Lessons in not getting disrupted from three disruptors

At some point the most disruptive of start-ups turn into companies others want to copy and many end up getting disrupted themselves.

At the Unbound Digital conference in London three big players, Eventbrite, YPlan and Dropbox, explained how they stay ahead of the game.

Renaud Visage, co-founder and CTO, Eventbrite

"We stay ahead of the curve by being really customer centric and fulfilling customer needs in a way that it hasn't been done before. You need to constantly look for ways to do things differently."

Rytis Vitkauskas, co-founder and CEO, YPlan

"When we launched, there were around 40 YPlan copycat businesses; now there are about seven. The test of time is the most powerful.

"We stay ahead by good hiring. I look for in secure over achievers; people who are so focused on achieving that they remain committed to helping the business grow."

Johann Butting, managing director EMEA, Dropbox

"You need to not be complacent and don't get to a point where your team thinks 'we've made it'. No-one really ever makes it. The company leadership need to go back to the team again and again and say 'we haven't made it'.

"You also need to keep disrupting your own company. The moment you stop disrupting yourself and don't implement changes you were going to implement is when you've got a problem."