Opening an API commits you to access, stability and economics that outlast the team that shipped it. What Reddit, Twitter, Slack and Stripe show about API platform strategy, and five questions to...
Category: Strategy
Network effects get credit for most of the value in tech, yet only about a third of billion-dollar tech companies have one at their core. Three tests separate a real network effect from a decorative...
Should Your Product Have a Free Tier? Decide Where the Fence Goes First
Dropbox had 500 million registered users and about 11 million payers when it went public. A free tier is a strategy decision, not a pricing line. Where you place the limit decides who your product...
Richard Rumelt calls it the kernel of good strategy: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, coherent action. Most product strategies skip the first part and jump straight to goals and initiatives. That is...
Most new products fail by aiming at everyone. The winning move is a beachhead: one segment small enough to dominate, held completely, then used as the base to expand.
The Category King Takes 76 Percent. It’s Rarely the First Mover.
Siebel owned CRM and lost to a latecomer. The company that owns a market is rarely the one that shipped first. It's the one that named the category.