The New York Times has an interesting read on RealNetworks, and how the 15-year-old Seattle software company has stagnated over the years despite being one of the original leaders in distributing audio and video over the Internet.
Reporter Brad Stone does a nice job of capturing the history of Real -- noting its missed opportunities and chutzpah in taking on big rivals such as Microsoft, Apple and -- most recently -- the Hollywood movie studios.
Stone writes:
But there are some lessons to draw from the rise and, if not the fall, the stagnation of Real over the last few years. Companies can be ahead of a new technology wave but fail to catch it if they hew too closely to what made them successful in the first place.
Another lesson is that entrepreneurs who have battles with established rivals, even if they think they are correct on the underlying issues, can end up losing out in the long run. (Just ask the founders of the original Napster.)
We’ll get to Real’s storied industry battles in a bit. More significantly, the company has stuck to some of its technologies arguably for too long after the market started heading in another direction.
A good read.
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