Why the 'full-stack' startup is the startup of the future

Wow, this was a really interesting read. In theory, the full-stack startup sounds perfect, but I can see why it would be hard to pull off. Definitely food for thought though.

Sounds good in theory, but a team coming together to achieve full stack use case is often hard. Maybe that is why there will be only few companies that have figured it out will truly disrupt an industry.

"Full stack" startup makes sense if you're VC backed and bringing an entirely new type of product to disrupt an existing market e.g. nest. But for everyone in the indie world I don't see how this makes sense. The value is rarely in the technology but the solution to a customer problem. This is best achieved using off the shelf components which is why Microsofts partner network has been so successful, they focus on the customer relationship and developing a solution and let Microsoft handle inventing the tech.

Years ago, I knew a guy who got about 1/2 million in funding to sell software to auto dealerships. He wasn't successful, and swore off dealing with auto dealerships again. It makes a lot of sense that founders are increasingly skeptical about selling just software into legacy markets. If you can find a way to create value - which is hard, you still have to convince people that - and even if you do, you still then only get paid for a fraction of the value you create. Better to cut out the middleman if you can.

great point! I guess it also depends on personality/perspective of the founder, up to some extent. Some people choose to be self-reliant, no matter what, and then they are destined to spread wide and DIY; all of it, while others prefer to stack-it-up from building blocks built by others.

The article about startups opens up with Apple and Microsoft as examples, not really startups aren't they :) Uber is better example, and this is an interesting lens to look at them, but I find the business model one much more revealing. Uber is an example of a business model innovation:

• it's a two-sided marketplace (not one like taxi companies)
• taxi drivers are not their employees but their key partners
• it opened up a new customer segment - say your women going back home late, or tourists who had no idea which taxi company to call, or didnt speak the language, etc
• different value prop - you dont have to bother paying in cash for example
• etc etc

Mind blown. This makes total sense. Don't know why I haven't come across it sooner. I'm completely rethinking my startup's product now.