So "small is the new big" we're told. That means it's probably time to read or reread Joel Spolsky's excellent comparison of two kinds of company - organic growth vs. forced growth you could call it.
It's no surprise that for the Web 2.0 wave, most of the companies we hear of are organic growth in some respect. It is only rarely visible for these companies that they have indeed broken free and created a 'space' all their own to dominate - for the web at large the 800 pound gorillas already roam the jungle.

Maybe the article would be better by acknowledging some successful transitions from organic to forced (the other way I think is close to impossible with anything like the original idea of the company intact). Google is, I think, an example. I think you could argue that Google started out organic, even launched product (in beta) in organic fashion, and only later switched the commercial engine of adwords into full growth gear.