nimbletoad blog

According to Fast Company in their article on Ning the secret to creating a billion dollar business is by building a “viral expansion loop” right into the foundation of the product. Sounds simple, the first few paragraphs sing of statements like, “no [need] for advertising or marketing budget….almost guarantees self-replicating borg-like growth…”

I get the concept of viral expansion and you should too, but this post is not about that so go read the article. Hidden within this article is the true secret to building a billion dollar business and your not going to like it.

The secret is persistent hard work, ignoring naysayers, and (while I write this reluctantly) capital and leverage.

While Ning is currently enjoying cosmic growth it took THREE YEARS TO GET THERE, 15 million in start-up capital, and 40 million in additional funding. Profitability is only on the horizon, and was written off time and time again as dead and gone by Silicon Valley insiders. These tidbits were peppered throughout the article. Not to mention the shoulders Ning is built upon. The question that needs to be answered is, “Would Ning be at this stage of growth without the Silicon Valley weight that was thrown at it. The founder Marc Andresson already has several billion dollar companies under his belt namely Netscape and Opsware. Could an unknown with little or no capital pull this off?

The answer thankfully is yes. Why? Because the unknown is out of the limelight, does not have to face naysayers, is able to slog through the years it takes to get there, and most importantly is able to revel in small successes along the way since every little achievement is a new feeling.