♽ [Analysis] The myth of the infrastructure phase – Dani Grant & Nick Grossman

We are not in an infrastructure phase, but rather in another turn of the apps-infrastructure cycle. As we will see: platforms evolve from an iterative cycle of apps=>infrastructure=>apps=>infrastructure and are rarely built in an outside vacuum. &nbsp First, apps inspire infrastructure. Then that infrastructure enables new apps. What we see in the sequence of events of major platform shifts is that first there is a breakout app, and then that breakout app inspires a phase where we build infrastructure that makes it easier to build similar apps, and infrastructure that allows the broad consumer adoption of those apps. Apps and infrastructure evolve in responsive cycles, not distinct, separate phases. Light bulbs, planes, the internet, mobile apps, and Web 3.0 all follow this pattern. &nbsp The common theme in the development of each major platform is that we build what we can given the tools available to us at the moment. This is known as "The Adjacent Possible." Each time the apps => infrastructure cycle repeats, new apps are made possible because of the infrastructure that was built in the cycles before. What is now possible several app => infrastructure cycles into the internet made no sense just one or two apps => infrastructure cycles in. That is the crux of what we mean by the myth of the infrastructure phase -- if we think about an “infrastructure phase” divorced from the apps that will use it, we run the risk of building too far ahead, in a speculative vacuum &nbsp It’s important to distinguish between technological frameworks that explain when something can be built, and investment frameworks that explain when something can be a good investment. The apps=>infrastructure=>apps=>infrastructure cycle explains when apps or infrastructure can be built, but doesn’t necessarily explain when to invest in apps versus when to invest in infrastructure. &nbsp Why is it that apps come first in the cycle, and not infrastructure first? One reason is that it doesn't make sense to create infrastructure until there are apps asking you to solve their infrastructure problems. How do you know that the infrastructure you are building solves a real problem until you have app teams that you are solving for?

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