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

by Reid Hoffman

In its battle against Amazon, Walmart spent $3.3 billion to acquire Jet.com, a high price for a thirteen-month-old start-up (the price represented a revenue multiple double that of Amazon’s already-rich valuation). The two companies have already experienced some culture clash moments, such as when Walmart asked Jet to stop holding its regular office happy hours, stocking bottles of liquor in the office kitchen, and allowing employees to drink at their desks. According to a 2017 Wall Street Journal article, Jet executives complained, and Walmart allowed Jet to revive its office happy hours. On the other hand, Walmart’s e-commerce sales got a big boost from the acquisition, and Jet has allowed Walmart to appeal to urban millennials—a key demographic that has typically shunned Walmart’s traditional stores. Blitzscaling is risky, but so is doing nothing if a competitor seems likely to succeed in scaling up.