Instead, it’s about making blitzscaling work for you, and in Uber’s case, that means coming in and hard fast with insanely low prices… and the knowledge that they have a backup stash of startup capital behind them. But as you’ve probably already noticed, blitzscaling isn’t a simplistic “one size fits all” model that can be applied to any company anywhere. So, by swooping in with prices so low that it’s impossible to undercut them, Uber is able to take its market by storm and rake in profit hand over fist. They understand that if you want to strike fast and generate rapid growth, doing it quickly is key. One reason Uber is so successful is that they’ve internalized the most important aspect of blitzscaling: speed. If they’d waited and taken the sensible option, they would have been too late! But by setting up in Wimdu’s home turf and capitalizing on the appeal of an international expansion, Airbnb was able to put Wimdu out of business and reclaim their unparalleled hold on the hospitality industry. In this case, taking a risk made all the difference because it allowed them to beat Wimdu to the punch. And in Airbnb’s case, it paid off! By rushing ahead, they were able to beat a German competitor called Wimdu, which was rapidly trying to eclipse their success.

But that’s exactly what makes blitzscaling so effective: the tremendous reward that comes with the danger of taking a risk.

And rather than following a more traditional model, within just a year of their decision to expand, they had soared to a record breaking nine international offices between 2011-and 2012! The inherent risk of this choice is plain to see and most people wouldn’t advise it.

Originally based in the US, Airbnb was thriving when it began to consider expanding to an international market. And they faced a situation exactly like the one depicted in our hypothetical coffee shop example. Airbnb is one of those companies that falls in the same category as Amazon, Apple, and Google in that it skyrocketed to rapid and unprecedented success. To consider how that works in practice, let’s take a look at the business model of Airbnb.

Blitzscaling by reid hoffman