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Aaron Levie: Your Startup Is Dead Without a Technology Tailwind

By Aaron Levie · Leadership · 1 min read

Levie says so many companies get started where there's no technology trend pushing them forward. Some are even resisting one. You need to ride a wave, not fight it.

Key Points

Make sure you're benefiting from a major technology tailwind
Box benefited from mobile, cheaper computing, and everyone coming online — all three were disruptive to incumbents
Don't create unnecessary headwinds for yourself

Make sure you're benefiting from a major technology tailwind. Find what technology trends incumbents are not going to be able to respond well to.

Ride the Wave

Levie: As you're starting your company, you really need to think hard about this — make sure that you're benefiting from a major technology tailwind. There are so many companies that get started where there's no particular macro technology trend that they're riding on top of.

In some cases, even worse, there could be technology trends that you're resisting. You really have to think hard about what is going on in the technology landscape that you can ride with your innovation.

There are so many companies that get started where there's no particular macro technology trend that they're riding on top of.

Box Rode Three Mega Trends

Levie: In our case, we benefited from three or four mega trends. We benefited from the growth of mobile. We benefited from the lower cost of computing. We benefited from the fact that everybody was coming onto the internet.

All three of those trends were disruptive to our incumbents that were selling traditional enterprise software. We were able to take these mega trends, ride on top of them, and they were just an onslaught of disaster for the traditional competitors in the space.

We took these mega trends, rode on top of them, and they were just an onslaught of disaster for the traditional competitors.

PlanGrid Example

Levie: PlanGrid does software for construction companies and architecture firms — letting you do blueprints on the iPad and iPhone. A pretty dead simple idea.

There are billions of dollars spent every year on software stuck on your computer or paper-based processes. They nailed the timing perfectly. A couple years after the iPad, these devices started showing up in physical environments. They built the software for it.

Really make sure that you're going to benefit significantly from a major tailwind and don't create unnecessary headwinds for yourself.

Make sure you benefit from a major tailwind and don't create unnecessary headwinds for yourself.