It don't amount to a hill of beans unless...

VentureBlog: Brand Follows User Experience

All the positioning XYZs, market ABCs, great promotion, smart plays, guerilla marketing, cool names and snazzy branding - in the long run - just won't cut it if the product sucks.

Lots of companies get big with products that aren't the absolute best, but as VentureBlog points out the value of the brand quickly declines if the user experience goes too far down hill. Frankly this is true not just in high tech but in any industry. And for start-ups your reputation and the product experience is all you have for a brand. The positive, hot brands of today have to keep it up to keep their brands as assets.