Business | Tier-two tech

How to thrive in the shadow of giants

Smaller companies are snapping at the heels of the tech titans

May 20th 2021|SAN FRANCISCO

A COUPLE OF years ago Snap, the company behind Snapchat, a social-media app, came close to imitating the feature for which it was then famous: digital photos that self-destruct ten seconds after the recipient views them. Shortly after a headline-grabbing initial public offering in 2017, the firm faced a user revolt triggered by an unpopular redesign, falling rates after it started automatically auctioning ad space and an exodus of executives. Its shares dropped precipitously in value, at one point in late 2018 sinking below $5, less than a fifth of the price they fetched when the firm started trading.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “In the shadow of giants”