We seem to have, today, an unparalleled explosion in young, new companies, pioneering new products or ways of doing business, and thereby disrupting seemingly invincible pillars of our economy through explosive growth — commonly called startups. How is this possible?

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Startups face a seemingly impossible challenge: they seek to build successful businesses from nothing. To do so, they need products that are so much better than alternatives that customers choose to use the new products, despite the lack of any brand recognition. These products need to be built on a shoe-string budget (at least initially), and quickly, by a team of founders that are working with limited resources, limited structures and few established commercial relationships. How can this ever work? Why don’t bigger companies, with access to all the same new technologies, lots of resources and skilled staff, a brand, and sales and marketing teams, win every time?

The answer often comes down to two things: startups have a completely crazy idea that actually works, and/or they are unreasonably good at something.

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