If you pick a fight with the toughest boss right from the jump, you’ll get pummeled. Instead you should start small. Find your footing in a tiny, uncrowded market where the competition is sparse. Some of the the biggest companies on the planet started out this way.

Netflix rented DVDs. Nike built track shoes. Amazon shipped books. Shopify sold snowboards. Toyota manufactured looms. Instagram made photo filters. Lululemon designed yoga pants. If you’re like most early-stage companies, the work you’re doing now is the worst work you will ever do. You’re only going to get better.

By choosing a small market, you give yourself time to hone your skills, systems and services far out of reach from more brawny competitors. With time, you will evolve. When you finally do take a swing, they won’t know what hit them.