How To Battle Giants In

Business - And Win

There’s nothing more inspiring than a David and Goliath business story, where the underdog startup succeeds in a world ruled by corporate giants. But what makes an entrepreneur even think they can crack a market dominated by heavyweights, and more importantly, how do they do it?

Personal ancestry is big business, with global interest fuelled by TV shows such as Who Do You Think You Are? The market for personal DNA testing services is growing rapidly, and in the UK, is dominated by a handful of multi-national companies, including 23andme, Quest Diagnostics, and AncestryDNA.

Living DNA is a tiny UK company that has just launched its own ancestry DNA testing service, one that offers a ‘high definition’ view of their family history, versus the ‘standard resolution’ provided by their larger competitors, according to its founder David Nicholson. The startup was launched using profits from DNA Worldwide Group, a company set up by Nicholas in 2004 to fund the development of the personalised DNA testing service. That process took two years and a team of over 100 experts around the world. Living DNA aims to be profitable within 18 months.”

He says: “Setting up a personal DNA service is very hard, and the millions of dollars it would normally cost to achieve have been saved through the solid relationships we have built with key partners and academics. The likes of Ancestry.com, are big names to challenge, but Living DNA’s stance is that DNA can prove that each and every one of us worldwide are connected to one another.

“We are the first test that allows people to break down their British ancestry to any of 21 UK regions, and over 80 worldwide regions. Most other ancestry tests only typically going back four or five generations, so we are confident there will be a big demand for a test that provides the high-definition overview of people’s past.”

Recommended by Forbes

The global cosmetics market has grown by 3.8% over the past ten years to €181 billion ($197 billion), according to EY research, and is dominated by major global brands. Nevertheless, entrepreneur Jacqueline Smith is making waves with her business Kiesque, and her innovative nail polish Liquid Palisade, which prevents polish from staining the skin, and a listing with global cosmetic retail brand Sephora.

Based in Wheaton, Illinois, and launched in 2010 using only personal investment, Kiesque has achieved double sales growth year-on-year, since launch, with the exception of one year, and is profitable in 2016. What sets her business apart from her much larger competitors, she says, is its ability to test out new innovative product ideas with lower risk; to shift and move with ease. “Being the first mover in the space with IP behind you allows for proof of concept at a lower cost/risk than that for the larger companies,” she says.