Big time anecdata incoming: I've been around a relatively large number of studios (more specifically, people who have founded studios), and from my experience,

Big time anecdata incoming: I've been around a relatively large number of studios (more specifically, people who have founded studios), and from my experience, this post doesn't match up to reality. From what I've seen, there are categories (often deep technical, bordering on academic niches) where studio-ish approaches work--which is why research labs and similar models have existed for a long time. The studio model, however, doesn't seem to confer any automatic benefit to businesses in general. Most studios I've seen have been full of sort of "meh" SaaS's and zombie startups. At the same time, I've seen friends have a lot of fun running a studio, even if it didn't lead to a slew of giant exits. One man I worked with had successfully exited his business after 15 for a very large sum, spent a long stretch doing angel investing and some advising, and realized he just loved the early stage environment and helping out founders, even if he didn't want to personally build another startup. The studio he founded, which has been mildly successful but not at the level that someone in VC might aim for, has brought him an immense amount of joy and continues to, and the community that has emerged from it is full of some really amazing people. So, yeah, I don't believe we're entering a golden age of studios in which products developed within them will dominate every niche--with the exception of niches where studio-like models have always dominated--but I do think studios can still be fantastic in a social/personal sense even if they aren't producing Google's.