This Founder Took on Google–You Can Too

This Founder Took On Google--You Can Too - 1022 Inc Column Eren Bali Illo Gracia Lam 513907

I still remember how worried we were when my last company, Udemy, was a tiny education startup and Google announced Course Builder. It was like the worst-case scenario investors pose when you’re fundraising: What if Google takes your idea and launches a competing product? But here’s the thing: Course Builder went nowhere. Then came Google Help­outs, plus several attempts to monetize learning content on YouTube. None of those ever became a significant threat to Udemy.

It’s true that the Googles of the world have vast resources. But, as a founder who’s built two com­panies that have taken on enormous incumbents, I have some good news: Giant competitors–the Goliaths to your David–are far more vulnerable than we entrepreneurs assume. In fact, I’ve learned that we have some advantages against them.

For one thing, it’s a good bet your Goliath has already sold out its customers. Big companies spend years establishing market dominance by creating something that customers love. But when…

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This article was written by Eren Bali and originally published on www.inc.com