The importance of being in early

[for]

Hi everyone.

I've just finished reading "The Great Rat-Race Escape". I mostly read it leisurely and didn't think too much about the non-fiction parts. But there's one chapter that stuck with me. Chapter 42 discusses how creating a successful business is all about taking advantage of change and how luck is caused by being an innovator or early adopter. A lot of businesses succeeded because they were there when something was just starting to get popular.

I'm wondering to what extent you should apply this advice. Should your main goal be to be an early adopter of new trends/technologies? Should you assume problems that have been around for a long time aren't worth solving?

 

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[perchboy]

Find a better way to do things that already exist.

McDonalds: restaurants existed but they made their production faster
My carpet cleaning business: carpet cleaning services existed but I make it easy for clients to find me online
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[MJ DeMarco]

Chapter 42 discusses how creating a successful business is all about taking advantage of change and how luck is caused by being an innovator or early adopter. A lot of businesses succeeded because they were there when something was just starting to get popular.

I'm wondering to what extent you should apply this advice. Should your main goal be to be an early adopter of new trends/technologies? Should you assume problems that have been around for a long time aren't worth solving?

Here's an example...

The trend is less people are drinking alcohol, but still want the same taste and social benefits.

How long will this "trend" last?

Long enough to make millionaires and billionaires.






The same can be said about any trend where the early adopters make a fortune, and when the crowd arrives, they exit the space or sell "courses" about the space...

The early bloggers did well, the crowd that followed, not so much...
The early self-publishers did well, the crowd that followed, not so much...
The early podcasters did well, the crowd that followed, not so much...
The early newsletter providers/monetizers, the crowd that WILL follow, not so much...

The early AI adopters will make a fortune, the crowd that arrives later, not so much...