One of my friends started a software development company. His clients were local, and so were his competitors. One day, an idea came to him: all his competitors knew him and each other, but they’d never been in touch before. Why not reach out? 

He sent out the invitations, and they all met at a bar and had a great time. He hosted this event until he sold his business. I like to imagine that they not only learned “business stuff” from each other, and indirectly improved each others’ businesses, but also got to deepen the relationship beyond rivalry. At the very least, it made them feel less lonely as entrepreneurs. While they may not have been best friends, they were peers in the same game.

What I took away was to connect with entrepreneurs that I considered my competition. There was plenty to learn and share. Who knows how our paths will cross in the future?

I leaned into this inclination the other day, booked some time with another independent business writer, and learned some lessons that saved a lot of time. Plus, it sounded like he was taking the business in a different direction, which meant he might not be a competitor very soon.

In dire straits, even a company as secretive as Apple needed its long-standing and main competitor at the time, Microsoft, to fund it in order to keep it in business. And, I would guess, it was useful for Microsoft to have a competitor so the government didn’t break it up for being a monopoly. Microsoft invested $150 million and exited for $500 million a few years later, although its shares were estimated to be worth over $100 billion in 2020.