The Physics of Startups
00:01:37 · Rob Snyder
[00:01:37] S1: Yeah, first I didn't realize people actually paid attention to this. I didn't realize we put this out there. Um It might be bots. Yeah, it could be. Um good good questions from the bots. Uh so not a good way to answer this question, but um it's gonna really depend, right? Like if they don't know, I I see we have a question about workday later, right? Like if they don't know that workday exists as an option, it's a it's a fact that they're not aware of workday as an option, they're an idiot, right? And so, um, and so you don't wanna just basically find people who are idiots. And and so, right, you could maybe find one customer that way, you could find a couple customers that way, but you're not gonna build a business on on sort of people who just are unaware that the dominant option in a space exists. However, if it's like a bunch of YC startups and you're selling into HVAC, right, like they have no clue. Like HVAC, like it's it's yeah, they maybe maybe YC startups are growing pretty fast, but but most people in the market do not know um that those YC companies exist. And so for them, they aren't real options until like a um until there's like a dominant player in the space. Like I think now, if you were to go after jump and say, we're building the best AI note taker for financial advisors, everybody already knows jump in the space. And so, so um the the second L uh does not exist in that space. Jump is good enough, and most people know about it. Yeah.
00:03:14 · S0, Rob Snyder
[00:03:14] S0: Or what you have to correct me on this. What you would want to do if you're trying to enter a busy space, like let's take the workday one, um, is you would want to say, like, when is workday lacking? Like, when is it an instant? Assume that they know about it, find the problem that they're still struggling against, and and that it is mandatory that they solve and that workday cannot already solve. Yes. [00:03:39] S1: Yeah, yeah. Or or find the yeah, find the find the person who is using workday, but like deeply struggling such that they would in a way that they would change in an instant if an option was presented to them. That's option one, right? That's somebody who's actively who's already bought it and struggling and and wants to change. Um or find the person for whom workday is not a viable option.
00:03:39 · Rob Snyder, S0
[00:03:39] S1: Yeah, yeah. Or or find the yeah, find the find the person who is using workday, but like deeply struggling such that they would in a way that they would change in an instant if an option was presented to them. That's option one, right? That's somebody who's actively who's already bought it and struggling and and wants to change. Um or find the person for whom workday is not a viable option. [00:04:03] S0: Yeah. And so they haven't bought it, right? Yeah. So let's hit let's hit the next one. This one's from LL Louis Tel. Everybody needs to like make easier or like names that are handles that are easier for me to pronounce. Um, this is also on the is buying optional. We're talking about in that one again. We talked about like when is it mandatory? And what way we talked about is like what you know, target customers or like build products that uh are mandatory for uh a customer to take action on and to purchase. Um and this this question this seems similar to it would be weird not to buy. Also, it seems like the manufacturers that were not buying in the example were not in dire straits. Um, maybe we let's let's respond to that first part. Um it would be is this the same as it would be weird not to buy? Is it a more extreme version of that? Or like, yeah. [00:04:51] S1: Yeah, well, that mandatory to buy is is basically the same thing as weird not to buy, but people have a hard time understanding uh weird not to buy. And so mandatory to buy is is yeah, it's the same, same thing.
00:04:51 · Rob Snyder, S0
[00:04:51] S1: Yeah, well, that mandatory to buy is is basically the same thing as weird not to buy, but people have a hard time understanding uh weird not to buy. And so mandatory to buy is is yeah, it's the same, same thing. [00:05:02] S0: Okay, perfect. Yeah, for for me, it's like it takes weird not to buy and it holds it to a higher standard. Like it it it requires that um you know I push, I I don't accept something that is uh that I can't explain um why they wouldn't buy, but it's like, oh, is there something that requires that you know you talk about that sometimes as there's a wall, like they're about to there's something, there's a there's something imminent um which makes it mandatory, which is you know, uh to me a little bit stronger than uh than weird not to buy, but similar concept. So good intuition from the commenter. Um let's hit cold out uh a comment from D.
00:05:02 · S0, Rob Snyder
[00:05:02] S0: Okay, perfect. Yeah, for for me, it's like it takes weird not to buy and it holds it to a higher standard. Like it it it requires that um you know I push, I I don't accept something that is uh that I can't explain um why they wouldn't buy, but it's like, oh, is there something that requires that you know you talk about that sometimes as there's a wall, like they're about to there's something, there's a there's something imminent um which makes it mandatory, which is you know, uh to me a little bit stronger than uh than weird not to buy, but similar concept. So good intuition from the commenter. Um let's hit cold out uh a comment from D. [00:05:39] S1: Well, well, so this this one also has the assumption that like weird not to buy or mandatory to buy means you must be in dire straits. And that's actually not the case. That's not that's not a that's a common uh assumption here, but there are many ways. So think about premium products, like working with uh working with the best growth person possible, right? Like you're not in dire straits, then you're probably actually growing fast, but for that kind of person, it is it is unacceptable to not be working with the best. And so, um, and so yeah, that the that's uh look if if people were in dire straits, there would be no if it if this required people to be in dire straits, this couldn't explain premium products. [00:06:32] S0: Yeah, like uh buying a Rolex. Um like it you're there's no dire strait. Like my definition if you can afford a Rolex.
00:06:32 · S0, Rob Snyder
[00:06:32] S0: Yeah, like uh buying a Rolex. Um like it you're there's no dire strait. Like my definition if you can afford a Rolex. [00:06:40] S1: Um No, but like people but but there is but there is pull behind it, right? There is there's pull behind that, and it needs to be able to explain both. And so it's a very common thing to basically be like, okay, pull means um you're like you are about to run out of money, right? And your business is about to go under and everything is broken, and it's like, no, that's not that's actually not the the case. [00:07:04] S0: Yeah, and the yeah, the so the project with uh a premium might be um give it a certain appearance, achieve something that is outsi outsized. Um it's like something about differentiating yourself, maybe? I don't know. I'm just like I'm reading. [00:07:21] S1: Oh, it's gonna it's gonna it's depending on the depending on the context. Depending on the context. Um and so um so so like I'm just thinking like premium cologne is like I don't want anybody to smell better than me or yeah or like me at all. Or like me at all. Right. And so it's like it's unacceptable for me to not to not be on the leading edge of this thing, right? Like there's there's other identity forms here of like people who are at the leading edge of like technology. You know, they have pulled for for the the new thing because it's it's it is um look, it's basically like physically, it's it's like physically impossible for them to not be trying the new thing.