The invisible variable

Plenty of good ideas have failed. Plenty of similar ideas, launched a few years later, have succeeded.

It’s rarely because the second team was smarter. The difference is timing.

Timing is one of the most underdiscussed factors in product success. We talk about the idea, the team, the strategy, the execution. We talk much less about whether the market is actually ready to receive what we’re trying to give it.

It’s harder to think about because timing isn’t something you can control. But you can read it — and a small amount of effort here can save you years.

What it means for a market to be “ready”

A market is ready when several things line up: the technology is mature enough to make the product feasible, the audience is aware enough to understand it, the economics wor...

Timing matters: when a market is ready (or not)