Last-mover advantage
Jun 5, 2020
Back in 2013, Stewart Butterfield and his team set out to replace email. A daunting task.
"It is almost inevitable that centralized internal communication systems will gradually replace email for most organizations over the next 10-20 years and we should do what we can to own it."
The product they built, Slack, would quickly transform work communication. Email versus Slack was like comparing a horse-pulled carriage to a Tesla. It was that good.
The company then had an Instagram moment - their biggest competitor tried to buy them. The interested suitor was Microsoft. Though unlike Instagram which said "yes" to being swallowed by Facebook, Slack said no and decided to brave the waters themselves.
When you're up against the House that Bill Gates built, you can expect some of the fiercest competition in the land. Naturally, Microsoft built their own version of Slack called Teams and have been able to leverage their existing relationships with large businesses to grow much faster than Slack could.
To put this in perspective, Slack revealed it had 12 million daily active users as of October 2019. Microsoft Teams now has 75 million, six times that amount.
Even amongst the big tech companies, Microsoft remains one of the most under-appreciated, in our view. They've long since entered the trillion-dollar market cap club, but are noticeably absent from the "FANG" acronym. Amazon had a 5+ year head start in cloud computing but now Microsoft is hot on their tail (Amazon has 33% market share, Microsoft 20%).
While being first to a market is great, sometimes being last is even better. You get to observe the playbook, learn from the mistakes of others, then come in with full force. Last-mover advantage.
The search engine you use, Google, was last. Remember the ones before?
Cash Management
© Copyright 2024 Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC ("Titan") is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). By using this website, you accept and agree to Titan’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Titan’s investment advisory services are available only to residents of the United States in jurisdictions where Titan is registered. Nothing on this website should be considered an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities or investment products. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected returns, or probability projections are hypothetical in nature and may not reflect actual future performance. Account holdings and other information provided are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered investment recommendations. The content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a comprehensive description of Titan’s investment advisory services.
Please refer to Titan's Program Brochure for important additional information. Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, you should consider your investment objectives and any fees charged by Titan. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments. Investment losses are possible, including the potential loss of all amounts invested, including principal. Brokerage services are provided to Titan Clients by Titan Global Technologies LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, both registered broker-dealers and members of FINRA/SIPC. For more information, visit our disclosures page. You may check the background of these firms by visiting FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Various Registered Investment Company products (“Third Party Funds”) offered by third party fund families and investment companies are made available on the platform. Some of these Third Party Funds are offered through Titan Global Technologies LLC. Other Third Party Funds are offered to advisory clients by Titan. Before investing in such Third Party Funds you should consult the specific supplemental information available for each product. Please refer to Titan's Program Brochure for important additional information. Certain Third Party Funds that are available on Titan’s platform are interval funds. Investments in interval funds are highly speculative and subject to a lack of liquidity that is generally available in other types of investments. Actual investment return and principal value is likely to fluctuate and may depreciate in value when redeemed. Liquidity and distributions are not guaranteed, and are subject to availability at the discretion of the Third Party Fund.
The cash sweep program is made available in coordination with Apex Clearing Corporation through Titan Global Technologies LLC. Please visit www.titan.com/legal for applicable terms and conditions and important disclosures.
Cryptocurrency advisory services are provided by Titan.
Information provided by Titan Support is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice.
Contact Titan at support@titan.com. 508 LaGuardia Place NY, NY 10012.