David saw Goliath as a challenge he could master. Lee Poseidon’s been there, too. One of five venture partners at JumpStart, a nonprofit that provides support to local entrepreneurs, Poseidon has started, grown and managed several companies during his 25-year career, and he has a few tips for small companies looking to do business with large ones.

■ Prepare to partner. “Very large companies are risk averse,” Poseidon says. By partnering with a larger company, you might reassure them. A business Poseidon ran worked hard to secure a contract with General Motors, but the $8 million organization was small potatoes to the car manufacturer. “Their perspective was, Well, this is great, guys. We love what you do. But we have no confidence that you can go and deliver it because you’ve never done it before. So go find a partner to deliver it and come back. And we did.”

■ Check your ego at the door. “It helps to be willing to ask for help on the things you don’t know about,” he says. “There are people among us [at JumpStart] that have worked on multimillion-dollar deals and know the complexity and the cycle, the psychology, the time, the investment, that’s required to get them.” Take advantage of entrepreneurs who’ve been down the path already.

■ Don’t take “no” for an answer. “The one thing successful entrepreneurs have going for them, it’s perseverance,” Poseidon says. 

- Best Practices Toolbox - Entrepreneurship

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