Stop Looking for New Markets. Do This Instead.

The Growth Insight 🌱

Stop Looking for New Markets. Do This Instead.

Ever wonder why blazing-hot products suddenly hit a wall? Here's the uncomfortable truth: You've gotten too comfortable with your ideal customers.

The Problem With Perfect

Look, I get it. You've found product-market fit. Your core users love you. Your team understands them deeply. But here's the painful reality - those perfect users are exactly what's holding you back from your next million customers.

The Adjacent User Gold Mine

Enter one of the most elegant growth theories I've encountered: The Adjacent User Theory. Instead of making wild leaps into new markets, look for users who are almost there. They know about you. They might have even tried your product. But something's holding them back.

These are your hidden growth engines.

The Instagram Breakthrough

Take Instagram's story. They hit 400 million users and stalled. Everyone thought they'd peaked. But Bangaly Kaba saw something different. He noticed waves of potential users who wanted to use Instagram but couldn't quite figure out how it fit their lives.

The shift was subtle but powerful:

• Instead of building for power users, they started solving for the almost-users

• Rather than adding fancy features, they removed invisible barriers

• Instead of chasing new markets, they expanded their current one

The result? They exploded to 1 billion users.

The Power of Small Steps

Think of it like expanding a circle. Each time you solve for an adjacent user group, your circle grows a bit wider. And each expansion gives you access to the next ring of potential users. It's not about dramatic leaps - it's about systematic expansion.

The key is to stay humble. Your next wave of growth isn't hiding in some distant market. It's right there, just beyond the edges of your current success.

Credit: Inspired by "The Adjacent User" by Bangaly Kaba

What’s Up with Tech🖥️

Claude Levels Up 🚀 Claude gets real-time code execution abilities in JavaScript, making it even better at handling data and working with CSV files.

AI Art Edit 🎨 Midjourney now lets you transform existing images with AI - think turning your old family photos into anime-style art.

Taiwan's Surprise 🏭 TSMC's Arizona plant beats expectations with better chip production rates than their home base in Taiwan.

Language Leap 🌍 Cohere's Aya project shows major improvements in understanding multiple languages, thanks to enhanced training methods.

Bitcoin Debate 💼 Microsoft shareholders face a big decision this December - whether the tech giant should invest in Bitcoin, though the board says "nah."