Microsoft – Sometimes You Need to Follow to Win

The tech industry is awash with startups – companies that enter a market with passion, energy, and  a tremendous pace of execution.  These “first-movers” lead the way, testing the market, and winning early adopters.

Other companies sit back, learn from the “first-movers,” and build on those original ideas with more refined “me-too” solutions.  These companies must differentiate and offer additional value to compensate for their tardy entrance to the market.

To be clear – both approaches have their merits.  First-movers should move first, and follower companies should follow. We do, however, take note when companies pivot between the first mover and follower mindset.

And this brings us to Microsoft.