Letter from Boris: To compete, or not
A lot has been theorized and written about the advantages of having competition. No matter what field you’re in, surely you have competitors.
A competitor tends to be someone you compete with and thus is on the other side of the field. He’s the adversary, the opponent, the enemy. Competing is described as a fight, a war, or a conflict, and the logical conclusion is that there will be a winner. Competition is fierce and can be aggressive and confrontational.
I guess that can be the case in some instances. But in all my business dealings, I have rarely considered my competitors my enemies. I usually felt like the market for whatever I was trying to achieve was big enough for both of us. So, a competitor or another company doing a similar thing for a similar audience was primarily inspiring and interesting rather than a risk or danger.
At one of my earlier companies, I used to get together with the founder and CEO of my biggest competitor once a month and discuss our businesses. Hearing their approach to things was incredibly interesting, and I happily shared our strategies and successes. We took notes, and I always returned to the offices with fresh, new insights and ideas.
There’s a saying that “the rising tide lifts all boats,” which I’d happily share with anyone who felt like they were my competitors. If you're energized by competition, and you or your company thrives in a competitive environment, that’s great, but when given a choice, I’d rather have more friends than enemies.
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten Founder, TNW
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