MongoDB is a weird one because what they had didn't even meet the most basic requirements of "a database", that you could store something in it and reliably get it back out. But they somehow converted their joke of a product into enough money to buy WiredTiger, rebrand its product as theirs, and profit. It's the ultimate expression of "fake it 'til you make it" and they did it by giving away stickers at conferences!

The best technology and product doesn't always win.

Once you realise what we do is not engineering, it's fashion, it will all make sense.