Why I Started a Software Company: Give David the Sling to Slay Goliath

Why start a software company?

I’ve been asked several times why I started a software company. I’ve been asked why I quit my very well paying job with a Fortune 50 company, throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock, and taught myself to code with no guarantees. The current assumption is that the plan is to get investors, spin it up, and sell it off to some giant corporation after taking millions in investment. That isn’t the plan. The last year and a half we’ve all witnessed an unprecedented attack on small businesses and independent wealth. The means of production weren’t seized, but the means were stopped by edict. Every large retailer, large tech company, and entrenched interest thrived while their competition was forced to shut down. Most small businesses don’t have the tools, the time, or the knowledge to make well-informed decisions when they are constantly reacting to ever changing market conditions. I started Traks to give people the tools to fight and compete with the big guys.

I want to help David slay Goliath.

Today we see that Goliath is growing stronger and stronger as over 200,000 David’s were run out of business forever. In 2020, 200,000 businesses closed their doors. The marketplace is full of David’s trying to get a piece of the pie that the Goliaths are taking the majority of. In my opinion, it doesn’t have to be this way. At Traks I want to help businesses make better decisions with their data, improve their processes, and look at the reality of their business with an affordable, easy to use platform. I want this business to grow in ways that can help each small guy compete better against the giants. I want them to become the new Goliath.

Goliath is weaker than you think.

There is a fantastic article on “The American Scholar” that discusses the current leadership crisis in America. Link to podcast. The main point being, over the last several decades our businesses, institutions, and intellectual leaders have grown increasingly incompetent. Rather than select for competence, independence, and merit, these structures select for those who are “just good enough to not be a threat to (their boss)” and “keep from rocking the boat”. We have trained entire generations of “world-class hoop jumpers” who can have the right extracurriculars, do well on tests, say the right things, have the right thoughts, and be agreeable enough to not contradict their boss or any authority. These people are not the ones who can adapt. They can’t succeed in the long run.

I believe David will win.

The people who can and should be leading the large organizations in this country are weeded out. They are told they are “trouble-makers” or smeared with any number of nasty names, as well as accusations of moral deficiency. What happens when the people who should be leading are systematically removed from the very institutions they should be leading? There are two possible outcomes. Option one is everything collapses because an inability to adapt and stagnation have completely taken over. Option two, however, is that the large and entrenched institutions have made a fatal error. They pushed the very people who could build something that competes with them, and defeat them, out of their organizations. They created their competitors. They’ve created an army of David’s who all want a piece of Goliath.

How can an army of David’s win?

I don’t believe every David will win. Many will fail because they fail to adapt and they fail to see what is happening to them. They are being targeted and weeded out. They have impossibly high barriers to entry, barriers to growth, and a labor market where no one wants a job. The way to beat Goliath is to work smarter than Goliath. Goliath is large, lumbering, and each decision has to go through countless bureaucratic committees before a decision can be made. The little guys don’t have to do that. A small, nimble business can react faster and in more innovative ways than a large one. I want Traks to give them proper information, tools, and processes to act in ways that are faster and better than their competition. While Goliath is worried about a market study, or not angering an advertiser, David can rapidly and effectively evaluate the situation, make a decision and move to the next thing. With an army of David’s acting in fast, intelligent ways, Goliath doesn’t stand a chance.

I want to give David the sling.

I know that one company and one person can’t take on our current Goliath’s alone. If one person is standing up, or making too much of a fuss, they will get crushed. If an industry of small businesses, however, suddenly and rapidly improve, there are simply too many to stop at once. David wins in this case. I firmly believe that David can win and has to win if there will ever be small businesses in the future. Traks can be apart of that. I know we will start small without investors. That’s fine. I would rather answer to customers and grow in ways that provide real, tangible value. If you think that Traks can help you, or you are at least interested in this idea, check out our homepage, sign up for free, and give it a try. I want to know how we can better serve you and your business so that David can win. David has to win.