Goliath Has Weaknesses- Exploit them!

As a Venture Capitalist who has been on the Microsoft Venture Capital Partner Advisory Committee for several years, I am a bit sad to see the recent press on innovation issues at Microsoft.

That said, I wrote a blog series several years ago on How David can Beat Goliath, as my view has always been that smaller companies are better positioned to win many markets. One post in particular, relating to exploiting the innovation issues at large companies seems to apply particularly well to the issues that the writers are pointing out.

I wrote the How David can Beat Goliath series to help expansion stage companies realize that they have some unique advantages against the large companies that can be exploited if Goliath’s weaknesses are turned into David’s strategic goals, driven through David’s management system, and well executed. The points and ideas are timeless and the current Microsoft example is a good one.

As a venture capital investor in expansion stage companies, I love the opportunity to help companies take on certain existing product markets that are currently owned by large companies, as the price points are generally healthy, products are generally dated, and business development strategies can be developed and executed to take market share from the Goliaths. Take a look at the series, as it might spark some good ideas.

Goliath has weaknesses- Exploit them!

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Founder & Partner

As the founder of OpenView, Scott focuses on distinctive business models and products that uniquely address a meaningful market pain point. This includes a broad interest in application and infrastructure companies, and businesses that are addressing the next generation of technology, including SaaS, cloud computing, mobile platforms, storage, networking, IT tools, and development tools.
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