Software founders often think they're self-contained, but you're actually one link in an industry supply chain. Your real advantage is customer access built through brand, which gives you leverage over vendors. Understanding where you sit between suppliers and customers clarifies your competitive edge.
Where are you in your industry supply chain? You know, I talk with especially people who are building software products. It's like I'm talking to someone who thinks they're Athena, right? Born fully formed from the skull of their, of their parent right from the beginning, right? They are the whole thing. When in fact, many businesses really are best thought of as being pieces, links in a chain, right? That takes us from, you know, the raw materials over to creating, you know, value for the end customers. And when you take that perspective, you start to ask how do you fit with the part in front of you in the chain, which is demand, and the part behind you in the chain, which is supply. And when you put demand in front of you, and you think of it from that point of view, you start to think better about like what your competitive advantage is. Like, do you have superior access to customers because you've been building up your brand? And that's going to give you leverage with your vendors because you're able to then bring them those customers, bring them the business that goes along with it. Those kinds of issues drive value and strategy.
