✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

The path dependence trap | Austin Yang

austinyang.co · 2,112 words · saved by 1 readers

By now, most founders and product managers know not to fall into the “build trap” — in other words, getting stuck building products nobody wants. To avoid this trap, the consensus approach is to spend the minimum amount of effort to validate an idea before investing further resources, also known as MVP (or MLP/MTP if you’re a hipster). Ironically, this MVP mindset can often lead to a more silent, sometimes deadly problem: the path dependence trap. Let’s explore what it is and why it’s dangerous. Simply put, path dependence means our past choices can limit our future options. This concept might remind you of the sunk cost fallacy, but they’re not quite the same. With the sunk cost fallacy, you stick to the same path to avoid wasting past investments, even though you could still change course. Path dependence, on the other hand, puts you in a position where you really can’t veer off the course you’re on. Let’s look at an example: We’ve all seen this illustration by Henrik Kniberg that ex

The path dependence trap | Austin Yang Skip to content The path dependence trap Product Management By now, most founders and product managers know not to fall into the “build trap” — in other words, getting stuck building products nobody wants. To avoid this trap, the consensus approach is to spend the minimum amount of effort to validate an idea before investing further resources, also known as MVP (or MLP/MTP if you’re a hipster). Ironically, this MVP mindset can often lead to a more silent, sometimes deadly problem: the path dependence trap. Let’s explore what it is and why it’s

Explore this link on the map →

related reading