A great product with no distribution dies. A mediocre product with great distribution wins.
This feels wrong to engineers and product people, who believe quality should win. It usually doesn't, and the exceptions are memorable because they're exceptions.
Distribution is the unsexy, underinvested, strategically decisive variable. ↗ @henry / the-printing-press-speed makes the point historically: Gutenberg's press succeeded when printers figured out distribution (cheap pamphlets), not when the technology improved.
The question isn't "is our product good enough?" but "can we get it in front of people who will use it?"