This piggybacks on the previous question and gets to the core of a business's philosophy, particularly in the tech space.

And the dichotomy was especially visible when Cisco acquired Linksys, Lee and Yocum said.

At the time, Linksys — where Lee was working — was a small company run by a couple who made decisions quickly, particularly when it came to products.

"We were launching two products a week," Lee said. "Their theory about it was, 'If it sold, great. If it didn't sell, OK, fine. Take it off the market and try a different product next time.'"

That approach worked well in the startup framework, where the early adopters were part of an experiment of sorts. The company gave them the new product, solicited their feedback, made changes and created a new version — all before it went mainstream. High volume, low margin.

As for Cisco? "They're not going to launch a product half done," Lee said. "They want to have it perfect and then launch it." Low volume, high profit.

There was another major difference in their customer-relations approach, Lee said. Cisco, which sells products used predominantly by large corporations and small businesses — has a "high-touch" approach. If you're having an issue, they'll send somebody to fix it.

Meanwhile, Linksys, which catered more to individual consumers (and a lot of them), had a call center receiving 100,000 calls a day, Lee said.

"It's not because the product is bad. It's because you have your standard user, like my mom, who doesn't know how to install a router," she said. "You're dealing with a different customer."