Why did ARAMARK sponsor Philly Startup Weekend?: a Fortune 500 pitch

Maybe we’ve served you food at a ball game. Or sold you a meal plan at college. Or even just drove past you on the street with one of our many large trucks.

You know our name and you’ve seen us around. But why in the world did ARAMARK sponsor the recent Philly Startup Weekend during Philly Tech Week?

ARAMARK’s a Fortune 500 global company, headquartered in Center City, that provides services in food, facility, and uniforms.

I get it: big services corporations and tech innovation can easily seem more oil and water than milk and cookies. And you don’t need a bunch of tired clichés to know why.

A lot of big, successful corporations have been around for decades upon decades and have done something right by standing the test of time and serving their various stakeholders well. It was innovation that helped bring them to prominence, but new and innovative digital technology isn’t one of the main focuses that drives large services companies like ARAMARK.

Tech innovation, on the other hand, is built upon a burning desire to disrupt the marketplace. It’s usually developed to knock the giants off their perch and level the playing field.

But companies and innovation don’t have to exist separately or in their own vacuum. For starters, large companies today can’t just sit back and wait for their chickens to hatch. Corporations like ARAMARK need digital and technology innovation and the creative minds that develop it to enable success in the era we now live in.

It’s not always that simple, of course. But we’re learning.

Over the past couple years, we built a digital center of excellence to collaborate and share information among our marketers and social leaders. It was a huge leap – getting people to talk to each other and pass along shining examples of what has worked – and what hasn’t. Peers learning from peers. We also built a detailed training program and routinely create timely resource guides to ensure people are up-to-date on the always-changing digital landscape. When we work together, we can all get smarter – and be more innovative.

ARAMARK isn’t a big technology solutions company. But our mission focuses on people and using innovation and technolgy in the right ways that help our clients and customers, as well as the world around us. That’s a philosophy that makes sense for everyone.

We had a great time sponsoring the forward-thinking innovation that was developed at Philly Startup Weekend. We provided food and drinks during the event, but also walked around to meet the people behind all the incredible ideas and development. It’s tremendous to see people making a difference and pushing the needle forward.

We’re excited about finding more opportunities to bring together big companies and big ideas to work together in equaling a bigger tomorrow.