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I've had some realizations recently around this. The quality of the software is in my opinion not a huge factor for the success of the company. Look at car comp

by wppick 5y ago

I've had some realizations recently around this. The quality of the software is in my opinion not a huge factor for the success of the company. Look at car companies like Ford, Toyota, VW. Compared to a Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley they are crap, but yet they are still relatively successful companies in their space. Software is sold to managers. How they make their purchasing decisions is the biggest factor, which comes down to how good the salesperson they interact with is, and their decision making framework. Even if you could make a better platform than service now, you still probably couldn't convince the decision maker to use your software instead. Things like how much they trust the company will be around long term, the support offered, the list of "features", personal relationships are usually more important. A company is more than just the overall relative quality of the product.

hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
> Look at car companies like Ford, Toyota, VW. Compared to a Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley they are crap, but yet they are still relatively successful companies in their space. This analogy doesn't work here IMO. Indeed, in many respects like reliability, a Ford, Toyota or VW is actually much better than a Ferrari. They're just very different brands: one set are mass market brands and the other ones are exclusive luxury brands, and they have different features that appeal to each. But Ford, Toyota, VW cars are certainly not "crap", and e.g. Toyota is renowned for the quality of its vehicles.
- leesalminen 5y ago
  Ford and Toyota don’t belong in the same sentence when it comes to the quality of its vehicles.
- wppick 5y ago
  Yes, it's not a perfect comparison... But if you were to ask someone who regularly drives (or is driven in) A Bentley whether a Toyota RAV4 is crap they will probably say yes. Why? Because what's important to them is the luxury, and the bells and whistles of their Bentley. Compare this to software where they largely have the same "features", but one platform is easier to use than the other. Is the software that is easier to use "luxury software"?

by wppick 5y ago

hn_throwaway_99 5y ago

> Look at car companies like Ford, Toyota, VW. Compared to a Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley they are crap, but yet they are still relatively successful companies in their space. This analogy doesn't work here IMO. Indeed, in many respects like reliability, a Ford, Toyota or VW is actually much better than a Ferrari. They're just very different brands: one set are mass market brands and the other ones are exclusive luxury brands, and they have different features that appeal to each. But Ford, Toyota, VW cars are certainly not "crap", and e.g. Toyota is renowned for the quality of its vehicles.

leesalminen 5y ago
Ford and Toyota don’t belong in the same sentence when it comes to the quality of its vehicles.
wppick 5y ago
Yes, it's not a perfect comparison... But if you were to ask someone who regularly drives (or is driven in) A Bentley whether a Toyota RAV4 is crap they will probably say yes. Why? Because what's important to them is the luxury, and the bells and whistles of their Bentley. Compare this to software where they largely have the same "features", but one platform is easier to use than the other. Is the software that is easier to use "luxury software"?