The Strategic Value of Complements

Depends on the nature of the "strategic partnership", but the stuff that I'm trying to push is really more directed at existing businesses, not startups. Many companies have partnerships with VC firms or their own VC fund or internal "labs" that invest real money in complements. Ultimately, much of the early-stage VC game seems to be about investing in complements for existing businesses and then selling the complement to that business once the risk has been reduced to a reasonable level.

So to clarify, I'm trying to say two things: 1. when designing a business model, don't think in terms of selling advertising (i.e. selling out your users), think in terms of "creating value for someone with discretionary budget to send your way"

2. most companies, especially their marketing departments, should be more active in investing in complementary infosoftwaretech.

You can still undercut competitor pricing with freemium; with an all-free model, your "competitive weapon" is to out innovate and maximize the potential for value creation.