VC on Microsoft's 'lawn mower strategy': ignore startups until they're scary, then mow them down
HanchungLee · x · 2026-11-06
VC Astasia Myers argues Microsoft ignores any market under $1B and doesn't care about polish, but can mobilize 200K people in two weeks once scared. Her advice: founders should build in 'small' markets, make the product too delightful to rip out, and get entrenched before Microsoft notices. Hanchung Lee calls this the 'lawn mower corp strategy'—let smaller competitors grow, then level them once sizable (co-opetition), echoing the classic 'embrace, extend, extinguish' playbook.
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