The issue I take is that the article puts strategy into a step in the timeline or process, whereas I believe it needs to be everywhere, all the time. You can't have product-market fit without strategy AND/ORD you can't build a solid, sustainable business without thinking about strategy/market-needs/biz model and probably more at the same time, holistically throughout your existence.
Yes. Business model and strategy are so inherently related (practically "joined at the hip") that I'm not even sure it makes sense to try and divorce the two and talk about them separately. And to the extent that you can talk about them as separate things, it seems obvious to me that changes in one are likely to drive changes in the other.
What is strategy? Well, one definition is "the things you do that your competitors don't". Another is "it's the things you don't do". Well, changing your business model is changing "what you do" (or "don't do" as it were).
And to flip things around... let's say you have some kind of SaaS application, and you've chosen "freemium" as your business model. Your "strategy" now is still "what you do that your competition doesn't". Changes to strategy that can fit within the "freemium" model are strategy that can evolve idependently of the business model. For example, you may have chosen to compete on "product quality" as a metric, so you may spend far more money on testing and QA than a competitor, in order to try and create a product that is better. That's "strategy" and that's independent of the "business model"... except when it isn't.
Like, when the freemium model doesn't drive enough revenue to support the dicated investment in testing and QA. So what do you change, the strategy or the business model? Which one is really more "primal"? I think you can look at it either way, and you have to keep things in harmony one way or the other.
So we're back to how business model and strategy are largely "joined at the hip". Some elements of either can evolve independently of the other, but you just can't divorce them totally and put them into a timeline.
So my advice is not to rush into business model without first finding product market fit and then taking the time to lock down on a crisp, clear, and smart strategy for your business.
My only argument with this is the use of the term "locked down" to refer to strategy. Your environment isn't static and unchanging and your strategy can't really be either. Strategy, IMHO, is a dynamic and iterative process that is never "done".
Yes. Business model and strategy are so inherently related (practically "joined at the hip") that I'm not even sure it makes sense to try and divorce the two and talk about them separately. And to the extent that you can talk about them as separate things, it seems obvious to me that changes in one are likely to drive changes in the other.
What is strategy? Well, one definition is "the things you do that your competitors don't". Another is "it's the things you don't do". Well, changing your business model is changing "what you do" (or "don't do" as it were).
And to flip things around... let's say you have some kind of SaaS application, and you've chosen "freemium" as your business model. Your "strategy" now is still "what you do that your competition doesn't". Changes to strategy that can fit within the "freemium" model are strategy that can evolve idependently of the business model. For example, you may have chosen to compete on "product quality" as a metric, so you may spend far more money on testing and QA than a competitor, in order to try and create a product that is better. That's "strategy" and that's independent of the "business model"... except when it isn't.
Like, when the freemium model doesn't drive enough revenue to support the dicated investment in testing and QA. So what do you change, the strategy or the business model? Which one is really more "primal"? I think you can look at it either way, and you have to keep things in harmony one way or the other.
So we're back to how business model and strategy are largely "joined at the hip". Some elements of either can evolve independently of the other, but you just can't divorce them totally and put them into a timeline.
So my advice is not to rush into business model without first finding product market fit and then taking the time to lock down on a crisp, clear, and smart strategy for your business.
My only argument with this is the use of the term "locked down" to refer to strategy. Your environment isn't static and unchanging and your strategy can't really be either. Strategy, IMHO, is a dynamic and iterative process that is never "done".