Essays on differentiation, building and growing startups.
Drive growth by doing the exact opposite of your competition
James Daunt’s first day on the job kicked off with a bang. His first task was to work out how to get his company out of an existential crisis. UK bookseller Waterstones had hundreds of physical stores and was investing heavily in its online presence. Threatened by...
How startups stand out from the competition by bundling and unbundling
When Jim Barksdale was preparing for his company to go public in 1995, he left a room full of bankers baffled as he finished his speech: “Gentlemen, there’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling.” And with that said, he left the room. ...
Communities: The next startup growth frontier?
Startups are struggling to find cheap acquisition channels. Communities may hold the answer as the next startup growth frontier
How Sotheby’s new acquisition strategy is starting to bear fruit
Sotheby’s is beating its competitor Christie’s in diversifying its customer base. Here is the growth loop strategy it’s pursuing.
Bismarck, Pirates and Labour: What politics can teach us about market positioning
Market positioning is not just for companies. Many facets of life can benefit from thinking about positioning, including politics. This is a dive into lessons learned over the past 150 years of politics. From German statesman Bismarck to the modern British Labour party.