psugar

It really is true. Look at the medical "startup" Walmart partnered with. They've been around for more than ten years.

I'm sure they're cheap. The problem with "going big or going home" is that in many cases you are going home. The one thing I've learned is that in the vast majority of cases, the market moves much slower than you expect.

If you find yourself in the case of a market moving faster that's usually the problem to have....then you hire and spend like a maniac but it doesn't matter because if the market is truly moving that fast you're making money hand over fist.

The problem comes when you are spending like that and the market isn't growing that fast.....then you flame out.

As always great post. On footnote 4 where you say being cheap and iterating are almost the same but the reason why they are not is markets move.

I would point out that sometimes they move away from you (competitors come in, new ideas, etc)

BUT, sometimes they move towards you, and that is the classic where the media says "they were an overnight success" but you see they had been working at it for ten years.