As a small business owner—especially in software or tech—you’ve probably wondered:
“Why would a company with a multi-million dollar enterprise system also buy my $700 solution?”
Better yet:
“How can I win those deals, too?”
Let me share a story that offers a surprising and powerful answer—and actionable lessons you can use right now.
The $700 Underdog That Beat the Giant
Years ago, I walked into a hospital’s network operations center. Think NASA Mission Control, but for patient data. This wasn’t a mom-and-pop clinic—this was a large, modern facility where uptime wasn’t just critical—it was life-or-death. They ran HP OpenView, a multi-million-dollar enterprise monitoring system from Hewlett-Packard.
But here’s the kicker:
They were also using a $700 product from a tiny bootstrapped company called “What’s Up Gold.”
No, really.
Yes, in addition to HP’s software. No, the hospital wasn’t confused. And yes, they were happy to pay for both.
Why?
Lesson #1: Customers Don’t Buy Software — They Buy Solutions That Work
They told us:
“There’s this one task we do all the time—What’s Up Gold is just faster. It’s easy. It works. And it only cost a few hundred bucks, so we didn’t even need approval. We just put it on the company card.”
Here’s what that means for you:
- A simple product that does one thing well can live right next to an expensive, bloated solution.
- Speed, convenience, and simplicity win—especially for frontline employees who just want to solve a problem now.
Lesson #2: Small Purchases Avoid Big Headaches
In enterprise sales, price isn’t just about how much—it’s about how hard it is to buy.
Here’s the magic:
Under a certain threshold, often around $500–$1,000, purchases can fly under the radar.
This makes your product:
- Easier to buy
- Faster to deploy
- Less risky to test
So no, you’re not underpricing. You’re removing friction. That’s a competitive advantage.
Lesson #3: Don’t Try to Be the Enterprise Product—Complement It
The bootstrapped tool wasn’t trying to beat HP at its own game. It didn’t need feature parity. It didn’t need buzzwords. It just needed:
- A few useful features that solved a real, daily pain
- A price that made it easy to say “yes”
- Visibility in front of the right person (more on that next)
This isn’t competing with the elephant. It’s walking beside it—and still getting fed.
Lesson #4: Distribution Is Everything (Even If It Starts in a Bathroom)
We asked, how did you even find What’s Up Gold?
“Probably saw it in a magazine… one of the ones in the bathroom.”
Let that sink in.
Not Google. Not social. Not enterprise sales. A print ad. In an IT magazine.
Sometimes distribution is about being in the right weird place at the right time.
The takeaway:
Don’t assume your audience only discovers products through slick digital funnels. Test unexpected channels. Follow your customer’s actual habits, not just marketing trends.
Lesson #5: Start Small, Deliver Value, Then Grow
What happened next?
We adjusted our pitch. Instead of pushing a $10,000 deal, we said:
“Buy $500 worth today. Try it out.”
They did. They liked it. They bought more—month after month. Then that hospital told others. Then the parent organization called.
Eventually:
A five-figure deal. From a $500 start.
That’s the real Enterprise play:
- Land small
- Deliver value
- Expand inside the organization
Final Takeaways for Small Biz Owners in Tech
If you’re building or selling a product and wondering how to get noticed when big names dominate your industry, here’s your cheat sheet:
| Principle | What You Should Do |
|---|---|
| 💡 Customers buy outcomes | Solve specific problems really well—even if “someone big” already does |
| 💳 Procurement friction matters | Price your product so it can be purchased without long approval chains |
| 🧩 Don’t compete head-on | Fit into existing workflows, complement bigger tools |
| 🚽 Unconventional distribution | Find your audience where they actually hang out—even offline |
| 🚀 Land and expand | Start small, build trust, then scale within the organization |
You don’t need to be the enterprise solution.
You just need to be useful, available, and easy to try.
That’s how a $700 product quietly wins million-dollar deals.