Shade Tolerance Spectrum
Companies can optimize for limited resources (shade-tolerant) or abundant resources (shade-intolerant).
Shade-tolerant species can establish anywhere, growing slowly until opportunity appears. Different strategies, both viable in different environments.
Plants exist on a spectrum of shade tolerance. Shade-intolerant species (birch, aspen, pine) require 60-100% full sunlight - in shade, growth stops. Intermediate tolerance species (Douglas fir, hemlock) can survive at 10-30% sunlight, establishing under canopy and waiting decades for light gaps. Shade-tolerant species (western red cedar, beech) can grow at 2-5% sunlight through efficient photosynthesis and patience. The trade-off: shade tolerance comes at the cost of maximum growth rate. When a light gap appears, shade-intolerant pioneers grow 5-10× faster. But pioneers can't establish in shade.
Business Application of Shade Tolerance Spectrum
Companies can optimize for limited resources (shade-tolerant) or abundant resources (shade-intolerant). Stripe was shade-tolerant - optimizing for early adopters rather than enterprise customers, growing slowly until opportunity appeared. Groupon was shade-intolerant - requiring full sunlight (massive markets) but unable to establish in competitive shade.