You Don’t Need to Be First: How Tech Giants Like Amazon and Google Rose Above the Rest

The last time you searched for something on the internet, what service did you use? More than likely you used Google. Why didn’t you use Yahoo? Ask Jeeves? Or Go.com? How about any of the 20 other web search engines that existed before Google?

While you’re thinking about that, think about the 57 alternatives to Google that were founded since it’s inception in 1998, surely since they came later they must have improved on what Google was doing?

Why didn’t any of the 20 market pioneers claim the lion’s share of market search revenue up to five years before Google existed?

Mark Beeching, one of my partners at BGO, put it this way:

All throughout history you’ll find examples of industries that are dominated by companies that were not the first ones to invent the technology. They were the ones to reinvent it and innovate before everyone else.

The late, early adopters of technology, strategies, or platforms are the ones who learn from the mistakes of the ones that came before, and (like Google) make them better.

If we imagine the business world like a battlefield, the “late, early adopters” are the ones waiting in reserve behind the footmen involved in the initial charge. The late, early adopters see what happened before them, and adapt to the changing battlefield and use what resources are available to capitalize on the primary charge. 

Here are four companies that are prime examples of “late, early adopters”

Myspace, LinkedIn, Friendster, Bebo, Orkut. The list goes on and on. Before the age of Facebook, anyone could name two or three social media sites they were active on, with very few using the same ones. Today, it’s rare to find someone without a Facebook page.

Facebook saw that Myspace was rigid in it’s control of an uncontrollable market (the internet) and decided to let the users decide what they should do with the site. Business pages were created, Farmville took off, and your Facebook community began to imitate your real-world circle of friends. Facebook was a living directory, not the digital version of the white pages. It single-handedly forced everyone (Myspace included, the king of its day) to change their product offering completely. 

Amazon was not the first e-retailer. It’s not the leader in total sales worldwide.