Really glad to see this here. I have seen so many stories about small companies being destroyed by a large company that they feel they must close a deal with.
I would love to see a lot more articles about the pitfalls of a new company investing too much in landing a big client and all that can go wrong with it. I regularly see questions on HN where a small company is basically under the thumb of a larger one and asking for advice on how to be even more of a doormat. They imagine they can't say no. They imagine if they are sufficiently cooperative they will finally have it made in the shade. The reality is they are often well on their way to going from frying pan to fire.
I think this is a huge, huge pitfall that small companies face. There needs to be a great deal more education, not only about the fact that this is a serious problem, but also about how to cope more effectively with large clients while you are still a small fry. So many new companies feel thrilled and flattered when a large company takes interest in them when they really ought to be much more concerned about the ways this can go badly for them.
There is an African saying: When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. Far too many small companies fail to recognize that behemoth companies are threatening to trample them under foot. It is the business version of "winning the lottery."
I would love to see a lot more articles about the pitfalls of a new company investing too much in landing a big client and all that can go wrong with it. I regularly see questions on HN where a small company is basically under the thumb of a larger one and asking for advice on how to be even more of a doormat. They imagine they can't say no. They imagine if they are sufficiently cooperative they will finally have it made in the shade. The reality is they are often well on their way to going from frying pan to fire.
I think this is a huge, huge pitfall that small companies face. There needs to be a great deal more education, not only about the fact that this is a serious problem, but also about how to cope more effectively with large clients while you are still a small fry. So many new companies feel thrilled and flattered when a large company takes interest in them when they really ought to be much more concerned about the ways this can go badly for them.
There is an African saying: When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. Far too many small companies fail to recognize that behemoth companies are threatening to trample them under foot. It is the business version of "winning the lottery."