Gall’s Law and Startups

Business of Software has a great video up by Des Traynor, co-founder of Intercom, where he talks about why Product Strategy is About Saying No. A couple minutes into the video, he cites Gall’s Law, which is critical for anyone in the startup field:

Gall’s Law

A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.

A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.

People ask all the time why a big company can’t just throw a ton of money at an idea and knock-off the market leader. Gall’s Law is one of the main reasons.

What else? What are some other thoughts on Gall’s Law and startups?