I listen to a lot of entrepreneurial podcasts, mostly focused on bootstrapping, with an emphasis on SaaS products. On these shows, the entrepreneur is king. They often emphasize outsourcing to VAs, which makes sense. However, I see some of them with an attitude that technical skills are of this same value: something you just buy when you need it, as cheap as possible. Yesterday I think it was the Smart Passive Income podcast I was listening to where they (Pat had a guest) encouraged going to vWorker (yes, I know it's been acquired) if you need a developer to implement something.

Part of me was angry; the other part of me realized the truth of what they were saying. On one hand, some companies require their technology to be a competitive advantage. At a company like Apple, this isn't the case. The tech in their products is actually pretty good, but that's not what sells the products. Yes, they'll mention processor speeds etc at WWDC to thunderous applause, but then you'll never hear those things mentioned in the marketing. Apple has always been about vision, beauty, and simplicity. During Jobs's hiatus, they went down the multiple configurations and flexibility route; Jobs revamped their line and simplified it when he returned. The tech facilitates, doesn't lead.