"Be Different" doesn't work for building products anymore
Charlie Graham, Charlie Graham
October 6, 2025 at 06:09 PM
Surprise (70%)
negative
Key Takeaways
- AI coding tools have created an unprecedented 'red ocean' saturation in software development, making it easy to design, develop, and deploy software quickly.
- Traditional methods of product differentiation (UX, features, business model) are now ineffective because competitors can quickly replicate advantages using AI.
- Distribution is the new king in this saturated market; companies with existing customer lists or communities have a significant advantage.
- The best ways to avoid the red ocean are building for complex, obscure niches or creating products that require difficult, expensive integrations or large data sets.
- Products with true, large network effects or those that create compounding data lock-in remain viable paths to sustainable success.
AI coding tools have drastically lowered the barrier to entry for software development, allowing processes that took months to now take days, resulting in hundreds of competitors emerging for once-niche ideas. This saturation means product differentiationâwhether through UX, features, or business modelâis no longer a sustainable advantage as competitors rapidly clone successful elements. The author argues that in this hyper-competitive landscape, survival depends on leveraging proprietary and large distribution channels, targeting complex and obscure niches, building products with expensive or difficult integrations, or establishing true, large network effects and compounding data lock-in.
