founders paras chopra, chapter by chapter
15. Ecosystems Make or Break Startups
A company rises or falls with the network of complements, suppliers, and rules around it.
No company creates value alone. Complementary products, infrastructure, partners, suppliers, and regulation form an ecosystem whose growth can lift every participant—or whose decline can punish even an excellent operator. Smartphones needed apps as much as apps needed smartphones; electric cars need charging networks.
Map the actors required for your customer to receive value and the incentives that make each participate. Choose an ecosystem with good timing, then help it expand rather than extracting every available dollar for yourself. Track ecosystem health as seriously as company metrics.
Original sketch and model by Paras Chopra. Read the source chapter.