I call it distribution debt. It is every good thing you built that nobody can find. The feature you shipped into silence. The launch that died in a day. The post that deserved reach and got none.
It compounds like real debt. You pay the interest with more launches, more content, more noise, and the balance never drops. Most companies do not have a product problem. They have years of distribution debt and no line item for it.
It also rots morale
Every time you ship into silence, you train the team to believe the work does not matter. That belief is more expensive than the wasted launch, because it lowers the bar on everything that comes next.
How to measure yours
List everything you launched in the last year. Circle the ones your own customers could not name. That percentage is your distribution debt. Most teams are sitting at 50 or 60% and calling it a roadmap.
You track CAC and you track burn. Start tracking this. What is your number, and could you survive seeing it written down?
Alex Mureșan does go-to-market distribution for founders who'd rather be right early than safe and late. Get in touch →