Competition

Startups May Need To Partner With “Competitors” In Trying Times

When you are starting a company, you have challenges from so many different directions – competitors, customers, and even what we academics call the “macroenvironment” which is also known as the general climate for business. There are generally three types of environments:

1. Benevolent - everything is awesome and it’s easy to grow

2. Turbulent – there are a lot of changes going on, some good and some bad

3. Hostile – just like it sounds in that everything is hard and it seems like nothing is good

The macroenvironment occurs at multiple levels too – for all businesses, for specific industries, and even for specific companies. In the terminology of The Titanic Effect, it can also create hidden debts, or debtbergs, for the unsuspecting startup. Right now, the overall environment is pretty hostile for most businesses. The economic conditions combined with the pandemic create both turbulence and hostility. Now is a good time to look for coopetition opportunities.

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Know thy Competition

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Know thy Competition

You have to be aware of your competition in order to establish customer value and differentiate yourself. That premise applies even to books like The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertainties that Sink Most Startups. So, it’s time for us to take a look at our competition.

Most retailers are a bit of a “walled garden” in that they have lots of data they don’t share with the vendors whose wares they sell. This includes books. What we do know is which are the best-selling books in the categories of “startups,” “new business enterprises,” and “starting a business.” Of course, which specific books are in the top 3 to 10 do change over time. But for the last year, two books have held steady in the top 10, typically at #1 and #2. They are Peter Thiel’s Zero to One and Eric Ries’  The Lean Startup. So, let’s look at what makes our book different from these.