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Success = product x distribution Took me way too long to realise this, at least first two failed companies were as a result of over indexing on product. We do

Success = product x distribution Took me way too long to realise this, at least first two failed companies were as a result of over indexing on product. We do not have perfect market intelligence and inexperienced entrepreneurs most common mistake is relying on how good their work / product / service is. It's a business killer as not enough customers will ever find it. It actually makes more sense to build distribution first, so that your product (however good or bad it is) gets an opportunity for as much exposure as possible. Somebody will buy, if enough people see it

ignoramous 5y ago
> Success = product x distribution Distribution explains Meta's and Google's powress (in the consumer market), that's literally unmatched right now. Distribution ("Install Chrome" prompts on the Google homepage) is how Chrome rose to dominance, and distribution is why Google pays Apple billions to be the default search engine on iOS. The other 3Ps (product, price, positioning) [0] of the marketing mix matter too (more so for consumer-grade products than enterprise where sales is takes precedence), but of course distribution (place) is king. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix
- hunglee2 5y ago
  Indeed, distro is king. Reid Hoffman talked about this a decade ago. We kind of need to reread his blog post about it
kuu 5y ago
I think you're giving a big key that many of us as just developers/engineers miss some times, and it's the distribution part. For us, as we haven't trained in that area, it's hard to find a solution. How would you say that's the best strategy to build this distribution?
- hunglee2 5y ago
  not just developers. I know loads of people who have such great product - coaching services, graphic design, you name it. But they retreat into doing what they love (the product) and don't realise that you got to sell it - and that needs distribution. I only learned this through repeated failure, fortunate enough to have the economic resilience to bounce back
- hunglee2 5y ago
  'build distribution' = this really is audience / channel building. And how you do it really depends on who is going to be buying your stuff. For example, I currently sell to recruiters (strange I know!). So my distro is a build a powerful presence on LinkedIn (where recruiters hang out), run newsletters, do podcasts / livestream, build community around recruiting content. This is full time for me though, so the above approach may not be suitable for everyone. The idea of building audience though, is relevant no matter what you do

ignoramous 5y ago

> Success = product x distribution Distribution explains Meta's and Google's powress (in the consumer market), that's literally unmatched right now. Distribution ("Install Chrome" prompts on the Google homepage) is how Chrome rose to dominance, and distribution is why Google pays Apple billions to be the default search engine on iOS. The other 3Ps (product, price, positioning) [0] of the marketing mix matter too (more so for consumer-grade products than enterprise where sales is takes precedence), but of course distribution (place) is king. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix

hunglee2 5y ago
Indeed, distro is king. Reid Hoffman talked about this a decade ago. We kind of need to reread his blog post about it

kuu 5y ago

I think you're giving a big key that many of us as just developers/engineers miss some times, and it's the distribution part. For us, as we haven't trained in that area, it's hard to find a solution. How would you say that's the best strategy to build this distribution?

hunglee2 5y ago
not just developers. I know loads of people who have such great product - coaching services, graphic design, you name it. But they retreat into doing what they love (the product) and don't realise that you got to sell it - and that needs distribution. I only learned this through repeated failure, fortunate enough to have the economic resilience to bounce back
hunglee2 5y ago
'build distribution' = this really is audience / channel building. And how you do it really depends on who is going to be buying your stuff. For example, I currently sell to recruiters (strange I know!). So my distro is a build a powerful presence on LinkedIn (where recruiters hang out), run newsletters, do podcasts / livestream, build community around recruiting content. This is full time for me though, so the above approach may not be suitable for everyone. The idea of building audience though, is relevant no matter what you do