Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
Foreword by Bill GatesFrom the authors of New York Times bestsellers, The Alliance and The Start-up of You, comes a smart and accessible must-have guide for budding entrepreneurs everywhere.Silicon Valley is renowned for its striking number of businesses which have grown from garage start-ups into global giants; Apple, Cisco, Google, HP and Intel to name a few. But what is the secret to their outstanding success? Hoffman and Yeh explain that it’s simple: they’ve learnt how to blitzscale.Featuring case studies from numerous prominent tech businesses such as AirBnB and WeChat, this book offers a specific set of practices for catalysing and managing dizzying growth in bourgeoning start-ups. Prioritising speed over efficiency in an environment of uncertainty, Blitzscaling illustrates how businesses can accelerate to the stage in a company’s life cycle where the most value is generated. Using the framework provided by Hoffman and Yeh, readers will learn how to design business models which simultaneously support growth at a furious pace and capture the market, as well as how to navigate the necessary shifts in strategy needed at each level of scale.
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First published in the US by Currency, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York
This UK edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
FIRST EDITION
© Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh 2018
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Source ISBN: 9780008303631
Ebook Edition © October 2018 ISBN: 9780008303655
Version 2018-09-10
CONTENTS
Software Is Eating (and Saving) the World
The Three Basics of Blitzscaling
The Five Stages of Blitzscaling
The Three Key Techniques of Blitzscaling
Part II: Business Model Innovation
Designing to Maximize Growth: The Four Growth Factors
Designing to Maximize Growth: The Two Growth Limiters
Proven Business Model Patterns
The Underlying Principles of Business Model Innovation
Analyzing a Few Billion-Dollar Business Models
When Should I Start to Blitzscale?
When Should I Stop Blitzscaling?
Can I Choose Not to Blitzscale?
How Blitzscaling Strategy Changes in Each Stage
How the Role of the Founder Changes in Each Stage
Part IV: Management Innovation
Nine Counterintuitive Rules of Blitzscaling
The Never-ending Need for Change
Part V: The Broader Landscape of Blitzscaling
Blitzscaling Within a Larger Organization
Blitzscaling in Greater Silicon Valley
Other Blitzscaling Regions to Watch
China: The Land of Blitzscaling
Defending Against Blitzscaling
Part VI: Responsible Blitzscaling
Framework for Responsible Blitzscaling
Balancing Responsibility and Velocity as the Organization Grows
I’ve known Reid Hoffman for years. Our friendship started on my visits to Silicon Valley to meet with Greylock Partners, the venture capital firm where Reid is a partner, so I could learn about the companies they were investing in. I was always impressed by his sharp mind and brilliant business sense. Reid is famous for hosting long dinners where the conversation runs late into the night, and we’ve spent many meals breaking down the technology industry, analyzing the promise of artificial intelligence, and more. When Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella started talking about acquiring LinkedIn, I knew it would be an amazing fit.
Of all the things I’ve discussed with Reid, the most thought-provoking might be blitzscaling. It is an idea that applies to many different industries, as he and Chris explain in the last section of this book. But prioritizing speed over efficiency—even in the face of uncertainty—is especially important when your business model depends on having lots of members and getting feedback from them. If you get in early and start getting that feedback and your competitors don’t, then you’re on the path to success. In any business where scale really matters, getting in early and doing it fast can make the difference.
This is especially true for two-sided business models, where you have two user groups that create positive network effects for each other. For example, LinkedIn wants to attract people who are looking for work as well as employers who want to hire them. Airbnb wants guests looking for a place to stay as well as hosts with space to rent. Uber wants to attract drivers as well as riders.
And a software company with an operating system to sell wants app developers as well as end users. Microsoft definitely went through a blitzscaling phase (although we didn’t call it that at the time). We got on the learning curve early and were able to build a reputation as a serious company. We had an extreme culture of working hard and getting things done fast.
The ideas behind blitzscaling aren’t just for startups and scale-ups. They’re important for big, established companies too. The window for action can be tiny and it can close quickly. Even a few months of hesitation can mean the difference between leading and chasing.
