Distribution will be the most valuable skill
Lately I’ve been thinking about something that makes me a bit uneasy. If in the future everyone can build products with AI (coding with Claude, design with Figma AI, video with Sora), then what sets us apart?
The answer is one word that rarely gets talked about: distribution.
I think it’s going to be the most valuable skill over the next 5 years. Here’s why.
Building isn’t the edge anymore
It used to be that “being able to build” was enough of an edge.
- Can code = can work at a startup.
- Can design = can freelance.
- Can write = can be a content writer.
Now? AI can do all of that in minutes. What used to take a team of 5 now runs with 1 person + Claude.
Which means the ability to produce isn’t the constraint anymore.
I’ve seen it myself. A landing page that used to take a week now takes 2 hours. A SaaS MVP that used to take 2–3 months now takes 2 weeks.
But the problem moved. The product’s done, so who knows about it? Who uses it? Who pays?
That’s when it clicked for me: the bottleneck isn’t “building” anymore. It’s “getting it to people”.
Naval Ravikant once said something like: “If you can build a product and you have distribution, you’ll never be poor.”
What’s interesting is that he puts “having distribution” on the same level as “being able to build”. Not optional. Not an extra. Equal.
Because a product without distribution = a file in your Downloads folder. Nobody knows about it, nobody cares.
What distribution actually is
The simple version: the ability to get the attention of the right people, consistently, without having to pay every time.
It can look like:
- An audience on Threads/IG/X/YouTube
- An email list
- A community that trusts you
- An active professional network
- SEO that keeps bringing people in
The point is that it’s an attention asset you build yourself.
What makes distribution valuable is that you can’t hand it off to AI.
AI can help you make content, but it can’t build trust for you. It can’t hang out in people’s DMs. It can’t be the “oh right, I remember that guy” in a potential customer’s head.
Trust is built slowly, by showing up consistently, sharing honestly and genuinely helping people. That’s what makes it hard for others to copy.
What I’m doing about it
Concretely, this is what I’m doing now:
- Writing on Threads every day, even if it’s just one short post
- Sharing the process of building the product, not just when it’s done
- Replying to comments one by one, not just posting and disappearing
- Helping people who ask, even if they’re not potential buyers
- Keeping track of everyone who’s ever reached out, so I don’t forget them
It’s slow. But every week there are 1–2 new people who get to know me.
What’s interesting is that this isn’t a new skill. The vegetable seller my mom always buys from has been doing it for decades, haha.
They know the neighbors’ names, know whose kid is sick, know who’s hosting a celebration. It’s not a marketing technique. They just genuinely care about people.
When the neighbors need vegetables, they don’t compare prices at the market. They go straight to that seller, because they already know them and trust them.
Distribution in its oldest form, and still the most effective.
Start before the product exists
The bitterest lesson for me: what decides whether your product sells isn’t only the product’s quality. It’s how many people already know you before the product exists.
Which means that if you wait until the product’s done to start building an audience, you’re already late.
Start introducing yourself now, even before you know what you’ll sell. Then when the product’s ready, there’ll already be people waiting for it.
And a note to myself, for when I reread this next year: building keeps getting easier. Stop being proud just because you can build.
What’s hard and valuable is getting people to remember you when they need something.
Start building the “people who remember you” now. Don’t wait for the product to be done.
If tomorrow everyone can build a product overnight, the winner won’t be whoever builds fastest. It’ll be whoever already has people to tell.