Speed in tech and traditional businesses

One of the fundamental differences between selling ATVs and working in tech is the speed that business progresses.

In traditional supply-chain driven businesses, progress is measured often in weeks, months, and even years. In digital businesses, progress is measured in days and weeks.

This isn’t some new insight. Traditional businesses are often labeled “slow moving”. But why?

People often point out inertia, worker quality, and insider ignorance as the predominant reasons.

One factor that doesn’t often get highlighted is how work gets done and businesses are built in each industry.

Over the past two decades, tech has evolved to optimize for speed. Today, fundraising, digital design and software development can all happen at the snap of a finger with a small team and minimal capital invested.

Traditional businesses in contrast has evolved to optimize for profitability. Developing a physical product, shipping it from China, distributing it to dealers, and selling it to customers requires long lead time, large number of people, and tremendous capital investment.

Having seen how velocity can be a big competitive advantage in tech, I’m thinking a lot about what is ‘velocity’ in ATV wholesale, and how do we move faster.

#2018–5