Search for a command to run...
Since childhood, Thomas has prioritized and emphasized human service and has always had a genuine passion for technology. Thomas is adept at recognizing and personally investing in open source market-leading platforms. He uses his insight and genuine desire for service to help his customers with their most difficult continuous delivery problems.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment.
A Noir Software Supply Chain Story
My name is Thomas A. McGonagle. The most positive experience of my life was playing football for eight years. I was voted a first-team All-Star in high school and then went on to play in college at Bentley University, which is a Division II program a...
Prompt #1 I need an analogy for offensive and defensive security with respect to devops. I like the title DevSecOps and like Krav Maga analogies Prompt #2 You are a 15-year experienced DevOps professional who is writing a blog on the importance of si...
Colonel John Boyd was one of the best fighter pilots on the planet who risked his life every time he jumped into the cockpit. But thanks to his OODA loop strategy, high-velocity chases, death-defying rolls, and last-gasp pivots were no longer uncomfo...
Ari Libarikian is a senior partner of Leap, McKinsey's business-building capability. He explains that “the companies that have stayed at the top for decades are always regenerating. This is really a requirement to being successful today.” Serial busi...
4 Benefits of Blitzscaling
The Blitzkreig battle strategy delivers an overwhelming strike on enemy lines, from which they can rarely recover. So, how does such an aggressive approach translate to business success? Here are four benefits of blitzscaling your startup:
Gain long-term competitive advantages The first to market often dominates. If a startup makes speed paramount to their growth strategy, they can take hold of a new market while others are still uncertain. While that’s no guarantee, success stories from Silicon Valley in recent years show a clear advantage for those who move fast. Facebook became one of the world’s biggest internet services in a little over five years. Uber created a new category when its ridesharing app disrupted the taxi industry, and Netflix put Blockbuster out of business to become the leading light of streaming video content. All three of these companies grew quickly, taking on huge debts and losses along the way. But the gamble paid off, as they are all market leaders.
Attract investors and establish authority As McGregor gained recognition for his skills as an entertainer—both inside and outside the ring—the media frenzy went into overdrive. Sponsors flooded in, and the UFC's marketing machine placed their bets behind the new Golden boy of MMA. Seemingly overnight, there was an untouchable aura around the fighter, fast-tracking him to the pay-per-view events and protecting him from tricky matchups that could derail the project. When a startup scales to take the high ground, everyone notices. And soon enough, investors show up, keen to back the market leader. Once that happens, the fast-scaling startup has solid foundations to continue its growth. It’s no longer bravado from a young upstart—it’s a marketable asset with bonafide potential for dominance.
Acquire the best talent Venture capitalists aren’t the only people who want to ride on the coattails of a shooting star. Top professionals know they can accomplish more with a market leader. Scaleup employees stand a good chance of becoming extremely rich. Therefore, blitzscaling startups are more appealing to the best talent, which helps the company continue innovating at speed. When Uber added more users to its app, it needed more drivers. Hiring more drivers helped reduce waiting times, making the service more convenient and accessible for people, thereby attracting more new customers. It's a positive feedback loop that drives consistent growth.
Save time on decision-making Dithering over big decisions can cost you everything. Whether it’s the split-second judgment in hand-to-hand combat or choosing where to invest your resources in business, you have to commit. When you are blitzscaling, you commit to decisions quickly—even if you don’t feel entirely confident about what might happen. It’s better to take a risk than lose out on the potentially immense rewards. When toying with the idea of adding a new mobile-first social messaging network, Pony Ma was aware of the risk to Tencent’s existing businesses, not to mention the relationships with many of China’s most powerful companies. But rather than call a committee meeting, the maverick CEO made a quick call to greenlight the new project, setting up a crack team of just seven engineers. A few short years later, Ma's daring gamble had paid off. WeChat crushed all competition and turned Tencent into one of the most valuable companies on the planet, worth over $500 billion.
Get a Little Help From Friends
After a post-fight press conference, camera footage emerged of Conor McGregor preparing backstage before the fight. He was shadowboxing with a training partner and practicing the exact same strike. It was that simple, repeatable technique with the help of a partner proved so decisive in his fights. Blitzscaling within your organization also requires a bit of help. Software needs to be developed at blitzscale. And, blitzscaling within a company requires continuous delivery. Additionally, almost half of all organizations use Kubernetes (K8s) to empower continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD) and stay competitive in a software-centric world. And, that is where a partner, such as Armory, comes in. Armory provides a collaborative delivery environment making software delivery continuous, collaborative, scalable and safe. Continuous delivery to kubernetes clusters at blitzscale can benefit from Armory's Armory Agent, a lightweight, scalable service that monitors your Kubernetes infrastructure and streams changes back to Spinnaker’s Clouddriver service. By integrating Armory Agent, your company can achieve blitzscale and scale to thousands of clusters on-demand without compromising security, usability or speed.
Final Thoughts
At the post-fight press conference, Conor McGregor stood composed in a room full of reporters, just as calm as was when he fearlessly stepped forward within striking distance of a formidable foe that hadn't tasted defeat in over a decade. In the opening few minutes, the room fell silent as a reporter recounted an earlier conversation before the fight where McGregor had unerringly predicted the manner of his victory. Ever the philosopher, McGregor offered up a gem, claiming that “timing beats speed, and precision beats power.” Airbnb and Uber did not have the most powerful war chests. But like McGregor, they had a plan and knew how to execute it before their rivals could react. Blitzscaling puts speed and aggressive progress ahead of certainty. Scaleups react without hesitation, ensuring they take action at the perfect time while others are still thinking. It is a high-risk, high-reward strategy where the winner takes all.