Do you know what the biggest difference between a startup and an established organisation is?
Startups can pivot.
Being a startup and having a small organisational structure allows you to adapt and react to market changes, feedback and innovations.
There are very very few large organisations that can shift their entire organisation when needed. This is why some organisations die and others continue to thrive regardless of how the world around them changes.
When an organisation is set up to run and service its customers in a particular it becomes very difficult to disrupt the established model and create a new business. They can be great an R&D but fail to capitalise on it unless it’s complementary to their existing business.
It is for this reason that:
- Kodak invented the Digital Camera and made money from the patent but didn’t become “The Name” in digital cameras
- IBM was the king of computers selling mainframes until the ’80s
- Sony created a Digital Walkman but was unable to leverage their “Walkman” brand and compete
These organisations could invent something revolutionary but failed to capitalise on it because of the way their businesses were set up.
Putting IBM in the spotlight, they were structured to strike multi-million dollar deals with branks and extremely large organisations to purchase room size punch card calculating machines, then room-sized computers. When the Personal Computer revolution came about in the 80’s they were unable to adapt and start selling individual “appliances”.
As a startup, you have the greatest advantage on your side, your ability to pivot and adapt to the challenges ahead of you.
What will you do when you’re faced with a challenge?
