Before Microsoft Became One of the World's Most Valuable Companies, It Was on the Inc. 500

We looked at our past articles to analyze how the software company grew.

Posted  224 Views updated 4 months ago

For many companies, getting on the Inc. 5000 list is just the start. Markets go up and down, what customers want changes, and small mistakes can turn into big problems that kill companies.

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Many businesses deal with these changes well but don't become huge. They stay as small as medium-sized companies that are very important for our economy.

But some Inc. 5000 companies become names everyone knows. You've probably heard of Zoom, Yelp, Dominoes, Zillow, Chobani, AMC theaters and Facebook, and there are more. We looked at our old articles about six of these companies to see how they turned fast growth into lasting success. 

MS DOS

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People often say there are three ways to grow a business: build, partner, or buy. Microsoft, one of the world's most valuable companies, worth $3 trillion, is good at all three. But Inc. would argue that Microsoft's greatest strength comes from ownership.

That strategy dates back to the company's earliest days. Founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen bought the rights to MS-DOS, an operating system designed to run Intel's 8086 microprocessor, and then  licensed it to IBM for its Model 5150 personal ­computer. That PC became the first one many people bought, so MS-DOS became the main stream, and Microsoft's money grew from $7 million in 1981 to $97 million in 1984.

This success helped when office programs like WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 were beating Microsoft Word and Excel in the late '80s. Because most PCs used MS-DOS, and later Windows, Microsoft could make its Office programs work better with Windows than other companies' programs.

After going public in 1986 - one of the biggest at the time - Microsoft began a strategy of growth through acquisitions. It bought many smaller businesses that helped it enter new markets, including well-known products like Hotmail and PowerPoint. Microsoft bundled PowerPoint with other Office products at a lower price to make sure it was the main choice for office work.


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  • Before Microsoft Became One of the World's Most Valuable Companies, It Was on the Inc. 500
  • hoangphan