The product that wins is the one that bridges customers to the future, not the one that requires a giant leap.

What happens to the Microsofts, Oracles and IBMs of the world is that when they get big enough, they don't think they need to bring that same level of focus and energy to the end-user experience.

You can look at the cost structure of an incumbent company and discover: where are they not going to be able to drop their prices... because that business model is fundamental to the existence of the company.

I think bad politics are incredibly dangerous, so it's important to make sure that people are communicating well. Culture and morale are super important. It's best to not force it, but let it happen organically and genuinely.

Do things that incumbents can't or won't do because it's economically or technically infeasible.

You want to find the really crazy but still somewhat reasonable outliers within the customer ecosystem.

Startups often win because it's easier to see what comes next when you don't have to worry about maintaining what came last.