Mail Chimp has grow into a nicely profitable huge business…… without taking a single dollar of venture capital over a 15 year slog. This is a unique characteristic of the SMB space, you can take your time to figure out the business and not be too overly concerned of being crowded out by a better funded competitor. The market is large enough and fragmented enough to be able to build your business at your own pace without being a slave to a VC style “grow fast or go home” model.

However in the enterprise and consumer spaces, first mover advantage and fast growth to position #1  are critical for long term viability of the business.

MailChimp and the Un-Silicon Valley Way to Make It as a Start-Up https://t.co/n1MHCaBAhn

— BuyFi (@buyfi) October 22, 2016