Every Startup Wants To Be The Next Google But…

I’ve been working in the startup and entrepreneurial online community long enough to notice one trend: almost every startup wants one of two things - either be acquired by Google or become the next Google themselves. Of course there are some realistic guys who know that any of these two things happens so rarely that chances are neither of them will happen to this particular startup. But even the most reasonable startups at least secretly dream about becoming the next Google one day - even if they keep silence about this secret desire.

So I wanted to outline some arguments against the idea of a startup actually hoping to become the next Google to probably change the attitude of some startups. And who knows, what if they actually achieve some better results without pursuing this strange goal that will hardly ever be achieved anyway. After all, what’s the point of hoping to become the next Google if you real success will only come if your product gets the popularity you need and instead of reproducing Google’s success you could hope to achieve your very own.

So, every startup wants to become the next Google, but…

Google is still one of the largest companies in the world with the most expensive brand as well so I don’t think the corporation is actually willing to give its place to some startup - even with the brightest idea and the best people. What’s more, I would not expect Google to want to give its place to any established web company either so the road should be tricky.

Google has the money and the human resources to replicate your bright idea (if you have one) in virtually no time. And should Google want to implement this idea, way more people will notice and begin using it than if you push it yourself 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

People are willing to use Google because the name itself reassures them and makes them trust the already established brand. So no matter what Google decides to launch, people will be using the tools even if there are competitors that have been struggling for recognition for years and Google has not innovated at all. This will never be true for any startup on Earth because people tend not to trust newcomers. So you should better hope Google will buy your product instead of replicating it because this will automatically add you the credibility you need and will at least turn to be financially positive for you.

If you ever reach the state where you can actually be noticed by Google (not as a competitor - hopefully as an acquisition target at the most) and your startup develops into a real company with real full-time employees, chances are you will easily lose any of your brightest talents (those who are not co-founders) to Google should the giant decide to hire anyone on your team for their own needs. Everyone knows how cool it is to work in Google (with free food, recreation facilities and 20% innovation time) and it’s such a great line for a CV, after all. Now what if your company never becomes noteworthy enough to have the same impact on a CV?

Also can you imagine what it actually means managing and serving the most popular website in the world combined with tons of other less important than Google Search itself services and applications? Do you know how many servers you will need? Can you imagine the bandwidth? Do you really want to run a business that is SO huge?

It is not really necessary to invent something revolutionary for a startup to be a success. You may reach everything you actually want in your life by simply being the best company in your specific niche instead of taking the world over. And do you really have the idea that will totally change the way people use the internet in the manner that Google changed it in the past?

Another important factor that everyone who dreams about becoming the next Google will have to consider is that Google has already transformed from a single (though widely popular) product of its search engine into a huge corporation offering various products and services. Even replicating all the services is virtually impossible but surpassing is definitely impossible even for the existing giants like Microsoft - let alone emerging startups.

An acquisition is probably one of the most wide-spread exit strategies of all for startups and if you really have a very bright idea with some sort of reasonable implementation, chances are you will be noticed by one of the web giants - and maybe even acquired eventually. Now what if Google decides to buy your startup, what will you do with your dream of becoming the next Google? If it’s your only dream for now, you will probably don’t have any goal at all - and this is the worst thing that can happen to any person (or company).

So my idea is that there’s absolutely zero chances that any startup will ever become the next Google in the next few years - at least while Google itself is perfectly comfortable with its own position on the very top. But does it mean there’s no point in doing business online because you can’t hope to evolve into the next Google?

No, this is certainly not something I am trying to say, it is just that all the startups should hopefully remember that their goal should not be killing or replacing Google (or any other giant at that), instead they should focus on making their very own unique products good enough for people to know and admire it as they know and admire Google products right now - and hopefully this is what the future holds for the best startups.

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod of GapingVoid