Beat big companies in the gap between 2 VPs
In this brief conversation, Robert Ta advises startup founders to exploit the inherent sluggishness of large corporations, which are often hampered by many layers of executive decision‑making. He cites Workday’s recent $42 billion take‑private as an illustration of how big firms may need to retreat from public markets to regain speed. The dialogue then shifts to a strategic tip from a third party (quoted by Speaker B): to compete with a big player, founders should identify a product area that sits at the intersection of two senior vice‑presidents (VPs) within the target company, because those VPs typically do not collaborate and thus leave a gap. That intersection becomes a natural wedge or beachhead for a startup to gain traction against the incumbent.
