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.
