Can SMEs compete against large companies?

You want the quick answer? Absolutely! If it were not so, we'd never see large companies die off... and they do! So what makes for successful competition?

We believe that there are three main drivers. First is the determination, flexibility and brainpower of a determined entrepreneur leading an SME. It's difficult to defeat such a warriror in battle and more so within the ethics and norms of the business world. Nimble, fast changing approaches are difficult for larger companies to identify and counter. Second, the business idea may be so novel that it outpaces the resources of established giants who have a lot invested in a particular technology and who may not be able to change fast enough. This applies equally well to business models and processes. Finally, being small and relatively resource poor drives innovation. In fact, far from necessity being the mother of invention, we say that desperaton is the mother of invention! And therein, lies the third point - innovation! Difficult to entrench in large organisations, but in the hands of forward thinking entrepreneurs... priceless!

Of course, SMEs have to have other things too - they need to have good people, good products and service - they also need to understand the basis for the competition and how to be different from the larger compnies they compete against. They need to be close to their customers and to really understand their needs.

Our investments happen when we are convinced we are dealing with industry game changers. With companies that can take on established markets and where large companies play - just like the glass half empty or half full analogy - we believe the presence of large companies implies large markets, and our role is to assist the right entrepreneurs to compete for them.