Before I left the lab today @k00b and I had a conversation around this very same thing.

“In the business-school case study, the startup always begins with a brilliant insight. The founders perceive a gap in the market relative to incumbents, then build a product to fill it. It’s all very logical. In reality, we know that startups are messier than that. Founders usually start with a product idea. They know users will like it but may be a bit hazy on the exact market, buyer, or business model. Those details get filled in over time. By launching the product first and learning from its adoption, founders discover the market insight, then build the organization they need to operationalize it.”