[coldtea]

It's a BS marketing spin that keeps changing alright.

Neither design played a huge role, nor "meeting their customers face to face". The world is filled with failed startups with great design.

The simple explanation is: they simply offered a product people needed for it's value + some luck.

But I guess the product having a use value (as opposed to nice design or soapy stories about "connecting" with their customers) does not cut it as an offering anymore.