In start-up land we spend a lot of our time being concerned about the competitors that we perceive in our ecology. Partly this is because all startups perceive themselves as the underdogs in this situation. It is far too easy to be carried away believing that larger, better funded, or more advanced companies in the same space either oppress startups, or are “the enemy”. This is another area in which I believe are biological analogy carries well: we have to perceive ourselves as being an ecology, where we all contribute to the flow of energy (money) through a widely connected and diverse ecosystem. The clever strategy is on cooperation to grow an ecosystem that captures more energy, that has less leakage, and more recycling.   more »