---
schema: 1
type: term
title: '**the how vs. the what**'
description: >-
  **the how vs. the what** — In this channel's material, the distinction between
  _the how_ (the business model: how a company creates and captures value) and
  _the what_ (the product: the feature or technology being shipped), used to
  argue that a startup's real insight can live in the business model rather than
  the product alone.
canonical: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/the-how-vs-the-what-bb7809df38cb
markdown: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/the-how-vs-the-what-bb7809df38cb.md
llms: null
parent: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt'
channel: everyinc
updated: '2026-10-23T22:12:35.346Z'
language: null
children: []
---


# \*\*the how vs. the what\*\*

Canonical: https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/the-how-vs-the-what-bb7809df38cb

Parent: [Channel index](https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt)

## Definition

**the how vs. the what** — In this channel's material, the distinction between _the how_ (the business model: how a company creates and captures value) and _the what_ (the product: the feature or technology being shipped), used to argue that a startup's real insight can live in the business model rather than the product alone.

In the conversation with Mike Maples Jr., **the how vs. the what** names a distinction between two places a startup's insight can live: _the what_ is the product — the feature, the technology, the thing you ship — while _the how_ is the business model — the way the company creates and captures value around that product. Maples argues most people equate insight with product features or technical novelty, but a real edge can sit in the business model instead.The channel frames this distinction to explain Maples's concept of **counter-positioning**: the strongest AI strategy isn't another software license (a *what*), but offering AI as a substitute for expensive labor (a *how*). Competitors can copy a product feature; copying a fundamentally different business model means disrupting their own economics — which incumbents rarely do.When evaluating an AI opportunity, explore both layers:\_The what_ — the product or feature — is usually the most visible and most copyable part.\\_The how_ — the business model — can hold the durable insight, especially when AI replaces costly labor rather than adding a feature.\\Counter-positioning wins when your *how* forces incumbents to choose between competing with you and abandoning their own profitable model.\