--- image: "/images/notes/true-disruption-is-rare.jpg" title: "True Disruption Is Extremely Rare" date: 2025-09-29 url: "https://x.com/ccatalini/status/1972686539290239222" tags: ['markets'] deck: "The Economist called disruption 'one of the most influential modern business ideas' — and yet the data stubbornly refuses to cooperate." tweetCount: 4 likes: 10 reposts: 2 --- [@TheEconomist](https://x.com/TheEconomist) called the theory of disruption "one of the most influential modern business ideas". And yet the data stubbornly refuses to cooperate. [x.com](https://x.com/business/status/1972567156328898690) In hard drives, the 3.5" insurgent was bought by giant Seagate, which reinvented itself and quickly caught up. Similarly, Napster should have buried music labels, but they pivoted to streaming, turning piracy into profit. True disruption is extremely rare, and incumbents catch up more often than we’d like to think. They control distribution, and inertia is a powerful selling proposition. [@arampell](https://x.com/arampell) 4/ More on the innovation vs. distribution tension here: [x.com](https://x.com/arampell/status/1968093331067642098)