????2.勇為牛首

????“寧為雞首，不為牛后”的想法雖然沒什么不對，但長遠的贏家卻還是牛首。成為牛首的方式有兩種， 一是打入已有的大市場，二是新開創一個大市場。

????當初，馬克?貝尼奧夫建立 Salesforce.com并專注于客戶關系管理業務時，它已經是一個龐大的市場，同時也存在一個市場龍頭 Siebel Systems，后者在被甲骨文公司（Oracle）收購前，年收入已近高達 13 億美元。建立 Salesforce.com，打造第一個真正的 SaaS 應用，貝尼奧夫成功打入 CRM 市場。今天的 Salesforce 年營業額已超過 30 億美元，遠遠超過巔峰時期的 Siebel，但貝尼奧夫并不需要創造一個龐大的市場——它已經在那里，而他能夠打入這個市場，并從一開始就占據領導位置。

????相反，Google（Google）曾經建立了強大的搜索技術，但早期并沒有找到真正的盈利模式。當然，搜索營銷 并不是 Google 的發明，它只是將市場再造，單憑一己之力，在短短 10 年時間里，就使搜索營銷的市場規模增長了 20 倍。

????如果您的公司也希望成為牛首，您的使命將是規劃如何贏得重要的市場份額。如果市場不夠大，就得規劃如何推出新產品、或者侵占相鄰市場來擴大市場。

????3.通過差異化贏得競爭

????公司越成功，面臨激烈競爭的可能性越大。很不幸的是，成功的企業如果缺乏差異化，競爭加劇往往會帶來無盡的煩惱。例如，團購網站Groupon過去增長就非常迅速，但它的競爭優勢并不突出，許多競爭對手也可以向消費者提供類似的優惠。結果，這家公司一直疲于奔命，難以創造價值。

????與 Groupon 的經歷相反的則是商務社交網站LinkedIn。LinkedIn 的優勢在于一項重大的核心差異化因素，那就是它獨一無二的數據庫。隨著工商界專業人士不斷更新資料和關系網絡，數據也得到持續豐富。憑借網絡的強大力量，它所向披靡，無可替代。LinkedIn 已經找到這種數據庫的盈利模式，同時加上沒有競爭威脅，它近期的利潤率還有上升的可能。

????4.打造強大的管理團隊

????最好的管理團隊會帶來上述全部三個特質——他們在企業規模擴大的同時改造著企業架構，使它變得更好，他們擴大市場，同時建立強大的競爭壁壘。在商業上，唯一不變的就是永恒的變化。最好的團隊時刻牢記這一點，持續更新人才庫，培養新領導人才，在不可避免的市場變革來臨時挺身而出，面對瞬息萬變的市場始終保持敏捷性。高級領導團隊的周圍也都是最好的人才，常常董事會既有人質疑他們的決定，也有人幫助他們取得成功。

????事情就這樣簡單。盡管這四大秘訣并不是高深的火箭技術，但也不是唾手可得。但提前專注于這四點可能有助于提高您的成功幾率。

????格倫?所羅門是風投公司 GGV Capital 的合伙人。他近期所作的投資包括流媒體音樂服務商 Pandora、人才管理云計算公司Successfactors、群集存儲系統公司Isilon、移動支付技術公司Square、客戶服務軟件供應商Zendesk、網絡廣告公司Quinstreet 和存儲及備份解決方案供應商Nimble Storage。本文是針對期望做大的成長階段創業者的系列文章的第一篇。

????2. Target an Enormous Market

????There's no shame in building a dominant player in a small market, but your market has to be huge if you want to be a long-term winner. There are two ways to get there – disrupt an existing large market or build into a new one.

????When Marc Benioff started Salesforce.com (CRM) and focused on customer relationship management, this was already a huge market with a leader, Siebel Systems, generating $1.3 billion in the year before its acquisition by Oracle (ORCL). Launching Salesforce.com as the first true SaaS application, Benioff disrupted the CRM market. Today, at over a $3 billion run rate, Salesforce is much larger than Siebel at its peak, but Benioff didn't have to create an enormous market - it was there and he was able to wrestle leadership from the incumbent via disruption.

????Google (GOOG), on the other hand, had built great search technology but hadn't quite figured out how to monetize it in its early days. Sure, Google didn't invent search marketing, but the company re-invented the market and single-handedly grew search marketing 20x in size over a 10-year period.

????If your company is targeting an enormous market, your mission is to figure out how to win meaningful market share. If your market isn't huge, figure out how to grow it by introducing new products or attacking adjacent spaces.

????3. Differentiate to Protect Against Competition

????The more successful a company, the more likely it will engender serious competition. Unfortunately for undifferentiated high fliers, increased competition often causes trouble. Groupon (GRPN) grew very fast, but its competitive moat wasn't deep and too many others have been able to offer similar savings to consumers. The company has struggled to create value as a result.

????Contrast Groupon's experience with LinkedIn (LNKD). LinkedIn benefits from a meaningful core differentiator – its unique data set. This data is enriched continually as business professionals keep their profiles and networks fresh. Given the power of the network, there isn't a viable alternative. LinkedIn has been able to effectively monetize this data set, and without the threat of competition, appears positioned to grow profitably for the foreseeable future.

????4. Build a Great Management Team

????The best management teams excel at building the three attributes mentioned above – they structure businesses to get better as they scale, they expand the markets they go after and they create significant competitive barriers. In business, the only constant is change however. The best teams recognize this and continually refresh the talent pool, grooming new leaders who are out in front of inevitable market shifts and who enable agility in the face of dynamic markets. The top teams also surround themselves with the best people, often times with boards that both challenge them and help them win.

????There you have it. While these four keys aren't rocket science, they're also not simple to achieve. The good news is that focusing on them early can help improve your chances of success!

????Glenn Solomon is a partner with venture captal firm GGV Capital. Some of his recent investments include Pandora, Successfactors, Isilon, Square, Zendesk, Quinstreet and Nimble Storage. This post the first of a series for growth-stage entrepreneurs who are thinking big.