Great Businesses Think and Act Like Monopolies
We tend to want to build out businesses within markets that have already been validated, which by nature, already have some level of competition.
The problem with this, is that the more competitive a market is, the less opportunity there is for huge profit margins and aggressive pricing power. So, why should we gravitate to markets that are more competitive, even when the upside is often far less attractive?
In this model we’ll uncover the concept of monopolies and why you should view them as the most attractive opportunities.
True Innovation Moves From Zero to One
Textbook market analysis principles are very effective for assessing decisions with existing businesses in established markets, yet they can be extremely misleading when assessing products and innovation that may not fit into any existing category.
This model unpacks the Zero to One thinking required for ideas and products that create categories, rather than fit within categories that already exist.
Real Growth Lies in Value Creation
If a person or product provides value to society, they’ll be financially compensated by society based on how useful (or valuable) that product is. This is the beauty of creating value, the upside is limitless and there's essentially no cap on how much value you can generate.
Minimising costs is critical first step, but quickly hits a limit, building value is where the financial opportunity is infinite.
The Growing Era of Niche Fame
The web has blown up the amount of opportunities to win for very specific needs, or niche topics. With billions more people at our disposal, micro audiences for specific needs now far exceed entire local audiences from the pre-internet age.
Therefore, we're seeing specialisation create far more opportunities than generalisation, as there are simply more areas than ever to build fame in.
The Strength in Skill Stacking
Skill stacking is the idea of stacking your strengths on top of each other to create a unique, single product. This stack is your superpower that is unlikely to be matched.
The more skills you stack, or the better you are for a particular set of skills, the more unique and distinct your product will be, giving you a higher chance of owning an audience for a very specific need.
The Webs Winner Take All Effect
With global internet access, the winner takes more than ever before. Those who would have won in a smaller, geographically limited competitive set, now lose out almost completely as their audiences flock to the new found best.
Why Society Wins With the Web
No longer do we have to settle for the best within our local geographic limitations, the internet reveals the best global talent available on almost any skillset.