Software alone is a commodity

“The point of this story, Wilson explained, is that “software alone is a commodity. There is nothing stopping anyone from copying the feature set, making it better, cheaper, and faster.” This is where USV’s investment thesis comes in. USV realized it did not want to invest in commodity software, so Wilson and his partners asked, “What will provide defensibility?” The answer: “Networks of users, transactions, or data,” Wilson explained. “That led us to social media, to Delicious, Tumblr, and Twitter. And marketplaces like Etsy, Lending Club, and Kickstarter.”

Excerpt From: Alex Moazed.” Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy“