I've always felt one of the fallacies of the startup culture that we surround ourselves in is that winning involves "taking over the world".
There are so many "niche" businesses out there - that will be enough to bring in millions in revenue - simply because there is such a variety in what people want and need. And we'll never hear of them unless our interests happen to coincide with that particular niche.
Case in point - I've just started working for a company that is an upstart small player in the area of document management for construction companies. You'd think document management was a solved problem and there wouldn't be room for specialists in that area - but no, there are several multi-million dollar businesses that do nothing but. And there's still room for small companies like ours to grow into.
Interesting that you used the term "document management" as opposed to "content management." I cut my teeth as a "document management" consultant in the early 90s, when it was really just documents. I thought the "content management" term took over.
They fly under the radar. They keep their heads down and do their job without trying to attract attention in order to avoid unwanted competition. There are myriads of such companies out there we've never heard of.
Depop is very much the opposite of flying under the radar. They are a key player in fashion and love nothing but flashy promotions, they’d love to be associated to any big brand. They are not as big as Farfetch (disclaimer: where I worked) but both companies are pillars of fashion-tech scene in London.
Their marketing and social media presence is as large as they can get it (I know their former Head of Social media and VP Product). Being successful there is a first step to becoming an influencer. As a second-hand market, they’ve been carried by the environmental trend lately, deservingly so. Their audience is younger, more female and fashion-forward and in that very seeked-after demographic, they have incredible numbers. There are American companies, like Vestiaire Collective, that offer a similar service but Depop is making strides around the world.
There might not be a lot of overlap with your interest, or those of many people in Hacker News — and that’s fine. But, to fin equivalents, saying that TikTok or Tampax are "under the radar" brands says more about your curiosity than it says about a product used by half of the population.
Depop really isn't a niche company. It's effectively instagram but the clothes are for sale. Companies relate to the consumers the same way they do with instagram influencers, product placement.
You only get that multiple if you're publicly listed. Usually for M&A the price is discounted from that, but this also varies widely by industry. Never do a hardware startup, for instance :)
