VCs historically prized single-product companies that could IPO on one product alone (Google, Zoom, Duolingo). Casey Winters argues that era depended on four conditions that have since eroded:
Because these tailwinds are gone, most companies today cannot reach IPO, or sustain growth long-term, on a single product — the premise behind planning a second product deliberately rather than opportunistically. Contrast with Business Model Category Is a Red Herring for Second-Product Timing, which argues the specific need still varies company to company even though the general tailwind has weakened for everyone.