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đŻ How to build the future like Replit
Wedge, then scale
Read time: 3 minutes 23 seconds
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At Strategy Breakdowns, we typically focus on the micro - the tactics, the user journeys, the viral loops.
The practical learnings you can pick up, adapt, and implement in your own business.
Occasionally, we go macro.
The hope is that with the right framing, you can pick up, adapt, and implement some aspect of even the broadest of strategic ambitions.
For todayâs edition, weâre going macro.
Few founders outwardly commit to a strategy of building âthe most valuable company in the worldâ. Replitâs founder Amjad Masad is one of them.
How to build the future like Replit
Chess Move
The what: A TLDR explanation of the strategy
Replit is a reaction to the modern software development condition:
â âDevelopers spend their time waiting for builds, runnings tests, fighting with linters, and configuring frameworksâ
â âThe more sophisticated our tools are, the harder it is to set up⌠Programming is getting harder to learnâ
â âItâs creating an unbalanced world where there are programmers, and then there are those who are programmedâ
To create a future where âanyone anywhere can participate in the digital economy and build and leverage software to better themselves and their communitiesâ, they are creating the Figma for coding.
So simple to get started, you feel like you already know how to use it.
Internet-native, portable, and scalable.
Complete with modern conveniences like real-time multiplayer, AI tools, and a best-in-class mobile app.
Today, Replit offers the most thoughtful and complete âstarter packâ for beginner programmers.
Tomorrow, they hope to retain those beginner programmers as they mature, and be the first open computing platform to reach 1 billion users creating and monetising software.
đĄÂ Strategy Playbook: Win the long-tail, and scale up with them.
Breakdown
The how: The strategic playbook boiled down to 3x key takeaways
1. Create the de facto âentry pointâ
The typical âlearn to codeâ journey starts something like this:
Get inspired by an idea youâve dreamt up
Watch a few tutorials
Build the confidence to start coding
Reach inevitable decision point to (1) mock up your creation in a simple browser-based learning environment like CodePen, or (2) try to configure a fit-for-purpose local development environment.
If you chose (1), youâll quickly create something tangible, before soon realising your environment canât support basic necessities like version control, new libraries, file structures, or databases that transform your âideaâ into a âproductâ.
If you chose (2), youâll be stuck for hours on gnarly beginner problems like configuring libraries, self-hosting, and environment setup, ballooning the time investment to âpublishâ your creation.
Replit creates option (3):
No downloads. No config. No setup. Start coding instantly, right from your browser.
Every common library comes pre-installed.
All features you need to save and share your work available out-of-the-box.
Plus, all the nudges, pathways, extensions, and community support needed to âblur the distinction between learning and buildingâ.
Importantly, Replit recognises that catering to the requirements of a specific persona has as much to do with adding features they need as it does removing features they donât need.
Replit abstracts away complexities like package management, hosting, CICD, credentials, API keys, unit testing, and user authentication so users can focus on creating.
The result? Replit becomes the easiest way to âgo from idea to software, fastâ.
2. Be the vehicle for âlow-valueâ segments to become âhigh-valueâ
Replit wants to be the âfirst place that anyone writes a line of codeâ.
A defensible strategy, but one that raises some valid challenges:
â Firstly, what happens when your entry-level users outgrow the sophistication of your tool?
Replitâs Position:Â âWe want the best of both worlds, an IDE that starts out looking like a playground but can grow with you as soon as you require the extra power.â
Eventually, Replit aims to be a "low-floor and high-ceiling productâ that meets functional needs for all stages of coding maturity.
â Secondly, entry-level users are the typically least valuable segment of any market. How will you create value effectively?
Replitâs Position: Relentless focus on âplaying the long-gameâ.
Yes, their user base skews young and international, with 50% under 18 years old.
But, with a product that scales and up-skills its loyal users, if they can successfully retain those users as they get older, they have the potential to become the platform of choice for writing code and generating wealth on the internet.
From âOperating Principlesâ
Replitâs ultimate bet: Go after the long-tail, empower them to create wealth, and find a way to capture a fraction of the value itâs users create.
3. Donât just create tools. Create opportunities.
Replitâs vision promises more than coding tools - it promises wealth for itâs users.
However, if all devtools help people to code, and more people coding leads to more wealth, then couldnât the same be said for all devtools?
Replit creates tangible opportunities for its users by architecting a microeconomy of incentives and monetisation features across its platform.
Bounties: A rich marketplace for developers to earn by completing coding projects for others.
Payments: Native integrations with payment processors like Stripe to help creators monetise their creations.
Grants: Funding for Replit-powered startups via âReplit Venturesâ with thousands of dollars in bitcoin, technical mentorship, free publicity, and service discounts.
Rewards: Prize pools for completing tasks.
Employment: Cleverly placed links to Replit job applications throughout the ecosystem, such as in blog posts explaining the technical details behind new product updates.
For Replit, the future relies on a roadmap that doesnât just provide value, but enables value creation.
Replit will shorten the distance between ideas and wealth by a 100x.
— Amjad Masad (@amasad)
Nov 12, 2021
Rabbit Hole
The where: 3x high-signal resources to learn more
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