How do things get better and better over time?

Keith Rabois, a general partner at Founders Fund, has another way to think about the concept of network effects. He relates it to what he calls “accumulating advantages.” When Rabois hears a pitch, he looks for evidence that the startup can build momentum so that the business is likely to be more successful every day. “Sometimes you can talk yourself out of an investment if you obsess over defensibility,” he told me. “Accumulating advantages is one layer above network effects. Basically, why is it getting easier? Or how do things get better and better over time?”