Essay · 15 min read
What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong
Ben Thompson · Stratechery Freemium Advanced
Thompson shows where the toy and disruption story breaks down: in consumer markets, good enough does not always win, because experience and delight are real moats. Christensen wrongly predicted the iPhone would fail using this exact logic. Read it so you do not over apply the toy thesis and dismiss a well made premium product.
- Low end disruption assumes buyers only care about measurable specs.
- Consumers pay for experience in ways spreadsheets miss.
- Sometimes the better, more expensive product is the one that wins.
