🏗️ The difference between Product and Platform

Product is what you build.

Platform is how you build.

Most people build the first and outsource the second. After all, the product has the IP—the secret sauce—the valuable part.

However, we observe in successful companies a focus on their internal platform. They build their own tools and workflows optimized for them. How you build is where the rubber hits the road. If you don't master the "how," getting the "what" done is frustratingly difficult. YOUR Platform is the engine that keeps product development running smoothly and allows you to keep ahead of the game. It does not matter so much if someone steals your ideas because you are already implementing the next ones.

It is relatively easy to copy a physical product. It is nearly impossible to copy the internal process, culture, workflows, and tools—even if they are freely shared. Why? Because so few companies have the discipline and will to own their platform.