How to Build a Product People Can't Rip Out

What You'll Learn

This module shows you how to make your product indispensable. You'll learn how to prove ROI, deepen integrations, design for lock-in, and move up the stack from 'nice-to-have' to 'mission-critical'.

Intro

You don’t want to be used. You want to be depended on. Becoming Core is the shift from being a tool to becoming infrastructure. From something people like to something they can’t lose. This module gives you the language, metrics, and design cues to move your product up and to the right — from basic utility to business-critical. It’s not just about being a ‘must-have.’ It's about becoming accretive (you make them money or save them money), and sticky (your value spreads across multiple stakeholders). The goal: when budgets get cut, you survive. When teams reorganize, you stay. When competitors pitch, you’re already too embedded to rip out. You’ll learn to measure accretive value, identify key pain points, build lock-in through integrations and data, and create champions across departments. You won’t just earn usage — you’ll earn strategic status.

Myths & False Signals

Founders often confuse being used with being core. But usage isn’t the goal — dependence is.

• •You think retention = product love — it might just be inertia.
• •You assume you're core because people log in — but usage isn’t impact.
• •You believe accretive value is obvious — but if it's not quantified, it doesn't count.
• •You think stakeholder buy-in happens automatically — it doesn’t.
• •You assume being useful is enough — but if you don’t create pain when removed, you’re replaceable.

Frequently Asked Questions