If you’re a young entrepreneur not fully understanding your market, read this

Good morning 🌞☀️ well it’s a late morning almost brunch hour, let’s get into today’s article which I picked up on Peter Thiel’s book ‘Zero to One’ He is the cofounder of PayPal with the likes of Elon Musk, and the founder of Palantir.

And he has some pretty solid advice for entrepreneurs who are starting up or feel like they are in a market that is too big for them;

Investment Lessons: Start Small & Monopolize

When launching a business, many young entrepreneurs make the mistake of aiming too big, too fast. They want to dominate an entire industry overnight, only to find themselves overwhelmed by competition. Instead, the key to success is to start in a small market, dominate it, and then expand strategically.

Peter Thiel, in Zero to One, emphasizes this principle:

“Every startup should start in a very small market. Always err on the side of starting too small.”

The reason? It’s easier to own a niche than to compete in a crowded space. If you focus on serving a small, specific group of customers exceptionally well, you’ll build strong loyalty, refine your product, and establish yourself as the go-to brand. Then, once you’ve secured that market, you can expand into adjacent opportunities.

Alex Hormozi echoes this sentiment with a powerful analogy:

If you try to take on the entire market at once, you’ll get lost among bigger, more established players. Instead, find your small pond—an underserved niche—and become the dominant player there.

How to Apply This to Your Business:

1. Identify a niche with unmet needs. Instead of targeting “everyone,” focus on a specific segment where you can provide a unique solution. For example focus on a group of students in school with your product, who have unmet needs, don’t go straight to a huge market while you’re starting out or a small business owner, it can be too unbearable or too competitive when more established players have better connections, tools and fun

2. Become the best in that space. Offer superior value, customer service, and branding to establish dominance.

3. Expand strategically. Once you own your niche, look for logical next steps to grow.

Success isn’t about being everywhere at once—it’s about being undeniable in the right place first.