Love this – such a goodbreminder that it’s not about having more, it’s about seeing differently.
You’ve nailed the real power move here: instead of fighting feature-for-feature, look at where the market leader is locked into decisions they can’t undo. That’s the kind of insight that creates space for real innovation. According to CB Insights
, 35% of startups fail due to no market need – and a big chunk of that comes from copying incumbents instead of serving differently.
What’s one market you think is begging to be reverse-engineered right now?
Love it. It reminded me of how Japan beat U.S. automakers: American cars were low quality, expensive to repair, and designed to feed the parts business. Japanese manufacturers spotted the customer pain and used lean manufacturing to deliver durable, high-quality cars instead.
Fantastic article Mike, thank you! I learnt lots here, but in particular I am going to lead with my chin in future pitches and tackle my riskiest assumption first.
I agree, Sharyph. I see many people argue that strategy is too complex to be reduced to a simple framework.
While you can enrich your understanding by incorporating an understanding of product management and continuous product discovery, if the Strategy Choice Cascade works for Roger L. Martin, the world's leading strategy authority, it is probably a good place to start.
Market leaders become prisoners of their own business models. Your advantage lies in serving the customers they're designed to ignore. Thanks for putting this together!
There's always an opportunity to carve out a different set of "Where to Play" and "How to Win" choices, meaning everyone can win, as we saw in my Granola strategy breakdown, as it doesn't directly compete with Otter at all.
Great piece! Makes me think about how you can apply a similar framework to content. Find articles in your niche that perform well, identify gaps, and write about it.
Thanks for your collaboration and editorial partnership on this one, Daniel.
Some key insights here, thanks to your strategic wisdom.
Love this – such a goodbreminder that it’s not about having more, it’s about seeing differently.
You’ve nailed the real power move here: instead of fighting feature-for-feature, look at where the market leader is locked into decisions they can’t undo. That’s the kind of insight that creates space for real innovation. According to CB Insights
, 35% of startups fail due to no market need – and a big chunk of that comes from copying incumbents instead of serving differently.
What’s one market you think is begging to be reverse-engineered right now?
Appreciate the kind words, Mel - banking and FinTechs are a space ripe for innovation, simply because the customer experiences are routinely abysmal.
That accounts for Revolut's success.
But the capabilities required to pull off great banking experiences are super-tough to pull off effectively and efficiently in a scalable way.
At this point, everyone's mind immediately jumps to AI, but the cost per transaction with AI can be prohibitive.
And, unlike typical SaaS powered by a data store, serving more customers via AI exponentially increases, rather than decreases, costs.
Love this article & deep dive - fantastic guys. I've Restacked and added my twist because my audience will love it ✨
Thanks, Chris - Kudos to Daniel for pushing me in a different direction than I had previously been exploring.
That’s the beauty of collaboration right there…
Getting out of your comfort zone and exploring new ideas.
Such a great idea. Just like mapping out the customer journey... but see how they're doing it.
Love it. It reminded me of how Japan beat U.S. automakers: American cars were low quality, expensive to repair, and designed to feed the parts business. Japanese manufacturers spotted the customer pain and used lean manufacturing to deliver durable, high-quality cars instead.
Fantastic article Mike, thank you! I learnt lots here, but in particular I am going to lead with my chin in future pitches and tackle my riskiest assumption first.
Thanks for the kind words!
That’s a key reframing @Sam Illingworth -
“Lead with my chin.” 🎯
Kudos to @Daniel Ionescu for his editorial expertise in helping create a powerful, clear piece.
Such an insightful and practical piece, thank you Mike for sharing your wisdom.
the strategy choice cascade method provides a really actionable framework for finding those market gaps.
I agree, Sharyph. I see many people argue that strategy is too complex to be reduced to a simple framework.
While you can enrich your understanding by incorporating an understanding of product management and continuous product discovery, if the Strategy Choice Cascade works for Roger L. Martin, the world's leading strategy authority, it is probably a good place to start.
Market leaders become prisoners of their own business models. Your advantage lies in serving the customers they're designed to ignore. Thanks for putting this together!
Spot-on summary, Hodman
There's always an opportunity to carve out a different set of "Where to Play" and "How to Win" choices, meaning everyone can win, as we saw in my Granola strategy breakdown, as it doesn't directly compete with Otter at all.
Great piece! Makes me think about how you can apply a similar framework to content. Find articles in your niche that perform well, identify gaps, and write about it.
This is such a practical and powerful way to reframe this approach to researching the competition, Tam!
Find something that works and adapt it for your readers!