cultivated a deeper awareness of our common ambitions and potential for future work.
3. Laying Foundations

A photo of early Coca-Cola employees from the Coca-Cola Archives.
We were lucky enough to explore the history of The
We heard about how Coke had played its part in the economic and social developments of Atlanta. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Woodruff was prepared to move the company out of the state if Altanta’s business leaders refused to welcome Martin Luther King, Jr. after he won the Nobel Peace Prize. This kind of spirited conviction resonated with us, given our position as a startup striving to lead change in a traditional industry that is often reluctant to adapt.
On our visit to the Archives, we saw a remarkable photo of The
4. Coke’s Reach
Coke embraced our questions and curiosity. Far from shielding their “secret formula,” they opened up their book of contacts and insights at any opportunity to help us advance. We were astonished by the extent their global reach and influence.We learned about the construction and engineering work Coke leads all over the world, pushing their boundaries far beyond just the production of soft drinks. They constantly need to ensure that their bottling and manufacturing plants are the most efficient in the world, and also have charitable arms which help to build better futures for people in developing countries. All of which has sustainable and efficient engineering and construction at its core.
With
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