Three lessons for tech startups from the rise of Zoom

Zoom, the videoconferencing firm, shows how more start-ups can take on the tech monopolies, says Matthew Lynn.

Zoom conference call
Zoom: outwitting the tech giants
(Image credit: © Zoom)

If videoconferencing company Zoom was in the FTSE, it would be one of the top ten companies, slightly behind Diageo and just ahead of BP. If it was in Germany’s DAX it would be in seventh place, and on France’s CAC 40 it would rank ninth. In the last week, Zoom has raced past $75bn in market value. From less than $70 at the start to the year, the shares are now worth more than $260 each. Despite the occasional wobble, it shows little sign of slowing down. By the end of the summer it might be worth more than $100bn.

The company has come from virtually nowhere to become one of the biggest tech brands in the world. The number of installed users on its platform has grown seven-fold since the pandemic started. Revenues are soaring. Its success is great for its shareholders, of course, as well as for the many millions of people who use it every day. But its sudden rise also has some important lessons for every kind of business, and for policymakers as well.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.