Market Evaluation: The Company is allowed to “borrow” some of the strategic partner’s goodwill.
Technical Assistance: The larger partner is likely to have marketing, IT, finance, and HR departments – all of which a start-up may “loan” or use at a discounted rate.
Overall Business Advice: As part of the investment, the strategic partner is likely to join your board of directors. Remember that they’ve been in charge of a much larger and more successful company in your industry, so their insight and guidance will be invaluable.
A strategic partner still has their own firm to operate; therefore they are unlikely to be heavily involved in the start-up’s day-to-day operations. Check-ins on your business regularly, such as monthly or quarterly, are usually sufficient.