What happens when your hot startup turns out to be in a commodity market?
According to Danny Crichton at TechCrunch two of the hottest startups of the last five years, Box and Square may be finding out.
You can make good profits out of a commodity operation – supermarkets around the world have shown you can earn good money from 2c profit on every can of baked beans you sell – but it’s hard work and it’s definitely not glamorous.
It’s also not particularly attractive for investors looking for the next big thing and commodity businesses struggle to justify the massive burn rates
The truth for most startup businesses is this is as good as it gets; no billion dollar buyout, no adulation from the tech press and no buying a yacht to rival Larry Ellison’s. Just a decent return from hard work.
While many of us blinded by the billion dollar success stories of Facebook, Google and Amazon, it’s worthwhile considering that most successful businesses are far more modest ventures.