Not sure if I'd agree that weakening of patent protection has made it infeasible. To my eye, technical risk startups are still very defensible, it's just that the early technical advantage needs to grow into a branding or data advantage that is more defensible long-term. And I'd say the reason for this is a combination of more people getting into tech startups and consumers being conditioned to accept less. Flashy couldn't-be-done-before technology makes customers stand up and take notice, but pretty soon they start focusing on the parts that are really useful in their daily lives, and chances are there exist 80/20 solutions that get most of the way there but can be implemented by any one of a number of competitors.
I still think that technology risk tends to be underpriced by VCs today. The pendulum's swung too far, where everyone assumes that the tech is just a commodity and what really matters is how many Facebook ads you buy, and that's left several openings where consumers are not consuming because existing solutions suck too much.
I still think that technology risk tends to be underpriced by VCs today. The pendulum's swung too far, where everyone assumes that the tech is just a commodity and what really matters is how many Facebook ads you buy, and that's left several openings where consumers are not consuming because existing solutions suck too much.