How do you convince a hunter that the elephant he sees in front of him isn't a beast that he should try to kill? Speaking metaphorically of course.

I read a great blog post by Mark Suster a number of years ago which described the scenario of elephants, deer and rabbits. The analogy was to describe what kind of customer do you as a small startup try to tackle and the pitfalls you will inevitably fall into if you choose the wrong option.

Briefly...

The realities are that you have limited amounts of - well - everything.

Cash.

Time.

People.

The huge customer will in the end make you an indentured servant to their goals and needs.

There is really no way around it.

Avoid elephants. Deer rule.