In my advisory work with startups and mature companies undergoing a transformation, I have found that they often pursue growth opportunities in an undisciplined manner and end up spreading themselves too thin. In the relentless pursuit of growth, no opportunity is passed up and no customer is turned away. However, growth is not about doing more. It is about doing fewer things better. To scale and succeed, startup companies need to pursue disciplined growth by focusing on a few domains where they can really win. This was the central message of a book I wrote a few years ago, called Fewer, Bigger, Bolder.

Two years ago, I met Suresh Katta, the founder, and CEO of Saama Technologies. As he shared the story of his fascinating company, I realized that Saama was a poster child for the principles of focused growth that I have been talking about for years. Since its founding in 1997, Saama had evolved from an IT services company to an IP-based platform company. Its Fluid Analytics Engine (FAE) platform allowed solutions to be built quickly for a number of vertical markets, including insurance, health care, and life sciences. By the end of 2015, however, Suresh and his leadership team realized that they were chasing too many rabbits. They were feeling the need to become more focused on their growth strategy but were nervous about narrowing their target markets. I shared a key insight with Suresh – “No market is too narrow if you go deep enough.” By building deep domain expertise, companies can create sustainable differentiation and drive profitable growth. This insight resonated deeply with Suresh.  He and his team became convinced that Saama’s future growth would best be driven by a focused vertical market strategy.


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