Depends how you define ‘successful’, but most ‘underdog’ cases I’ve seen look pretty similar: simple product, no breakthrough idea, just consistent iteration over time. The hard part isn’t building, it’s sticking with it for 6–12 months when nothing is happening.

I guess that makes sense, I've seen this myself as well. But it feels a bit weird. Probably it's because not many are able to actually keep up this flow for such a long time, but still, it sounds like a simple "recipe" to success so how is it that so many people don't do it? This is what makes me question this strategy?

What makes "just sticking with it" a good strategy, how is it that the same idea made 12 months later could work but made at the beginning of the journey couldn't?