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How to respond to lazy criticism
Read time 2.0 minutes.
When I meet early founders, most want to talk about product features. But the truth is that distribution is harder than building the product. If you don’t solve for it up front, you’ll end up with something polished that nobody ever sees.
This is especially true as AI becomes more prominent and most software, AI and enterprise companies can have their products replicated in days or sometimes even just a few hours. Having a product is no longer an advantage like it was 20+ years ago.
Think about it this way: every startup is playing on “hard mode” for distribution. It always takes more time, more money, and more energy than you think. Which means you need a plan for how you’ll reach people before you decide what to build.
Founders who get this right usually start with a distribution wedge:
A channel they know deeply (maybe they’ve sold into the same industry before).
An emerging platform where early adopters gather.
A content style or community that they already know how to reach authentically.
From there, they work backwards to the product, designing something that amplifies that edge.
The mistake I see often is founders doing the reverse. They build a product they love and then scramble for users later. “We’ll just figure out distribution” is a death sentence.
If you had to launch tomorrow, what’s your unfair advantage in getting the first 1,000 people to care? Start there. The right product is the one that makes that edge unstoppable.
Do you have an unfair edge at distribution? |
Onwards and Upwards,
