Distribution is not enough
Distribution is no longer a durable moat. The next wave will win with modular, AI-native technology, outcome-based pricing, and domain-specific units of intelligence that augment higher-value work.
By Vishnu Rajkumar · Marginalia
note · LinkedIn
In the world ahead, passive players and the laggards will cling to distribution; partner networks, fat enterprise deals, bloated suites. That’s all they’ve got left.
The new wave won’t play that game. They’ll run faster with 10x better tech that’s modular, AI-native and user-first. And they won’t just fight on features. They’ll torch every pricing model that isn’t outcome-based.
OpenAI sells tokens at commodity prices. But raw tokens aren’t the value. The value is by adding a strong ‘tech-premium’ to the tokens; when you bend them to your workflows, your data, your chaos.
Picture tokens wrapped with scenarios, loaded with domain logic, tuned to decision points. Not API calls. Not number of people, not number of hours in effort; but ‘units of intelligence’ built for work. You may call it synthetic staff, AI agents or whatever the buzzword is that week. What’s if this is the new language of pricing?
Entry-level human work will be gone. Automated out. The next tier of work will be augmented, faster, sharper, more context-aware than anything before.
That’s the premium. That’s the moat. If your moat is distribution, you’re already dead.