Jira: existing market, red ocean. Jira enters an already establihsed bug-tracking market where we already had tools like Bugzilla. Initially it was directed towards developers rather than for PMs. My read of its PM bet is that teams would value a shared system that assigns work and tracks progress while also coordinating delivery woth engineers. Its challange was winning a familiar problem and job not invent a new.
Linear: resegmented market, red ocean (patch of blue). Linear targeted product builders at very fast-paced or fast-growing software comapnies who used existing tools that were slow and cumbersome. My read of its bet is that these PMs would value speed and simplicity over extensive customization, probably so much that they would care to make the switch. It fits the three tests we talked about for segmentation: shared frustration is there, identifiable teams and reach through founder networks. Targeting a narroweer audience allowed them to create room to compete.
Productboard: new market, blue ocean. Productboard emphasized a completely different problem: deciding what to build and why to build it besides the execution and delivery. It aimed to connect customer insights to feature priorities. My reading of its bet is that PMs had a distinct, underserved workflow and would adopt a dedicated tool for it, aka what to build is as important as building process. This means that they were not a better replacement, they were a brand new purchase for these teams.
