So let’s just get this out of the way: there is no such thing as a Google killer. No company is going to play David to their Goliath and slay them with a well-aimed stone from a slingshot. Google is here to stay.
Why do I bring this up? I am one of the founders of a search start-up. One that recently raised money from a couple of great venture capital firms. So whenever anything is printed about us, or even comes up in causal conversation, the term “Google killer” gets bandied about. Again, I think you’re as likely to see a Google-killer as you are to find Sasquatch or the Loch Ness monster.
So why join a search start-up then? Because I don’t believe to be successful in this business you need to be a Google-killer. In fact, trying to be a Google-killer is probably the one sure way not to succeed.
If you were to start a soft-drink company, would you be a Coke killer? Would you create a product that tasted exactly like Coke and put it in a red can? Of course not, that would be product suicide. You make something that tastes different and package it differently – Snapple, Red Bull, Vitamin Water.
We think the same about search. Google isn’t going anywhere. We think there are a lot of problems that search isn’t addressing right now that it could be. And that’s where we want to play. Own a category or die. So no, we’re not a Google killer. But stay tuned for more…
Comments (8)
Very interesting... so in what category would you put Google search ? and if it's not too early, in what category will be Blekko ?
Posted by Phil | July 28, 2009 4:51 PM
Posted on July 28, 2009 16:51
I agree 100%.
See: Jimmy Wales, Google's worst nightmare with Wikia Search (2008-2009), RIP.
Posted by Jason | July 28, 2009 6:54 PM
Posted on July 28, 2009 18:54
Congrats on the VC, Rich. I can't wait to see Blekko's take on search. Keep us updated!
Posted by Scott | July 28, 2009 9:25 PM
Posted on July 28, 2009 21:25
Interesting, although I remember the very first time I tried the Google search.
They were a start-up too.
At that time should you probably have written something like "There’s No Such Thing As A Yahoo Killer" ? ;)
Posted by Stefano | July 29, 2009 1:58 AM
Posted on July 29, 2009 01:58
Stefano - let me point out that Rich actually co-founded a startup aimed at Yahoo in 1998 (which got bought by Netscape), so I don't guess he would have written the Yahoo piece to which you suppose :-)
Posted by Chris Tolles | July 29, 2009 9:48 AM
Posted on July 29, 2009 09:48
The whole "Google Killer" thing is designed to sell magazines/pageviews.
No one ever clicks on a link that says "Search startup to have slow steady growh and gain a small percentage of the search market" ...
Sadly, I think it's actually bad for the industry to make such hyperbolic claims.
Though I'm pretty sure no one has ever praised tech media for their journalistic integrity ;-)
Posted by Kevin Burton | July 29, 2009 10:40 AM
Posted on July 29, 2009 10:40
Great post Rich - search is a non-trivial task well served by having many of us working on it. Congrats on the funding!
Posted by Jarvis | July 29, 2009 2:05 PM
Posted on July 29, 2009 14:05
And your category is?
Posted by socialnerdia | July 30, 2009 10:34 AM
Posted on July 30, 2009 10:34