> building a business model around the availability of a third party is a recipe for failure. Rather, I think it's that a business model that is not compliment

> building a business model around the availability of a third party is a recipe for failure. Rather, I think it's that a business model that is not complimentary to the third party is the problem. E.g. Amazon doesn't want historical price tracking for as it could lead to folks discovering price manipulations and a decrease in margins. So, that's the issue--the business was not a compliment. Let's imagine a startup that was generating new sales from a long tail market segment too small for Amazon to target directly, then that's a good business model as it compliments Amazon and leads to new sales they wouldn't otherwise see. TLDR if you rely on a partner, make sure your business helps their business.