Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies

by Reid Hoffman

build inclusive cultures from the very beginning.

when you’re blitzscaling, the need for change never stops.

The never-ending need for change should fill you with both fear and hope. Fear, because you can never rest or stand still. Hope, because new markets are always emerging,

Blitzscaling companies almost always operate in fiercely competitive markets where, in order to survive and thrive, they need to outgrow their rivals. In the best case, they do this by focusing relentlessly on building the business while also trying to achieve broader social goals. In the worst case, they try to get big fast by any means necessary.

This can result in problematic corporate cultures, adversarial relationships with regulators, and questionable decision making.

Second, we believe that while big can sometimes be bad, big can also be great. Scale creates dominant companies, but scale also creates enormous value. The smartphones we love, for example, are mass-market consumer electronics that depend on economies of scale.

It’s true that, as with anything in life, blitzscaling produces winners and losers. Start-ups can and will fail, and all entrepreneurial enterprises create risk for founders, employees, and investors.

It also tempting to believe that the easiest way to ensure responsible behavior is to legislate it. The problem is, we live in a globally competitive marketplace. A government that slows the growth of companies within its borders by weighing them down with inflexible legislation is just making it easier for irresponsible blitzscalers from outside those borders to dominate emerging industries.

New technologies have always had the potential to lead to new problems. Newspapers led to demagogic “yellow journalism.” Advertising led to snake oil salesmen. The answer wasn’t to ban newspapers or advertising, but to build policies and institutions to mitigate the risks involved. That’s why we have libel laws and regulators like the

Here’s what all of us need to realize about the Blitzscaling Era: Speed and uncertainty are the new stability.

The only way to thrive in this fast-changing world is to accept the inevitability of change. Use it to your advantage, whether you’re focused on your individual life or the fate of a nation.

First, be an infinite learner. The best and worst thing about the rapid pace of change today is that there are no experts with ten-plus years of experience in any emerging phenomenon. If you’re able to climb the learning curve faster than others, you have the opportunity to create massive value from it.

Second, be a first responder. As new technologies and trends emerge, the uncertainty of where they are headed will paralyze many people and keep them from acting. Those who are willing to act—and act quickly—despite the uncertainty will have a disproportionate advantage.