How Do You Brag in Silicon Valley? By Declaring Yourself ‘Best of Breed.'
For a certain slice of tech start-up, cultivating a reputation as the 'best of breed' — a term that's been around for at least a couple of decades — is the goal.
Such companies, in their early days, focus on dominating a niche. Think: Zoom, Dropbox, Slack and other product leaders that created software meant to be used alongside other specialized applications. These companies exist in contrast to the Googles and Microsofts and Adobes of the world, which sell product bundles.
How it's pronounced
Best-of-breed companies often make bold attempts to grab market share from a dominant incumbent in an established industry, according to Andy Wu, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who focuses on strategy.
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