Apple is experiencing standout success as a company that tries to do it all…don’t be fooled, vertically integrated companies rarely succeed.
What are some up and coming companies that are doing well by staying focused?
- Twitter – open to the point of ridicule…they are already competing nicely with Facebook and critiques should realize that their success should also be measured and credited in comparison to all of the less open competitors that did not even get off the ground
- Wordpress – largest blogging platform…beating Google and other large players in this space
- Tesla – if they successfully implement the software API that they have talked about (things like dashboards created by 3rd party companies, acceleration/speed limits on new drivers…lame, but of interest to parents, and even self driving cars…could emerge as viable new businesses)
- Blippy – how have credit card companies, Amazon and paypal not realized this opportunity? Props to Amazon and ebay if they partner instead of competing with this company.
- Bedrock - new advertising product, turning the controls of Google’s debatable ad monopoly on their head
While these companies are small, they each are great examples as they are solving a narrow set of challenges in a space with near limitless growth potential. I look forward to watching them evolve, and HOPE that they stay independent.