# Great Things Take Time

DevFeed: [Great Things Take Time](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/great-things-take-time-30337.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.mdubakov.com/posts/great-things-take-time/>)

Published: 2013-03-04T15:41:57Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Blog by Michael Dubakov](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/blog-by-michael-dubakov.md>)

Topics: [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [Software as a service](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/saas.md>), [Game Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/game-development.md>)

Tags: [apple](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/apple.md>), [complexity](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/complexity.md>), [evolution](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/evolution.md>), [game-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/game-development.md>), [saas](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/saas.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [software-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-development.md>)

## AI overview

This essay contrasts focused "hedgehog" companies with diversified "fox" companies. It argues that sustained focus, experimentation, iteration, and deep attention to one market or problem can help companies create significant software products, while also discussing the rapid pace of software evolution and upgrades.

## Source excerpt

Great things take time. Evolution and complexity are two sides of the nature development. Let's take cars. Cars are becoming more and more complex. At the same time, cars are becoming more reliable, faster, more efficient, safer and better. It took humankind a century to get there. The progress pace is impressive, but incomparable with software development. Things change in software development world with an astonishing "never seen before" speed. 10 y.o. technologies are history. 10 y.o. software without major upgrades is dead. While 10 y.o. cars are quite good and decent. We, software developers, are blessed with a gift that makes our industry truly different -- we can upgrade working systems on the fly. To have a new car you should sell an old one and buy the new car. To have a new version of SaaS application you don't have to move a finger. Software developers have a luxury to iterate fast, fail fast and emerge viable, efficient solutions. Software development industry is not so young, it is about 50 years old. It took us 50 years to reach the point where "software is eating the world". Companies: Hedgehogs and Foxes OK, back to the main point of this essay. There are two types of companies: Hedgehogs and foxes. Hedgehog company takes one area and digs deep. It usually create a single software application for a single market (no matter if niche or wider). Fox company builds many applications for various markets, it constantly tries many new things and never stick to a single thing. I don't like foxes. In most cases they can't create something significant. However, let's check some examples. Rovio created 50 or so games till the Angry Birds slam-dunk It's a hedgehog company. It was fully focused on game development. They tried various models and various gameplays. They iterated and failed many times. Apple is a hedgehog company (well, there were different times at Apple, but now this statement is correct). Apple launches new products with care. No rush jumps to fin