The graveyard of startups is full of superior products that lost to inferior ones with better go-to-market. A field guide to the distribution advantages that actually compound.
There's a sentence every founder should tattoo somewhere visible: first-time founders obsess over product, second-time founders obsess over distribution. It survives because it keeps being true.
The uncomfortable math is this: a mediocre product with a great distribution engine will usually beat a great product with mediocre distribution. Dropbox wasn't the best sync technology. Salesforce wasn't the most elegant CRM. They won the channel, not the spec sheet.
Create a free account to read selected essays across every pillar. Upgrade to Premium anytime for the full library.
Sign in to chat with an AI grounded in this essay.
Anish has spent 12+ years inside commodity trading floors delivering ETRM and trading systems, from front-office deal capture to the post-go-live months where implementations are won or lost. He writes The Trading Narrative for the practitioners who run those desks: traders, delivery leads, and the professionals in between.
More about the authorNo comments yet, be the first to share your perspective.
Your Wednesday briefing on trading technology, markets, risk and regulation, in 5 minutes. Edition #8 of The Trading Narrative.
Anish PujariSep 23, 2026 14 min read
Your Wednesday briefing on trading technology, markets, risk and regulation, in 5 minutes. Edition #6 of The Trading Narrative.
Anish PujariSep 16, 2026 14 min read
Some of what vendors sell is transformative, some is a thin wrapper with a new label. What is actually working on commodity desks in 2026 and what is not.
Anish PujariAug 27, 2026 5 min read