Big Company vs Startup

Read Will Price's post on Large Companies - New Equation of Big Company Behavior. I generally agree with all of the points Will makes in his post but that is not the entire truth. My two bit, obvious as it may be, is that Will's entrepreneur friend certainly appears to be prone to making sweeping generalizations about large company behavior.

Startups ultimately succeed because they fit into the big company ecosystem--most of the exits these days are acquisitions by big companies, not IPOs. Big companies have unique advantages like economies of scale, supplier relationships etc, which enable them to profitably innovate in certain areas. Therefore, it boils down to what you want to do; P&G is the place to be if you care about developing, and marketing to the masses. On the other hand, Justin.TV is certainly a startup ;-) My point is that they encourage completely different risk profiles.

Large American tech companies have had a rich culture of innovation. The two most popular devices to have reached the hands of millions-ipod and RAZR-were both innovations from large corporations. Based on all accounts I have heard from my friends at Google, they are doing every bit they can to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit among their employees. It is therefore simplistic on Will's entrepreneur friend's part to associate smart people exclusively with startups. I would also argue that big companies have picked up the pace recently, when it comes to innovation and other go-to-market efforts.

Entrepreneurship certainly has made people rich (and added real value to the world) but I like to see that balanced out with other opportunities. See the FT article: "Smart companies take on 'intrapreneurial' spirit" from July 2005. Search link here.