Before programmatic advertising, BroBible found a ceiling on direct ad sales. They built a highly profitable events business, hosting concerts and selling high-value sponsorships to major brands. This became their number one revenue source for two years, demonstrating a creative monetization strategy beyond simple ad inventory.

Punch Up first provided a tool for email collection, offering immediate, low-risk utility to comedians. This attracted creators without an existing audience. The network was built only after this utility was established, proving the 'come for the tools, stay for the network' strategy.

Square's product development is guided by the principle that "a seller should never outgrow Square." This forces them to build a platform that serves businesses from their first sale at a farmer's market all the way to operating in a large stadium, continuously adding capabilities to manage growing complexity.

Conveyo’s model is to provide infrastructure that realigns incentives between disconnected parties rather than replacing them. By acting as the sole, independent party managing the process end-to-end, they introduce accountability and transparency, making the entire system more efficient.

EventMobi successfully entered accounts using competing tech stacks by solving a universal pain point: badge printing. By offering a simple, low-cost, and user-friendly badge solution, they establish a relationship and then leverage it to upsell their entire event management platform.

Large enterprises don't buy point solutions; they invest in a long-term platform vision. To succeed, build an extensible platform from day one, but lead with a specific, high-value use case as the entry point. This foundational architecture cannot be retrofitted later.

Marketing high-priced in-person events requires less "shtick" than digital equivalents. The inherent scarcity (limited seats), tangible experience, and human craving for connection are powerful, built-in marketing hooks that digital products struggle to replicate authentically.

By treating reservations like tickets to a concert, Alinea Group eliminated costly no-shows, which were causing over $1 million in lost revenue annually. This pre-payment model, which faced initial industry skepticism, also dramatically improved cash flow by collecting revenue months before the service was delivered.

In-person events create a powerful, hard-to-replicate competitive moat. While rivals can easily copy your digital products or content with AI, they cannot replicate the unique community, experience, and brand loyalty fostered by well-executed IRL gatherings.