Software is dead. This simple test will tell you whether your startup will make it or not

I have spent enough years in the software industry to tell you this – software is dead.

Not that software consumption is dying – but the days of paying premium for it surely is over.

Software is not dying

The software consumption will actually qruadruple. We, the people are going to create more apps/saas products for our personal / professional use – in the name of automation, productivity and everything in between.

But the business of it is dying. The software of business, i.e. tools/platforms will thrive.

We will not just stop renting software, my belief is that we will create more of what we need rather than what we have been getting (Dharmesh / Hubspot beat me on this by coining WYSIWYN (N = need)).

So what does it leave you with your software startup?

What’er software you are building – be it a single workflow (DoA🏴‍☠️) or multi-workflow, here is a simple test for you to evaluate whether your product has enough value or not.

Strip it

Make it headless – i.e. strip it down to the bare minimum that your customers want (no fancy UI, no sexy UX which you created using Claude/Codex).

Expose that product value through an API or MCP. Let customers use it inside the tools and workflows they already have.

Then ask three questions.

• Does the product solve a clear problem?
• Does it deliver a measurable result?
• Would customers pay for that result rather than build a replacement themselves (i.e. is it really complex enough to not replicate?)

If the answer is no, your UI may be hiding a weak product.

What’s your take?