Startup & VC Jargon · Managing Director level

"Picks and shovels"

"Picks and shovels" refers to the strategy of investing in or building tools that serve a growing market rather than betting on which participant in that market wins.

Say this instead: sell the tools, not the product

How "Picks and shovels" shows up at work

A fixture in VC pitches and investor memos, this phrase signals a contrarian play that has, at this point, been made by nearly everyone. The gold rush metaphor is vivid; the insight has been fully arbitraged.

Buzzword

Our real opportunity is picks and shovels: build the infrastructure everyone in this space will need.

Plain English

Our real opportunity is to sell the tools, not the product: build the infrastructure everyone in this space will need.

Corporate Rank: Managing Director · Category: Startup & VC Jargon

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