Comments
Going after the Big Fish
Does anyone else think that small New Zealand business are often too focused competing with each other for the ‘sprats’ to think about combining forces to go after the Big Fish? I’ve had several conversations recently about how we are too busy ‘protecting’ ourselves from each other in our little pond to think that there is a massive ocean out there and we’d need to band together to flourish in it.
Enough of the metaphor but I’ve had a few conversations recently on the topic and think we kind of need to think of ourselves as divisions of a much larger company ‘Brand NZ Technology’. Tim Copeland from Silverstripe was talking at one stage about informally grouping a bunch of similar minded, slightly different service providers together and start anything from discussing ideas to making a joint marketing push in international markets.
I think it’s a brilliant idea. We’re all, in our own way proving how competitive we are individually, I’d be keen to see what we could do together. Anyone else?
Hello, my name is Natalie, I have a business called 
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
A grand idea if you’re not an Oil company and then it becomes – some word I’ve forgotten but is illegal and makes governments get angry.
And of course, if you’re not invited “into the gang” there could be some tension.
I like the principle – we’re small, let’s be mates and be bigger.
What if Silverstripe get very big very quickly, will they “need” to or will they find that they just don’t have the time or the need anymore?
Gosh, I sound like little Ms Negative … I’m not really … I do think it’s a grand idea IF it’s open and everyone plays by the same rules all the time.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 am
@Mike I think the word you’re looking for is Cartel. Illegal in most countries except for when countries (instead of Companies) do it like, say, OPEC or, say, Europe?
Not sure if this is a cartel, though, because all the companies would be in different businesses and don’t exactly have dominance of the market ! ;-) (mores the pity to some).
My only comment is that whilst I understand why everybody wants to go after the big fish (more money!) i also try to deal with companies the same size as my own (ie small) just so they don’t keep running off hunting the big game and forget about little old me in the rush.
On the subject of small working with small – here’s another reason. Once upon a time I was part of a group set up to help NZ companies operating in NYC work together. Something did eventually come out of it but the first couple of meetings were pretty.. interesting.
Everybody from a director of Commonwealth bank to a chap from a one-person company called ‘Down Under Pies’ (hey, it sounds like a good idea for a business in the states!) trying to find ways to ‘work together’. So a real huge mix of different sizes. I exchanged a few business cards, with a couple of what seemed reasonable prospects.. but when I followed up, and found myself in meetings with Philip Morris and a fellow kiwi who had the agency (Advertising) contract for Coca Cola and was looking to get a little (ie a couple of million dollars of) work done I realised that my little software vendor company (about 80 people) from NZ just really wasn’t going to be able to do business easily with companies in a different league – just a question of everything from RFP’s to after work drinks being done in a different way.
Don’t get me wrong, going after bigger fish than you are is a great idea, and a local vendor, say with 10 people, can easiyl do business with, say, Telecom, in certain contexts, but there are important cultural differences to how everything is done… so it can be a learning experience!!
(Sorry for the huge rant hopefully not *too* off topic).
Best of luck with the bear hunting.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:34 am
Ha ha yeah I think ‘Big Fish’ can mean many things to many people.
I wasn’t thinking quite yet of forming a Cartel (I think it’s funny that Mojo calls themselves Mojo Coffee Cartel), but more of an informal group of small companies who help each other out.
More like if someone comes to me from overseas with something I can’t do, I could pass it on to others who can and we would all be happy working together not AGAINST each other.
I know what you mean about expectations and I think everyone’s would be slightly different, so I think maybe I was more talking about attitude – having an attitude of support rather than competition. Maybe that’s all it was.
But your talk of cartels got me thinking… ;)
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
@Miles, “Cartel” – that’s the chap, thanks!
@Nat, Mojo Coffee Cartel – yep, always made me smile. Maybe it’s a very long term business plan – when (which, of course is likely to be never) they do form a coffee cartel they can claim that, “It’s just a name, silly!” ;-)
Not sure if this is a cartel, though, because all the companies would be in different businesses and don’t exactly have dominance of the market ! ;-) (mores the pity to some).
Not now … but that’s when everyone’s all hunky dory with it all and think it’s just a great idea and a bit of a lark. Then, when it works …
April 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I think having a common branding can really give NZ IT a sustainable competitive advantage, as long as when people see the (undiluted) brand, they think immediately of quality innovative solutions that are customer focused. Think ENZA and Fonterra, we’re great at getting a lot of small providers of products/services together, and banding together so we can realistically compete with the likes of multi-national giants. Great idea, I think it should happen.