My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
“they're all round so we had no choice but to be square”
What It Means
Sometimes the most obvious differentiation strategy is simply doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing
Why It Matters
Demonstrates how simple changes can create powerful differentiation without complex innovation
When It's True
When category has strong conformity and consumers aren't actively satisfied with current options
When It's Risky
When the common approach exists for good functional reasons, or when being different isn't inherently valuable
How to Apply
Audit what everyone in your category does identically
Test whether doing the opposite could work functionally
Ensure the difference creates meaningful value for consumers
Example Scenario
“Olly vitamins used square bottles when all competitors used round ones, creating instant shelf differentiation and more efficient packaging design.”
Related Knowledge
Cultural Shift Detection Framework
A systematic approach to finding business opportunities by identifying cultural shifts or macro trends that have impacte
Creative Tension Framework
A method for creating compelling products by bringing together two disparate or opposing concepts to generate creative t
One Change Rule
A principle that limits innovation to changing only one major element of an existing product or service to maximize prob
Familiar-Novel Intersection Framework
A framework for positioning products at the optimal intersection between familiar (easy to understand) and novel (differ
Generate actionable product ideas through international travel and observation
Return from trip with 2-3 validated product concepts that can be immediately prototyped and tested with retailers/consum
Systematically identify and enter established categories with differentiated positioning
Launch a product that captures meaningful market share in an established category by being the obvious different choice