Feature or Product or Company?

Ryan Frederick | April 11th, 2025 | Dublin, OH

One of the most critical distinctions founders and business leaders need to make early on is understanding whether they’re building a feature, a product, or a company. At Transform Labs, we regularly advise clients through this crucial decision-making process because each path requires vastly different strategies, resource allocation, and long-term vision.

Building a Feature typically means you’re creating something that enhances or complements an existing product. Features solve specific, narrowly-defined problems and often rely on other products or platforms to deliver value.

Building a Product involves delivering stand-alone value to customers, solving a significant problem independently. Products require clear market validation, a well-defined value proposition, and robust go-to-market strategies.

Building a Company is about creating sustained value over time. Companies encompass multiple products or services, have clear business models, sustainable competitive advantages, and strategies to scale effectively.

Misunderstanding what you're building can lead to misguided investment, wasted resources, and lost opportunities. Clarity, on the other hand, helps ensure you’re making strategic decisions aligned with your ultimate vision.

Are you clear about what you’re building? At Transform Labs, our mission is to help you gain this clarity and navigate the right path forward.

Ryan Frederick

Ryan Frederick is a seasoned entrepreneur, author, speaker, and investor, renowned for his expertise at the intersection of technology and its profound effects on global economics, politics, labor, and society. As a Principal at Transform Labs, a technology advising firm, Ryan leverages his extensive background technology and business strategy to assist organizations in navigating the complexities of a new era of immense technical automation.

With a career that began in software development, Ryan possesses a unique blend of technical proficiency and business insight. This combination has enabled him to successfully establish and expand multiple companies, providing him with firsthand experience in the challenges and opportunities presented by technological innovation. His entrepreneurial journey has also led him to become an active angel investor and a mentor to startups and corporate innovation leaders, further solidifying his role as a catalyst for technological advancement in the business world.

Ryan is the author of two influential books: "The Founder's Manual: A Guidebook for Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur," which offers insights into product creation and company building, and "Sell Naked: And Other Advice for Growing and Managing Services Firms," focusing on strategies for service-based businesses.

As a thought leader and speaker, Ryan frequently shares his perspectives on how emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are reshaping various facets of society. In his writings, he discusses the macro-level changes driven by AI, including its impact on economic models, labor dynamics, and geopolitical stability. Ryan emphasizes that the rapid adoption of AI and automation necessitates a reevaluation of traditional economic structures and poses both challenges and opportunities for global societies.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Ryan is committed to workforce development and social impact. He founded i.c.stars, a non-profit program dedicated to training under-employed adults in digital skills, demonstrating his dedication to bridging the digital divide and fostering inclusive growth in the tech industry.

Ryan's deep understanding of the interplay between technology and societal structures, combined with his practical experience in business and innovation, positions him as a compelling speaker on the transformative effects of technology on global economics, politics, labor, and society.