Lawrence Koh ·Google ·13 FEB 2020
Stop the Bleeding First, Then Sign the Contract
When a partner is about to walk, buy the pause first and negotiate the terms later.
Topic
App Stores
Platform rules, fees, and the fights they start.
22 letters · most recent first
Paul Gennai & Atul Kumar & Samer Sayigh & Jamie Rosenberg & Alexi Douvas & Shafiq Ahmed & Mike Petrillo ·Google ·26 MAR 2019
Hide The Price By Bundling It
When one number scares a partner, wrap it inside a bigger one they can't easily unpack.
Jim Kolotouros & Jamie Rosenberg & Hiroshi Lockheimer & Sameer Samat ·Google ·30 MAY 2019
Bundle Your Assets Before A Partner Unbundles You
When one partner controls half your revenue, stop negotiating deal by deal — treat every dollar you send them as one connected bet.
Kirsten Rasanen & Sameer Samat & Wilson White & Paul Feng ·Google ·17 OCT 2017
Preview Bad News Before You Ship It
When you're about to close a door on a big partner, walking through it in person costs you nothing and buys you information you can't get any other way.
Kirsten Rasanen & Jamie Rosenberg & Sameer Samat ·Google ·18 SEP 2017
Pre-Sell The Policy Before You Announce It
When a policy will anger your biggest partners, negotiate them into it privately before the world hears about it.
Kirsten Rasanen ·Google ·7 FEB 2018
When Your Biggest Partners Refuse Your Terms, Listen
A 10% discount can't buy compliance when the real objection is losing control of the customer.
Purnima Kochikar & Sarah Karam & Brandon Barras & Paul Feng & Sameer Samat ·Google ·23 JUL 2019
When Your Customer Brings Demand, They Hold the Leverage
If a user was already searching for your product before arriving at the platform, the platform didn't create that demand — and both sides know it.
Purnima Kochikar & Jamie Rosenberg & Sidney Lee & Marc Shedroff ·Google ·10 JUN 2020
Grant the Favor Without Changing the Contract
The most powerful concession is one you give verbally and can quietly take back — without ever touching the written agreement.
Purnima Kochikar & Tia Arzu & Paul Gennai & Jamie Rosenberg ·Google ·23 JUN 2018
When a Rival Skips Your Platform, Build the Data Case First
Before you negotiate, know exactly how much the other side needs you — and make sure your team does too.
Purnima Kochikar & Jamie Rosenberg ·Google ·19 JUL 2018
Choreograph the Meeting Before You Walk In
Great negotiators don't just prepare arguments — they stage-manage what the other side hears, when, and from whom.
Purnima Kochikar & Jamie Rosenberg & Bob Meese ·Google ·3 AUG 2013
The Real Moat Is Distribution, Not Billing
Developers won't pay you 30% to process a credit card. They'll pay it to reach customers.
Purnima Kochikar & Tim Sweeney & Donald Harrison & Hiroshi Lockheimer ·Google / Epic Games ·10 DEC 2019
Frame Your Fight as an Industry Problem, Not a Favor
When you're picking a fight with a giant, don't ask for an exception — demand a rule change, and make sure everyone is watching.
Jamie Rosenberg & Tian Lim & Erin Crosby & Sameer Samat ·Google ·7 FEB 2019
Neutralize a Rival by Absorbing Their Ambition
When a partner tries to build a competing store, don't fight the ambition — offer to power it.
Kirsten Rasanen & Samer Sayigh ·Google ·21 DEC 2023
When Fear Of Noise Beats The Better Plan
The best-designed policy loses to the loudest possible critic — until you honestly weigh the cost of doing nothing.
[redacted developer] ·Apple ·23 AUG 2015
Anonymous Developer Emails Tim Cook Over App Store Search Fairness
A small developer's 2015 complaint to Apple's CEO — later surfaced in federal antitrust litigation — captures the moment independent creators began to feel systematically squeezed out of the marketplace Apple had built around them.
Apple Legal Department ·Apple Inc. ·4 SEP 2020
Reframe the Fight: You're Not a Toll Booth, You're a Bundle
When someone attacks your pricing, don't defend the price — redefine what they're actually paying for.
Apple Legal Department ·Apple Inc. ·8 SEP 2020
Reframe Your Product as a Bundle, Not a Fee
When someone attacks your price, don't defend the price — redefine what they're actually paying for.
Apple Legal Department ·Apple Inc. ·15 SEP 2020
Reframe Your Price as a Bundle, Not a Tax
When someone attacks your fee, don't defend the fee — redefine what they're actually buying.
Matt Fischer ·Apple Inc. ·21 AUG 2018
When Your Pricing Faces Pushback, Negotiate Before You Lose the Deal
The moment your partners consistently refuse your terms, you have two choices: lose them or adapt — and waiting too long to decide is its own decision.
Tim Sweeney ·Epic Games ·30 JUN 2020
How to Frame a Demand as a Favor to Customers
When you can't beat a gatekeeper on their terms, reframe the fight as being about their customers, not you.
Tim Sweeney ·Epic Games ·17 JUL 2020
How to Signal a Legal Fight Before You File One
When a business dispute stops being about money and starts being about principle, the other side's lawyers are no longer the audience — the public and the courts are.
Tim Sweeney ·Epic Games ·13 AUG 2020
How to Pick a Fight You Planned to Win
When you deliberately break a powerful partner's rules, the letter you send isn't a negotiation — it's the opening statement of a lawsuit you've already prepared.