The Golden Handcuffs: Investing in Companies You Can't Easily Leave
The Glorious Inconvenience of Switching
We have all been there. That bank account you have had since you were a teenager, the one with the terrible app and baffling customer service. You know you should switch, but the thought of redirecting all those direct debits and payments is just too much hassle. You are trapped, not by force, but by sheer, glorious inconvenience. Now, imagine that feeling magnified a thousand times, and you have the business model of some of the world’s most resilient companies.
I am talking about businesses whose products are so deeply woven into the fabric of their customers' operations that leaving is less a choice and more a corporate self-demolition project. Think of a company that has built its entire data architecture around Oracle’s databases. Switching is not just about buying new software. It is about retraining an entire workforce, migrating mountains of critical data, and praying that the whole thing does not collapse in a heap during the transition. It is like trying to change the foundations of your house while you are still living in it. The risk is simply too great, so you stay put.
