TIP OF THE WEEK: If a gorilla is sitting in your space, find a different place to start your startup

Are you thinking about doing a better social networking service, or improved search, or an e-book offering more for authors?

That is a common starting point for an entrepreneur: better, improved, more are the operative words.

But those ideas are aimed at a seat occupied by a very large gorilla: Facebook, Google and Amazon. If you try to join them in the space they dominate, they will merely move their hulk a millimeter and crush you. In fact, they don't have to move at all. They are more likely to ignore you and enjoy watching you starve to death.

When a gorilla has arrived, that means the battle is over. End of war. From here on, attackers don't stand a chance. Head-on attacks with faster-quicker-better-cheaper end in carnage, blood all over the street.

Serial entrepreneurs avoid attacking gorillas. Instead, they move around them, into an uncontested space. That is a flanking competitive maneuver. It wins them a chance to become the gorilla of a new space that does not yet have a gorilla seated in it. Wow! That is exciting!

BOTTOM LINE: Avoid gorillas. Do not provoke them. Find a new space not yet occupied by a gorilla. Plan to become the new gorilla in the new space. That opportunity will be very attractive to investors, employees and bloggers. Using the flanking strategy is what serial entrepreneurs do to win, again, big time. When you understand that, you'll be well on your way to creating a great unfair advantage.

Comments

[John Nesheim]

Rodrigo, you are close to understanding the secret. MySpace focused on a new category "creating a personality" and became the gorilla of that category. Facebook saw a different opportunity in a new category lacking a gorilla, "social networking." Frendster was the pioneer and got the arrows in their back. Facebook was "first to get it right" and became the gorilla of 2-dimensional social networking (3DSN is starting in Asia).

Yahoo focused on the new category "portal" and became its gorilla. Google focused on the new category "search" and became its gorilla.

Amazon focused on the new category "books on-line". Barnes & Noble was gorilla of "chain bookstores".

Note how a gorilla of a new category fails to become the automatic gorilla of a different new category. Test your history on Microsoft. Then do Yahoo. And watch Google.

BOTTOM LINE: When studying startup history, be extra careful when picking your market categories. That will keep you from making errors. It will reveal the light in the darkness.

[Rodrigo Mazzilli]

John, as much as I agree to this advice in general, many start-ups became huge business by ignoring gorillas.
Facebook was a startup when MySpace.com was the gorilla.
Google was a startup when Yahoo! was the gorilla. Amazon.com also could have been crushed by Barnes&Noble.
The truth is, technology industry is very dynamic and if you have a better technology, focus and the right team, you can compete too, although generally it's not recommended.
That's the Innovator's Dilemma at work!