Part 9/14:
Start Capital & Speed: Early entrants in the vertical space, like DataIQ or DataStax, have persisted over years and achieved multi-million-dollar valuations by focusing on niche markets and building strong GTM (Go-To-Market) partnerships.
Beachhead Strategy: Winning requires a focused entry point, leveraging domain expertise, and creating solutions that address immediate customer needs. For horizontal players, community building and early market adoption are crucial.
Innovation & Build vs. Open Source: While many companies build frameworks, proprietary algorithms—like Rean’s rerank technology—offer a competitive edge. Building on CPU hardware, as demonstrated by collaborations at Madras and others, reduces costs and improves scalability.