成長(zhǎng)期科技公司成功的4大秘訣
????每一個(gè)高科技創(chuàng)業(yè)公司成功站穩(wěn)腳跟的背后,總有無(wú)數(shù)倒下的身影。一些最天才的創(chuàng)業(yè)者止步于產(chǎn)品問(wèn)題,而另一些人雖然開(kāi)局喜人,但終究虎頭蛇尾,離目標(biāo)太遠(yuǎn)。其他人盡管可能成功上市,但卻無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)持續(xù)的增長(zhǎng),當(dāng)然最終也無(wú)法創(chuàng)造持續(xù)的價(jià)值。 ????實(shí)際上,市值超過(guò) 10 億美元的科技公司可能有好幾十家,而 100 億美元以上的科技公司則屈指可數(shù)。但成功者一定都有共同的特質(zhì),胸懷大志的創(chuàng)業(yè)者也應(yīng)努力學(xué)習(xí)現(xiàn)成的成功模式。 ????盡管公司經(jīng)營(yíng)會(huì)涉及方方面面的問(wèn)題,但根據(jù)奧卡姆剃刀原則,最簡(jiǎn)單的道路的確有助于集中力量辦大事。下面我們將論述生存的四大法則,當(dāng)然這遠(yuǎn)不是生存的全部,但如果您可以秉持這四大法則,您的公司將會(huì)成為長(zhǎng)期的贏家。 ????1.做好與做大同樣重要 ????很多初期非常成功的公司發(fā)現(xiàn),隨著規(guī)模的不斷擴(kuò)大,延續(xù)以前的成功將會(huì)越來(lái)越困難,而不是更加容易。有時(shí)人們發(fā)現(xiàn),以創(chuàng)始人為主導(dǎo)的初期銷(xiāo)售業(yè)績(jī)很難復(fù)制,因?yàn)檎衅傅匿N(xiāo)售人員不那么激情澎湃。而另一些時(shí)候,初期的需求其實(shí)并不代表整體市場(chǎng)的需求。不論罪魁禍?zhǔn)资鞘裁?,但最終的結(jié)果都是增長(zhǎng)越來(lái)越困難,保持穩(wěn)定的前進(jìn)步伐開(kāi)始好比逆水行舟。 ????只有極少數(shù)的公司能隨著規(guī)模的擴(kuò)大變得越來(lái)越好。銷(xiāo)售團(tuán)隊(duì)的效率提高,新客戶越來(lái)越多,產(chǎn)品也越來(lái)越成熟。轉(zhuǎn)換率、交易規(guī)模、回頭客以及支持成本等關(guān)鍵指標(biāo)都隨著收入增長(zhǎng)而改善。最終,利潤(rùn)率和股本回報(bào)率也隨著時(shí)間推移而不斷提高。 ????最近上市的 Workday (WDAY)就是一個(gè)例子。這家公司在規(guī)模擴(kuò)大的同時(shí),利潤(rùn)率一直穩(wěn)步提高。銷(xiāo)售和市場(chǎng)推廣成本、研發(fā)以及行政總務(wù)費(fèi)用等項(xiàng)目占業(yè)務(wù)收入的比重一直隨著業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)模的擴(kuò)大而呈下降趨勢(shì)。另一個(gè)例子是,盡管最近面臨一些挑戰(zhàn),但蘋(píng)果公司 (Apple's)的股本回報(bào)率在過(guò)去五年中已經(jīng)上升了 10%。 ????做大的同時(shí)做好并不是一件容易的事,但如果您想笑到最后,進(jìn)行業(yè)務(wù)投入必不可少。它可能會(huì)長(zhǎng)時(shí)期拖累增長(zhǎng)——例如,在可以找到足以支持高效增長(zhǎng)的充分成熟產(chǎn)品前,您可能需要放慢銷(xiāo)售人員的招聘步伐——但長(zhǎng)期的收獲絕對(duì)值得這樣做。 |
????For every example of an enduring high-tech growth company, there are countless more that don't make it. Some of the most talented entrepreneurs get tripped up by product issues, while others successfully launch but plateau well below their aspirations. Still others may get public, but are unable to achieve consistent growth and ultimately fail to create sustaining value. ????In fact, you can count the number of tech companies with over $1 billion in market value on a few pairs of hands, and the list gets much shorter over $10 billion. There are common traits among the winners, however, and aspiring entrepreneurs should always try to learn from existing models of success. ????There are many buttons to push when you're running a company but, in the spirit of Occam's razor, identifying the simplest path can really help with focus. What follows is are four keys to going long. It's far from exhaustive, but if you can nail these four, you'll set your company up to be a long term winner. ????1. Get Better as You Get Bigger ????Most companies that achieve early success find that it gets harder, not easier, to continue prospering as they get larger. Sometimes the initial, founder-led sales are difficult to replicate as less passionate salespeople are hired. Other times, early demand turns out not to be indicative of a broader market need. Whatever the culprit, growing gets harder and maintaining consistent pace feels a bit like running uphill in sand. ????Some rare companies get better as they scale. Sales teams get more efficient as more customers are added and the product matures. Key metrics such as conversion rates, deal sizes, repeat purchases and support costs improve with growth. The results are improving profit margins and higher return on capital over time. ????Look at recently-public Workday (WDAY). The company has been steadily improving profitability with scale. Sales and marketing costs, R&D and G&A all havel been declining as a percentage of revenue as the business scales. Similarly, despite recent challenges, Apple's (AAPL) return on equity has improved by 10% over the past five years. ????Getting better with scale isn't easy but, if you want to build a long term winner, it's essential to invest in your business. This may slow growth for long periods - for example, you may need to slow hiring of sales people until you can build a mature enough product that will support efficient growth - but the long-term result will be worth it. |