This is part four of a series we are doing on David vs. Goliath and battling giants. I will talk about how startups can compete against the FAANG companies and other major, well-funded, legacy competitors. The FAANG are Facebook FB, Amazon AMZN, Apple AAP, Netflix NFLX; and Alphabet/Google GOOG.
Click here for part 1
Click here for part 2
Click here for part 3
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."
George S. Patton
The Fourth Powerful Secret to Battling Giant Competitors - Speed
"He (Goliath) had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels (about 125 pounds or about 58 kilograms); on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels (about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms.)
Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
Samuel 17
David was small, fast, and not weighed down by heavy armor or weapons. Goliath was large, slow and carrying a lot of weight.
Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
Samuel 17
David was small, fast, and not weighed down by heavy armor or weapons. Goliath was large, slow and carrying a lot of weight.
This is my favorite way to compete with large companies. Speed is a huge advantage when battling giant, large competitors. Startups can launch a business concept the day the founders hear about it. No approvals, meetings, bureaucracy, or oversight. You can just do it!
How to Grow Your Business Fast
-Focus on driving cash - Build systems and process that keep cash flowing in. No cash = no business. Investment dollars, loans, or revenue can meet this requirement.
-Be ready to pivot - Don't fall in love with any ideas until you found a winning formula. Giants have the resources and time to over-commit to bad ideas. You must change early and often until you find the winning formula. YouTube was a video dating site. Twitter was a podcasting network. Flickr was an online role-playing game.
-Establish meaningful milestones - Meaningful means milestones that will either attract investors or create revenue. It's tough to grow when you do not have a target. Picture bowling blindfolded. Tough to hit the target (bowling pins) when you do not know where to aim.
-Manage risks - Create situations where you have unlimited upside and minimal downside. That way if a situation is under-performing you do not need to worry about abandoning it for better opportunities.
-Focus on win-win situations - When you create win-win situations, everyone has incentives to keep making progress
One of My Favorite Stories About Speed
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded Instagram in a San Francisco co-working space in 2010. With only 13 employees, Instagram grew to 30 million users by 2012. Instagram was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. Now that is fast!
Are you looking for investors for your business, contact us today, funding@omegaaccelerator.com.
Are you interested in angel investing and helping us fund early-stage businesses? Email info@OmegaAccelerator.com.
Sources and Links
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/07/02/the-7-greatest-pivots-in-tech-history/
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+17&version=NIV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Instagram
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/companies-startups-unicorn-1-billion-valuation-record-time.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/07/19/how-to-build-your-dream-team-and-grow-your-company-fast/#664e1cf54845
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7690-rapid-business-growth-tips.html
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RenCarlton
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxQWgUDlPJo0IHCIa6SzrQ
https://omegalegacyacceleratorx.com/924-2/https://www.facebook.com/TheOmegaAccelerator/
https://www.instagram.com/omega.funding/
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/funding-session-with-ren-carlton.html
Disclaimer: This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service. We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice. Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties. All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/07/02/the-7-greatest-pivots-in-tech-history/
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+17&version=NIV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Instagram
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/companies-startups-unicorn-1-billion-valuation-record-time.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/07/19/how-to-build-your-dream-team-and-grow-your-company-fast/#664e1cf54845
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7690-rapid-business-growth-tips.html
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RenCarlton
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxQWgUDlPJo0IHCIa6SzrQ
https://omegalegacyacceleratorx.com/924-2/https://www.facebook.com/TheOmegaAccelerator/
https://www.instagram.com/omega.funding/
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/funding-session-with-ren-carlton.html
Disclaimer: This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service. We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice. Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties. All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.
