Netscape, whose Netscape Navigator mainstreamed web browsing and whose IPO kicked off the dot-com boom, was forced to sell itself off to AOL. No tech is a substitute for poor business model. Technology innovation is a key factor in retaining the gains produced by business model innovation. Ideally, you design your business model innovation before you start your company. Finally they downshift to classic scale-up growth when the company is an established industry leader.Īt Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin built great search algorithms, but it was their innovations to the search engine business model – specifically considering relevance and performance when displaying ads rather than simply renting space to the highest bidder – that drove their massive success. Then they relax down to fast scaling as the business matures. They’ve gone through classic startup-growth while establishing product/market fit, then shifts into blitzscaling to achieve critical mass and market dominance ahead of the competition.

Google, Facebook, AirBNB, Uber all have done it. If you get it early and start getting feedback and your competitors don’t’, then you’re on the path to success. Speed Over Efficiencyīlitzscaling prioritize speed over efficiency in the face of uncertainty. And good reviews can spread in an instant online, so a strong product can quickly attract a big audience.

Product cycles have dropped from yearly to weekly and daily. User feedback comes in a constant stream of data. Many companies have gone through their own big growth spurts, so there’s lots of examples to learn from. There’s a rich ecosystem of service providers and outsourcing companies to support rapid growth. Even a few months of hesitation can mean the difference between leading and chasing. The window for action can be tiny and it can close quickly.

Blitzscaling reid hoffman