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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
It’s Not Too Late to Drive Black Friday Sales
Black Friday marks the most streamed period of the year on Roku, and Roku Ads Manager makes it easy to reach your audience during this all-important kickoff to the holiday season. Roku’s self-serve platform lets you set up, optimize, and measure CTV campaigns in real-time so you can focus on driving results. Plus, innovative ad formats like Action Ads let viewers instantly engage with your brand and even shop directly on-screen with a click of their remote – perfect for holiday shopping.
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."
Stay with us for your weekly dose of tech innovation, wisdom, and growth.
Until next time!
Vansh
