# The Tyranny of the Marginal User - Ivan Vendrov Synced: [[2023_11_30]] 6:03 AM Last Highlighted: [[2023_09_14]] Tags: [[Business]] [[Explainer]] [[Software]] ![rw-book-cover](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F620ac008-64a0-400f-99f7-55eb6af9fd12_1330x1332.png) ## Highlights [[2023_09_15]] [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01haaw6p5gbxerbf97b2efqcr3) > Since most software products charge a flat per-user fee (often zero, because ads), and economic incentives operate on the margin, a company with a billion-user product doesn’t actually care about its billion existing users. It cares about the *marginal user* - the billion-plus-first user - and it focuses all its energy on making sure that marginal user doesn’t stop using the app. [[2023_09_15]] [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01haaw7wsvcc5qt2wqkaw62gyd) > By contrast, consumer software tools that enhance human agency, that serve us when we are most creative and intentional, are often built by hobbyists and used by a handful of nerds. If such a tool ever gets too successful one of the Marl-serving companies, flush with cash from advertising or growth-hungry venture capital, will acquire it and kill it. So it goes.