Unless you’re the market leader in your category and region, it may seem impossible to beat the “big guys.” They have more money, more awareness, more resources to blow you out of the water with any type of marketing promotion that you can do. But every giant has their weaknesses.

Use these lessons from this ancient story to make your own story about overcoming overwhelming odds.

Giants often have vision problems.
The medical term is called Acromegaly, which can cause blurriness and loss of peripheral vision. In terms of business strategy, identify the areas that they’re focusing on. Then determine which areas they’re completely blind to. Which ones have the biggest potential?

Precision tools can be more effective than heavy equipment.
Being large makes you slow and committed to appealing the masses. By focusing on highly targeted audiences through niche offerings, you can overcome your biggest competitors. Identify their weak spots and develop plans to specifically target them.

Overconfidence makes you drop your guard.
Large established companies often fall into the trap of believing that smaller players can’t possibly compete because they have neither the awareness nor resources to outmatch them. This fallacy makes them unprepared for targeted attacks. This is a huge benefit to any up-and-coming brand. They won’t see you as a threat until it’s too late. So don’t worry about any competitive retaliation, just keep moving forward as if all their armor is down.

Watch this great TED talk by Malcolm Gladwell with a deeper dive on this famous tale.