Markets are reminiscent of ecosystems in the natural world. Because of this, there are concepts in ... [+] biology which can help you become a better thinker in the realm of business and startups.
Business to a degree works as the applied science brother of economics. So, even though not all theoretical economical knowledge is directly applicable to business (especially in macroeconomics), concepts from economics like supply and demand equilibrium, opportunity costs, marginal costs, economies of scale, and so on are still very useful for entrepreneurs to be familiar with. They provide you with mental models that you can utilize when thinking of your own business and the environment in which it operates.
Other scientific fields, however, can be equally useful in that regard. For example, markets are extremely reminiscent of ecosystems in the natural world. Because of this, there are concepts in biology which fit the business world surprisingly well and can help you become a better thinker when it comes to entrepreneurship and startups.
Evolution By Natural Selection Applied to Startups
Mutations in organisms drive differential reproductive success, which means that the successful traits get passed on, while the unsuccessful ones are driven into extinction.
This process is entirely blind every trait has costs and benefits, and its the environment that ultimately determines what is valuable and what isnt.
Thanks to the work of Richard Dawkins, we know that this is true not only of genes but also of memes ideas and behavior that get passed on in a similar manner (e.g. building a nest in a particular way, etc.).
And while companies dont have genes, they most certainly can be viewed as an amalgamation of memes.
Because of this, the environment in which companies live (the market) determines which behaviors are beneficial to the success and survival of the company, and which are detrimental.
In other words - the market shapes the product features, business models, startup culture, marketing or financial practices, etc. of the businesses that operate in it.
This is vital to understand if you plan to do things differently. In a static environment a stable, unchanging market, new behaviors and practices (memes) are unlikely to be beneficial. The current companies would have converged on the best way to do business. Such markets are likely to be extremely hard to disrupt.
In a turbulent, chaotic market, however, exploration of new behaviors is vital, and the most adaptive of businesses are the ones who will be successful. It is in such markets that startups have a huge advantage over big businesses because of their much greater flexibility. It is exactly for that reason that market timing is arguably the number one most important factor when you are choosing which startup market to enter.
Biological And Business Niches
In order to survive, most species specialize in a niche of their own. This is a way to differentiate themselves from other species and to reduce the level of direct competition to a minimum.
If two species are competing in the same niche, however, the likelihood that one of the two would be forced extinct in time is high because they are competing over the same limited resources.
This is also true for businesses, especially in the digital era with its low marginal costs and strong network effects. Tech startup niches are often winner-takes-all economies.
Consequently, one of the best ways to ensure the success of your startup is to avoid competing directly with other businesses over the same customers with the same proposition. Differentiating your offering meaningfully and tailoring it to a unique segment of consumers is a great way to ensure your business exists in an abundant rather than scarce environment, which will allow it to thrive.
The Red Queen Effect In Biology And Business
Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. Alice in Wonderland
Evolution by natural selection forces species to be in a constant evolutionary arms race. The ones that fail to adapt go extinct.
This is also true of businesses and especially of startups. Markets are rarely static, especially in the technological age. Over time, the only constant thing is change.
This means that ensuring success in the long run you have to pay extremely close attention to changes in the market and to constantly adapt.
Summary
A few important lessons for startups that could be derived from concepts in biology are:
Link:
Using Evolutionary Thinking To Gain An Advantage In The Realm Of Startups - Forbes
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- Kylie Jenner Talks About Her Style Evolution - The Cut - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Equator Coffees Unveils New Packaging Design, Reflecting Brand Evolution & Vision For The Future - Sprudge - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Rosewood Hotel Group Accelerates Growth And Evolution Across Its Four Distinctive Brands - Hospitality Net - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Thomson Reuters Unveils New Brand Evolution - Adweek - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
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- Discover Puerto Rico Debuts Evolution of Its Successful 'Live Boricua' Brand Campaign Aimed at Engaging Visitors ... - Yahoo Finance - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- A Journey Through Time: The Evolution of Ras Al Khaimah Art - Business Wire - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Empowering Women: The Evolution and Innovation of coto Social Platform - CXOToday.com - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- The Evolution of Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Root - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Study on mating behaviors offers clues into the evolution of attraction - Phys.org - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Dragonball Evolutions live-action Goku says goodbye to Toriyama: Sorry we messed up - AS USA - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Investec, evolution of SMEs in the materials handling sector - Leasing Life - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Pride & Prejudice and the evolution of the female gaze on screen - Yahoo News UK - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Joe Wong's Musical Evolution - Shepherd Express - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- A global survey of prokaryotic genomes reveals the eco-evolutionary pressures driving horizontal gene transfer - Nature.com - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Redefining Intelligence: Chimpanzees Break Through the Cultural Evolution Barrier - Medriva - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Mollusk Eyes Reveal How Future Evolution Depends on the Past - Quanta Magazine - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Levy Delves Into the Evolution of ADCs in NSCLC - OncLive - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Snake Is The Spearhead of Reptile Evolution, But Why? - ScienceAlert - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- 'A very special day: Birds linked to Darwins theory of evolution reintroduced to Galapagos Islands - Euronews - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Why the Powerhouses of Cells Evolve Differently in Plants - College of Natural Sciences - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Driving the DevOps Evolution: ArgoCD, Tekton and Seamless Migrations - DevOps.com - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Finding the Balance: The Evolution of Public Health Guidance Amidst Controversy - Medriva - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Insider Podcast: Paolini dishes on her Polish roots and hard-court evolution - WTA Tennis - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Interview: Sara Gruen and Rick Elice Talk About the Inspiration and Evolution of the New Musical Water for Elephants - TheaterMania.com - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Evolution of the Laravel Welcome Page - Laravel News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- A Serpentine 'Explosion' 125 Million Years Ago Primed Snakes for Rapid, Diverse Evolution - Smithsonian Magazine - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Evolution of Modern Technologies in Car Development - FinSMEs - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Milwaukee Transformed: From Bronzeville to Veterans Park, Aerial Timelapses Reveal City's Evolution - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The eyes are a gateway to evolution of daddy longlegs at least. - University of Wisconsin-Madison - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Adrian Newey: RB20 is the next step in Red Bull's design evolution - PlanetSport - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- LiveScore releases its 'Evolution of Fan' report - Gambling Insider - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The loyalty program evolution makes its way to the full-service restaurant category - Nation's Restaurant News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 spoiler-free review: goes hard on the action, but ... - Gamesradar - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Exploring U.S. Financial Evolution: DAR Hosts Talk on Federal Reserve History in Thomasville - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Why cloud evolution needs a cohesive approach to succeed - CIO - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Gilead Sciences CEO on Company's Evolution and Commitment to the Bay Area - BioSpace - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Navigating the AI Quandary: Human Supremacy vs Machine Intelligence Evolution - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Denis Villeneuve breaks down the evolution of sandworms in 'Dune: Part Two' - Mashable - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Continued evolution of law improves governing capacity - Chinadaily.com.cn - China Daily - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Evolution of the DEX Space with dYdX's CEO Antonio Juliano - Blockster - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Quick Commerce Evolution: 3PL Firms Aim for Same Day Delivery, Chasing Blinkit and Zepto's Lead - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- What If...? Star Jeffrey Wright Addreses the Watcher's Evolution and 'Epic' Season 2 Finale - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Evolution of the Connected Autonomous Vehicle - Ward's Auto - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- A project to capture the evolution of human culture. - Psychology Today - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The Evolution of a Digital Soul. Beyond Code: A Journey of Heart and | by Mark Randall Havens | Dec, 2023 - Medium - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- 4 Clues That Reid Is Finally Returning In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 - Screen Rant - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Evolution of Samoyed and Kitten's Friendship Delights Internet: 'Wholesome' - Newsweek - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Crypto Evolution: Pullix (PLX) vs OKB (OKB) & KuCoin (KCS) - Crypto Reporter - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Alfa Romeos mediocre F1 season heralded its era of evolution: Prime Tire - The Athletic - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Beyond The Uniform: 10 Years of Evolution in SYNC Performance's Custom Program - SkiRacing.com - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Why SZA's evolution into a popstar has earned her recognition as artist of the year - Salon - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- AI in 2023 Rises, Falls and Evolution - Finance Magnates - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Indonesia's Indosat pursues evolution from telecom to tech company - Nikkei Asia - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- EdTech Evolution: 3 Stocks Educating the Next Generation - InvestorPlace - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Informa Tech Interview with Huawei about voice evolution and innovations at 5G Core Summit 2023 - Informa Tech ... - Light Reading - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Looking ahead: What will the DeFi evolution look like in 2024? - Ledger Insights - Ledger Insights - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Why Cat Bohannon wrote 'Eve, How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution' | India News ... - IndiaTimes - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The smart-design evolution of the laboratory space - pharmaphorum - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The WILD Evolution of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TMNT (VIDEO) - FandomWire - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The supernatural invades American museums via indigenous artifacts - Why Evolution Is True - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Baleen Whales First Evolved Large Body Size in Cold Southern Waters, New Fossil Shows - Sci.News - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The Evolution of Identity in Taiwan The Diplomat - The Diplomat - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- From the Archive: The Evolution Of Hockey Pools - The Hockey News - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- 'X-Men: Evolution' Is Better Than 'X-Men: The Animated Series' - Collider - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Unveiling the Silver Screen: The Evolution of Celebrity Nudity in Cinema - The Hype Magazine - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Are Humans Still Evolving? 'Maybe More Rapidly Than Ever,' Says Scientist - Newsweek - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The Intersection of Real Estate and Fintech: Evolution, Impact of Policies, and Global Dynamics - CXOToday.com - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Kyle Richards' Style Evolution: Her Best Looks - Us Weekly - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2's "Deeper Secrets" Teased By Aisha Tyler - Screen Rant - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Saturday: Hili dialogue Why Evolution Is True - Why Evolution Is True - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- NBA 2K24 MyTEAM New Year Resolution Adds 14 Evolution Cards - ClutchPoints - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- dive into the history of NASA's logo evolution from the space ... - Designboom - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Resolving the puzzle of same-sex sexual interactions - Nature.com - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- The History and Evolution of Black Friday And How It Got Its Name - Yahoo Life - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Evolution of Terran R, with Tim Ellis (Relativity Space) - Payload - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Brownell Raves About Breakout Junior's Evolution - The Clemson Insider - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]