Markets

Went skiing today and someone said something that was never obvious to me before…. Ski lodges should offer massages… Well of course they should! On the mountain you have before you a captive audience willing to pay 9 dollars for a hamburger, 7 dollars for a baked potato, 7 dollars for crappy beer…. 75 dollars for a lift ticket…. I think people would be more than willing to spoil themselves and pay 10 dollars for a nice 5 minute massage don’t you??. The point here is that in our economy businesses thrive on creating and retaining captive audiences.

In the beginning days of an internet startup you struggle to shape your view of that ideal market, that audience. The exciting thing is the anticipation of finding that audience and interacting with it. The product, if a good one, will be found by its audience, even if it’s never marketed. That’s one of the most revolutionary aspects of the internet - the mindshare of any one idea is only as strong as consumers want it to be. Every vote counts. There’s no broadcast tv where billion dollar businesses compete to use a finite number of channels to promote their ideas. The internet is a free and fluid market - one of the best playgrounds for willing entrepreneurs. Ideas gain power by the strength of the idea itself, not by the size of the marketing budget. although money never hurts….

Soon we will meet our audience, that’s when the fun starts…