Peter Thiel Investor, Facebook
“Look for platforms that are big among small businesses, not consumers... companies that provide a product, service or platform to small and medium-sized businesses.”
- Removes the winner-takes-it-all model, reduced threshold for making an investment, limiting downside
- Most large, and older, software players focus on the ‘enterprise’ model, selling complex, on-premise software for extremely high prices using large sales forces... these products and distribution models do not work well for SMBs
- Opportunity for easy-to-use, on-demand, pay-as-you-go SaaS applications
- Bet online... SMBs understand being online is and will increasingly play a role in success
- Not as sexy, less competition
NOTES:
- SMB are historically resistant to change
- To convince them, a product must be “a quantum step better”
- “Single lowest hanging fruit in the US” is is process automation
- First step is automation is getting everything on a single platform
