Hey bootstrappers,

>> Big and bad versus lean and mean. 

Remember the movie Jurassic Park?

In one scene, the characters flee a Tyrannosaurus Rex in a jeep but ultimately fail to outpace it. 

While the chase is thrilling, recent studies suggest the T. Rex falls short of Usain Bolt’s top speed of 27 mph. Running any faster would have broken the poor creature’s legs. 😱

You’ve probably fallen victim to a similar misconception: How can a challenger unseat the market leader? They’re bigger, better funded, and dominate the market. 

But like the T. Rex, large enterprises are slow. With investors to please, they might not be as agile or responsive, and they've probably lost focus as their offering expanded. 

See an opportunity? 

This week’s founders did. They took on Google and other Silicon Valley heavyweights and emerged with multimillion-dollar businesses. 

Rather than compete, they identified where the incumbents were going wrong and fixed it. 

Think you could outpace your industry's T. Rex? 🦖

Devashish Mamgain’s chatbot failed because VC-backed alternatives dominated the market. Rather than compete, he iterated on Google’s alternative. Today, he earns $500,000 ARR.

If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Fix ‘em – This Founder Improved Google’s Chatbot Instead of Competing With VCs

“All of these companies are burning money to compete against each other, but the day they stop paying for ads their customer acquisition also stops. Because we are bootstrapped, we have spent a lot of time making our product self-serve.”

Marko Saric and Uku Taht believe you shouldn’t have to give up your data in return for Google’s “free” analytics. Their privacy-focused alternative makes nearly $1 million ARR.

Going Up Against Goliath? Learn How These Founders Created an Ethical Alternative to Google Analytics

“Five years ago, I was recommending Google products to my family and friends. I went from sharing these tips to thinking that maybe not everything Google does is good, as providing great experiences for their users has now become a second priority to them.”

Steve Anevski built a temp staff marketplace that outshines its biggest rivals in Silicon Valley because it employs people, not contracts them. Today, that’s worth tens of millions in revenue.

This Uber For Staffing Has Muscled Out Its Silicon Valley Competitors and Given Its Contractors Healthcare

“We’re a W-2 platform. For us, everyone is an employee and gets healthcare and traditional employee protections. Most other platforms hire their employees as contractors, which technically makes them illegal in the US.”

“Our competitors have raised huge amounts of venture capital from the beginning and I don’t see them doing anything better than we do. On the contrary, I think it’s much easier to get sloppy.”

 - Steve Anevski, Upshift

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