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OpenAI – Maker vs. Seller

1 points by yashg ↗ HN
A successful company needs a maker and a seller. But eventually the seller is the star. Makers are important but not as much as the sellers. The whole OpenAI saga illustrates that at the end of the day, makers are replaceable, sellers are not. Makers, while geniuses in their respective fields are also naive and overestimate their ability and powers. The world belongs to those who can sell.

3 comments

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streetcat1
Not sure what the seller would sell without the makers. Do you think that somebody sold anything to 100M users? The above is correct if you are IBM or SAP, not in the case of open AI.
throwaway60703
The seller will always find a maker, but a maker won't be able to make without (being) a seller.

It's normal to sell without actually having anything. Like, famously, Bill Gates and DOS, and many other examples.

You can't rely on "build it and they will come" - that happens only in special circumstances (first mover in a new market).

yashg
Makers are important of course but unless you have a charismatic seller, whatever you make won't find many users. And once it has been made and you have 100M users, the maker is no that important. Wozniak was a critical factor in Apple's earliest creations but later on he didn't matter as much.