How Working With Rivals Can Unlock Bigger Opportunities | Entrepreneur

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For decades, business leaders were told to “crush the competition.” Market share was a zero-sum game; if your rival won, you lost. But in today’s interconnected economy, that thinking feels outdated. Companies that are thriving in 2025 aren’t just fighting competitors harder; they’re practicing something counterintuitive: co-opetition.

Co-opetition, the blend of cooperation and competition, is about partnering with rivals when doing so creates mutual value. You may still compete for customers, but you also collaborate where interests align. Think of it less like a boxing match and more like building a bigger stadium where both sides can play.

Why co-opetition is taking off

Several global trends are making co-opetition not just smart, but essential:

Complex supply chains: No company controls everything end-to-end anymore. Collaboration helps reduce costs and speed up innovation.

Customer expectations: Buyers want seamless solutions, and sometimes that requires rivals to connect services.

Technology ecosystems: Look at how Apple and Microsoft, once sworn enemies, now integrate their products for remote workers.

Capital efficiency: For startups, teaming with a competitor can open doors to distribution, investors or bundled products that would otherwise be out of reach.

In other words, co-opetition has shifted from a “nice to have” to a growth strategy.

Famous rivalries that turned into partnerships

Some of the most creative partnerships in recent years came from companies that used to fight fiercely.

Spotify and Uber: When Spotify partnered with Uber to let riders control music during trips, both sides benefited. Spotify gained listening hours; Uber improved the rider experience without building a music feature.

BMW and Toyota: These two auto giants co-developed fuel cell tech and sports cars. Instead of duplicating billions in R&D, they shared costs while still competing in the showroom.

Pepsi and Coca-Cola: You’ll never see them share a Super Bowl ad, but behind the scenes, they teamed up on recycling. Both brands win when packaging becomes more sustainable and cost-effective.

The lesson: True co-opetition creates value that neither party could generate alone.

Why entrepreneurs should care

For founders and small businesses, the stakes are even higher. Limited resources make co-opetition a powerful lever.

Bigger reach: Two SaaS startups, one in HR, another in payroll, might compete for small business budgets. But if they bundle services into a joint package, they can land bigger clients together.

Credibility boost: Teaming up with a competitor signals strength. It tells customers and investors you’re focused on expanding the pie, not just hoarding your slice.

Lower costs: Joint marketing events, shared research or co-authored thought leadership can cut expenses in half.

In fact, a study in the Strategic Management Journal found that firms engaging in co-opetition often see stronger innovation outcomes than those going it alone.

How to partner with a rival (without losing your edge)

Of course, collaboration with competitors isn’t without risks. Done poorly, it can leak sensitive info or create brand confusion. Here’s how to do it right:

Pick the right rival: Choose a competitor with complementary strengths, not a mirror image of your business.
Set clear boundaries: Use agreements to define what data is shared, what’s off-limits and how success is measured.
Start small: Pilot a low-stakes project like a joint webinar before committing to deeper collaboration.
Keep the customer central: The partnership should improve the end-user experience. If it doesn’t, it’s not real co-opetition.
Stay competitive: Remember, you’re still rivals. Healthy competition drives performance even as you cooperate.

The mindset shift founders need

Many entrepreneurs avoid co-opetition because they think it signals weakness. In reality, it signals confidence. It says: “We’re strong enough in our lane to work with others, not threatened by them.”

It also helps you avoid the scarcity mindset. Instead of seeing opportunity as a fixed pie, co-opetition shows you how to expand the pie. This is especially powerful in sectors like fintech, health tech and mobility, where no single company can solve every problem.

The future is co-opetitive

Look around, and you’ll see this becoming the norm:

Amazon’s third-party marketplace partners with sellers who also compete with its own brands.

Google and Samsung teamed up to strengthen the smartwatch ecosystem against Apple.

Airlines, as one of the toughest, most cutthroat industries, build alliances like Star Alliance to expand global reach.

For entrepreneurs, the message is clear: The next decade of growth won’t just come from competing harder, but from collaborating smarter.

As the saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In today’s world, that might even mean going together with your rival. The logic is simple: No single company can own every resource, technology or market. By finding areas where interests align, even rivals can unlock new customers, share costs and shape industries in ways that would be impossible alone.

Co-opetition isn’t about abandoning competition; it’s about knowing when to compete and when to collaborate so that everyone grows stronger in the long run.

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