#AskGaryVee Episode 28: How to Keep Your Startup Competitive

#QOTD: Who is the biggest influence in your life right now?

#TIMESTAMPS
01:18 – With the influencer business model, what are the biggest challenges are you facing? and which brands are using the influencer model.
03:19 – How do you maintain having high standards with your team and making sure things get done, while keeping the project on time and in budget?
04:50 – What do you think the next/biggest thing in the influencer space?
06:29 – When startups become inherently competitive with other companies, how do you stay ahead of the game? give more value than your competitors?
08:58 – What’s your stance on investing in competitive companies?

As an entrepreneur, I default into assuming it’s always going to be competitive. It doesn’t matter if “nobody is in your space” because if you’re any good, and you’ve figured something new out, EVERYBODY is going to be in your space eventually.

To me, competition between startups is the same old game: Better product, better service, better execution. Those are the things that will drive your business.

When you’re David, you shouldn’t play Goliath’s game. When you’re Goliath, you should CRUSH David.

Here’s an example: Did anybody think it was weird that, for three years, I NEVER mentioned VaynerMedia. The truth there was that my size (or my lack thereof) was my advantage, and I couldn’t let these other big guys know how huge we were getting! I was learning the landscape. Now that we’ve got the money and the scale to compete, you’ll see that I’m talking about it more.

The important thing is to NEVER PLAY THE OTHER PERSON’S GAME.