A Company of One: Standing Out Among the Masses

The food and beverage industry has always been one of the fastest-growing, fastest-paced business sectors in the world. It should come as no surprise, then, that the industry has begun ramping up its reliance on AI and automated technologies to keep pace with the tech boom and the growth opportunities it has introduced. But despite the race to automate, optimize, and scale beyond our means, some of our clients are embracing their “company of one” status as a platform to stand out among the masses.

In 2019, from his home on a remote island off Vancouver Island in British Columbia, designer and software developer Paul Jarvis wrote a different kind of business book. Titled Company of One, the book outlines not a literal company consisting of one person, but an approach to business that sets a healthy check on unnecessary growth via acquisition and venture capital.

70% of high-growth tech startups in a sample of 3,200 failed due to premature scaling.

But is unnecessary growth even a thing? According to a 2011 Startup Genome study, 70% of high-growth tech startups in a sample of 3,200 failed due to premature scaling—adding staff too quickly, overspending on PR and marketing, and failing to meet customers’ needs because of mismanaged priorities. Knowing how much and when to spend on these things differentiates a “company of one” from a company-soon-to-be-undone.

One of our clients came to us recently with a very company-of-one type of idea. They realized recently that due to overconfidence in the AI marketplace, tech startups (tech bros/brats) have presumptuously taken on the task of “solving” food the same way Uber “solved” transportation. This, combined with the exit of Boomers with all of their institutional knowledge and Generation X now running departments with no time to fill the education gap, has left early-career food scientists trying to troubleshoot production lines and run projects with an education that was robbed of any plant experience due to the pandemic.

In short: real experience and scientific know-how are lacking in an industry that desperately requires it to function optimally.

The solution to this problem? Fill the gap with educational resources, such as seminars and workshops, in order to rebuild the industry with knowledge built around experience and science from those who hold it. This includes utilizing marketing channels such as email marketing and on-demand learning libraries that we’re in the process of building. With time and the right amount of effort and funds focused in areas that strengthen communities and solve problems, a company of one leverages its small size to achieve big ideas.

So, how do we know who is a company of one and who isn’t? Jarvis draws our attention to three shifts in focus and strategy:

1. Better, not bigger

2. Retention, not acquisition, and

3. Autonomy, not ego.

By utilizing its strength and flexibility as a company of one, our client is able to pivot in order to provide these much-needed educational offerings as a marketable service to the industry that lacks them. Their focus is not on their own internal growth via acquisitions and mergers; instead, they use their industry knowledge and skills to market their services and provide solutions to a genuine need in the industry, maintaining their own profitability and providing a path for other companies to do the same.

If you’re interested in learning more about the company of one strategy, I highly recommend reading the book and watching this excellent short video summary. If you’re looking for a marketing and design partner to help you start your next “company of one” project, reach out today!